OP ED

Viewpoints: How to grow Arizona’s giving tree

David Gullen and Jack Jewett
AZ We See It
Investing in Arizona's giving tree
  • The beckoning needs of a young state called the Flinn Foundation to be much more than a limited-scope operation
  • Philanthropic dollars are beginning to take root in Arizona, rather than being funneled back to donors’ home states on the East Coast or Midwest
  • But our most significant economic, health and social challenges require “all-hands-on-deck” responses from the private sector, community organizations, faith communities and government

This year, one of Arizona’s oldest and largest private foundations turned 50. The Flinn Foundation, started in 1965 by a leading cardiologist with a bent for innovation and his wealthy and generous wife, unknowingly blazed a trail for much larger foundations that would follow decades later.

As individuals, Robert and Irene Flinn were contrasts.

Bob was a Harvard-trained, World War I veteran who moved in the 1930s from his hometown Prescott to open a medical practice in Phoenix. A charming, world-traveling, well-read visionary who kept friendships with celebrities, he was dedicated to improving medicine in Arizona, leading the medical staffs at St. Joseph’s and Phoenix Memorial hospitals, as well as the county and state medical societies. He helped to pioneer the field of electrocardiography in Arizona, bringing the latest technology to St. Joe’s to help read EKGs via computer.

Irene, known to many as “Peggy,” was born into a wealthy East Coast family with a history of political leadership and philanthropy, then expanded her fortune through her first husband, a director of IBM in its early days. A caring, private woman, she found satisfaction in helping others. She would often give money to support a family in need, or an arts or educational institution she appreciated, but always insisted that the gift remain anonymous.

Together, Dr. and Mrs. Flinn were a dynamic force for good in Arizona. Through Bob’s vision and professional acclaim, and Peggy’s fortune and philanthropy, the foundation they created had the ideal ingredients from the start.

Suddenly a leader

Following the passing of Peggy in 1978 and Bob in 1984, with major infusions from their estate, the Flinn Foundation became the largest philanthropic foundation in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states. Opportunities to make an impact on Arizona were plentiful, though the beckoning needs of a young state called upon Flinn to be much more than the limited-scope operation that had primarily funded projects at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Under the leadership of executive director John Murphy, the foundation broadened its focus, attracted talented staff members and assumed proactive, strategic roles in fulfilling its mission: to improve the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations. Going beyond simply writing checks to support good causes, Flinn became integrally involved in issues it was addressing, using its funds to recruit talent, encourage leadership and supply information, and often brought organizations together to address shared problems and opportunities.

Dr. Robert S. Flinn; with staff from St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and a machine he purchased for the hospital to assist in treating cardiac patients.

As the major philanthropy in town, along with the Arizona Community Foundation, Flinn broadened its health-care interests. Examples included supporting policy studies that helped pave the way to the state’s AHCCCS program and finding innovative ways to provide access to health care for vulnerable populations like the elderly, school children, and pregnant and parenting teenagers.

Reflecting Peggy’s passions, the foundation expanded into education through the Flinn Scholars Program to help Arizona’s universities compete for top students who typically left the state; and the arts, boosting the creative and fiscal capacity of the state’s principal institutions.

A maturing philanthropic sector

In the 1990s and 2000s, Flinn’s peer group grew. Bequests from local benefactors, non-profit hospital buyouts by for-profit ventures and other funding sources created new and sometimes larger charitable foundations. New names such as Piper, Pulliam, Brown, St. Luke’s, Helios, Rodel, BHHS Legacy and Parsons led the way.

This welcome development for Arizona signals a young sector’s maturation. Philanthropic dollars are beginning to take root in Arizona, rather than being funneled back to donors’ home states on the East Coast or Midwest. Some 25 Arizona foundations each give $2 million or more per year, with a handful distributing more than $10 million per year.

David J. Gullen, M.D., chairs the board of directors of the Flinn Foundation.

The result is not only more philanthropic dollars for Arizona, but greater capacity to effect positive change for our state. It means more thinkers, doers and leaders; more collaborations within the philanthropic sector and across the public and private sectors.

In Flinn’s case, one key example is Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, the long-term strategic plan we commissioned in 2002 to help Arizona become globally competitive in the biosciences. More than a decade later, we continue to fund and facilitate this grand collaboration among dozens of universities, research institutes, companies, industry groups, government agencies, foundations and more. The result has been a robust, fast-growing bioscience research base and industry, leading to better health outcomes for Arizonans and a diversified state economy.

Jack Jewett is president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation.

Philanthropy alone cannot provide solutions to the challenges that a community, state or society faces. The dollars foundations bring to the table are substantial, but they are limited. Our most significant economic, health and social challenges require “all-hands-on-deck” responses from the private sector, community organizations, faith communities and government.

But as an example such as the Roadmap demonstrates, philanthropy occupies a critical niche and can take calculated risks that other sectors cannot. Carefully planned, long-term strategies can deliver transformative outcomes through specific investments, sometimes made over many years. And by bringing disparate groups together to tackle problems, philanthropy can play a powerfully catalytic role.

The next 50 years

Even after five decades, the Flinn Foundation continues to evolve to address the long-term needs of our state. The latest example is the creation of the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership, a program introduced five years ago to develop state-level leaders with the knowledge, skills and commitment to respond to the fundamental challenges that are intertwined with Arizona’s future.

Arizona remains the state of wonderful opportunity that drew Bob and Peggy Flinn together decades ago. But there is much work to be done.

As the Flinn Foundation begins its next 50 years, and as Arizona moves deeper into its second century, we remember the example of our benefactors and embrace the responsibility, as they did, to apply our philanthropic tools, alongside our foundation peers and leaders from every sector, to meet the challenges before us.

David J. Gullen, M.D., chairs the board of directors and Jack B. Jewett is president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation.