Circular Arizona Grant

Circular Arizona, formerly known as the Arizona Recycling Coalition, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the circular economy in Arizona through education, collaboration, and innovation. With a long-standing history dating back to the 1990s, the organization has evolved its mission to embrace a broader vision of circularity that includes waste diversion, recycling, reuse, and other sustainable materials management practices. It operates as a membership-based organization offering access to grant and scholarship opportunities, educational resources, and networking platforms. Circular Arizona has historically awarded nearly $300,000 in funding to diverse entities such as nonprofits, government agencies, schools, entrepreneurs, local businesses, and tribal nations. The current grant program continues this tradition by offering measurable support to projects that foster an equitable circular economy within Arizona. For this round, Circular Arizona will distribute up to $5,000 each to two selected applicants. Projects must demonstrate a measurable impact on reducing landfill-bound waste or otherwise contribute to circular economic systems within the state. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must be active members of Circular Arizona and represent one of the following entity types: nonprofit organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, tribal nations, or local businesses. They must show a clear commitment to maintaining the project beyond the grant term and explain the sustainability of its impact. Grant funds must support initiatives that result in material waste reduction or other circular outcomes, such as reuse or composting. Awardees are required to meet several follow-up and promotional obligations. These include providing a high-quality logo, participating in the Circular Arizona annual meeting in Phoenix in early 2026 with a five-minute presentation, supplying photos and a video testimonial of the funded work, and publicly crediting Circular Arizona in project materials. Grantees must also submit a project update by June 30, 2026. Applications will be evaluated using a blind scoring rubric based on five main criteria: impact, plausibility, creativity, financial viability, and contribution to circularity. The selection process ensures that board members with conflicts of interest abstain from scoring to maintain impartiality. Preference may be given to projects that are innovative, replicable, and have not previously received support. The application deadline for this cycle is Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Notifications of application status will be sent by Friday, December 12, 2025. The winners will be publicly announced at the organization's annual meeting and via a press release. For any inquiries regarding the grant program, applicants may contact the organization at Hello@CircularArizona.org.