Developer’s Stewardship Organization Sets Precedent with Contribution to Arizona Community Foundation
March 8, 2006 –Patagonia, AZ –La Semilla, a Community Stewardship Organization (CSO) located in Patagonia, Arizona, recently presented the Patagonia Regional Community Foundation (PRCF) with its first gift of $24,600. This gift, which is intended to be presented annually, was initiated by David Parsons and Denny Hubbell of Conservation Properties, Incorporated, founders of La Semilla and developers of Three Canyons, a 1,760-acre new, green development on the Northern edge of Patagonia.

This is a benchmark at the Arizona Community Foundation marking the first time that a CSO has made a contribution to the Community Foundation. PRCF is an affiliate of the Arizona Community Foundation.

Parsons relates, “This gift from La Semilla demonstrates our long term commitment to supporting the Patagonia community and our strategic alliance with the PRCF. Hubbell adds, “By working with our local community foundation, PRCF, we are investing locally in the people of Patagonia for generations to come.”

La Semilla, funded through a Three Canyons’community enhancement fee, is the tenth CSO to be established in the United States. CSO models are based on implementing win-win solutions with land developments and sustaining critical wildlife and natural resources. Currently La Semilla serves as an affiliate of the Sonoran Institute, a Tucson-based nonprofit that works with communities to encourage land stewardship.

Jeffrey Cooper, a naturalist and local resident of Patagonia, serving as the Executive Director of La Semilla comments, “We felt it was important to collaborate with PRCF because they were already working very effectively within the community to increase capacity. Caring for the land and caring for the community are the twin missions of La Semilla. Increasing the knowledge and skills of people in our community adds value to the entire system. In other words, when all members of our community are engaged and contributing, everyone benefits.”

Founders, Parsons and Hubbell, are pleased with the response from PRCF President, Susan Scott, and Arizona Community Foundation President and CEO, Robert L. King.

Susan Scott states, “PRCF is extremely pleased to be receiving these funds. This 2006 gift will double our grantmaking ability and will dramatically increase our support of local nonprofit organizations. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with La Semilla.”

The significance of La Semilla’s gift sets precedent in the State of Arizona with a CSO established by a residential land developer voluntarily contributing to a Community Foundation. “This conveys the developers’deep commitment to an ongoing community partnership. The significance of this is huge, not only the dollar amount, because of the institutional commitment to caring for the community,”said King.

La Semilla is a non-profit, Community Stewardship Organization (CSO) working in partnership with Three Canyons, a new green development on the north side of Patagonia, Arizona. La Semilla's mission is to care for the land through stewardship, restoration and research, care for the community through service and education. La Semilla will be perpetually funded through a Three Canyons’community enhancement fee. CSOs are a new type of community partner that brings together developers, local stakeholders and community organizations to create long-term conservation and community agreements that involve a commitment by the developer to fund and participate in long-term, comprehensive, voluntary conservation and restoration programs. For more information about La Semilla, contact Jeffrey Cooper at (520) 394-0248 or jeffrey@la-semilla.org.

PRCF, through affiliation with the Arizona Community Foundation, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that works to build community now and for many years to come by connecting donor interests with community needs in the Patagonia, Sonoita, Elgin and Canelo region—all of Eastern Santa Cruz County. Led by a local board and founded in 1998, PRCF has awarded grants totaling $69,639 as well as scholarships totaling $12,000. Through needs assessments, PRCF identifies areas of community need and partners with new or existing organizations to address those needs. For more information about PRCF, contact Julie Holding at (520) 394-9424 or jholding@azfoundation.org.

Photos available upon request. View the complete Three Canyon press kit.

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