If you're looking to enjoy classical music while also getting a jump start on supporting Primavera in 2025, look no further!

Tucson Symphony Orchestra Principal Horn Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez, Monte Award-winning Tenor Daniel Rosenberg, and acclaimed recitalist Michael Dauphinais, will present aphelion at 6 p.m., Jan. 3, 2025, at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, with proceeds benefitting the Primavera Foundation. 

The program will feature Benjamin Britten’s Opus 31: Serenade for Horn, Tenor and Strings; Franz Schubert’s Auf dem Strom, D.943 and new arrangements for Horn, Tenor and Piano including songs of Leonard Bernstein, Mark Blitzstein, and more.

For more information on the event and ticketing, visit the event page at the button below. 

Join us in welcoming Allison Wexler as Primavera Foundation's new Philanthropy Officer. She joins us from Tucson Jewish Free Loan, where she served as executive director for 4.5 years.

Allison will be responsible for the strategic direction and management of the organization’s philanthropic initiatives including fundraising, donor cultivation and partnership building. 

Learn more about Allison below! She may be reached at awexler@primavera.org or 520-991-7410. 

Q: Can you share with us the origins of your philanthropic journey in southern Arizona?

A: When my husband and I moved to Tucson for his job in 1998, I was excited to put my new M.Ed. to good use in Tucson’s public schools. I worked with the state-funded pre-Kindergarten program providing valuable resources and education for some of our community’s most vulnerable families. This experience was among the first bricks in the foundation of my non-profit journey. Eventually, I moved from education to serving other vulnerable populations, first in animal welfare, and later creating innovative programming for individuals with disabilities and their families. 

Q: Describe your most recent professional role and how it prepared you to become Primavera Foundation's Philanthropy Officer.

A: I served for 4.5 years as executive director for a nonprofit dedicated to helping southern Arizonans achieve self-sufficiency with dignity. I provided organizational leadership at the executive level and the service delivery level. By cultivating strategic community partnerships with key stakeholders, I learned that authentic relationships, and trust-based philanthropy are essential to creating lasting change.

Q: What is your approach to philanthropy?

A: I’m deeply passionate about the power of relationships. My approach centers on fostering authentic connections that inspire meaningful impact.

Q: What are you looking for to the most in your new role?

A: With humility, I come to Primavera Foundation in awe of the work our colleagues, volunteers, and supporters are doing for our community. My goal is to elevate our efforts through philanthropy and inspire folks in our community to engage more deeply in community-driven solutions to poverty. I look forward to working with you all.

Primavera thanks the many donors who gave over $10,000 on Giving Tuesday to support our mission of co-creating pathways out of poverty.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving fueled by social media and collaboration. Giving Tuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. 

Bank of America awarded Primavera Foundation $33,000 as part of its Community Homeownership Commitment. "We are grateful for the support of community partners like Bank of America, said Primavera CEO Tisha Tallman. "They help those we serve achieve their goals."

Through its investment in organizations like Primavera, Bank of America hopes to strengthen the Tucson community by supporting neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing.

Jim Click poses with Primavera Philanthropy Officer Allison Wexler before the Millions for Tucson raffle drawing at Reid Park Zoo.

Primavera Foundation joined nearly 400 charities and nonprofits as participants in the 2024 Jim Click Millions for Tucson Raffle. 

This year's raffle raised $1.9 million, with over $1.8 million from ticket sales and another $16,000 donated by Jim Click during the drawing, as 16 organizations were randomly selected to receive $1,000 each. 

"I don't think I've ever visited one of your organizations and not fallen in love with what you do," Click said. 

Jim Click Jr.'s raffles have raised nearly $19 million for charities in the Greater Tucson area since 2003. 

Proceeds from each ticket sold by the charity goes directly to that charity.

Did you know that when you donate to the Primavera Foundation through the Arizona Tax Credit program, you receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your Arizona state income taxes?  

Funds raised through the Arizona Tax Credit program benefit Primavera initiatives. 

To address the loss of 833 beds from 2023 to 2024 through the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) system and a gaps analysis showing that the demand for housing units in 2023 was short by 6,268 units, we doubled our budget and raised funds for several housing projects, including:

- We purchased the 41-unit Paradise Motel in the City of South Tucson. With additional raised funds, we are in the process of completing phase 1 of Paradise Motel renovations.

- We raised funds for predevelopment of a one-acre lot adjacent to the Primavera Training Center.

- We purchased three lots for single-family home construction for first-time homebuyers.

In the coming fiscal year, we will continue to raise funds for additional housing for aging women who find themselves unhoused for the first time in their lives. 

By utilizing this dollar-for-dollar credit, you can ensure money you would otherwise pay in taxes is benefitting those experiencing homelessness here in Arizona. 

How the Arizona Tax Credit works:

1. Make a donation to the Primavera Foundation by visiting primavera.org/give or clicking the "Support Primavera" button below. The maximum credit donation amount that a taxpayer can claim for the current taxable year is $470 for those who are single, married filing separate or head of household. For those who are married filing jointly, the maximum credit donation amount is $938. When you give, you get that money right back as a tax credit or return. 

2. Submit Form 321 when you file your 2024 taxes, noting the donation amount and Qualified Charitable Organization #20680. 

Primavera Foundation CEO Tisha Tallman joined leaders from four Tucson nonprofits last month to be recognized by the Northwest Tucson Multi-Faith Fellowship.

Primavera joined Casa Maria Soup Kitchen, Catholic Community Services of Southern AZ, Interfaith Community Services, and Sister Jose Women's Center, as they received a plaque "In Gratitude and Appreciation for serving the hungry, the needy, and the stranger with love and compassion." 

City leaders, clergy and around 40 Tucson community members joined Primavera Foundation and hundreds of communities across the U.S. to commemorate the lives of those who died without a safe place to call home. As part of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, Primavera hosted the annual ceremony on Fri., Dec. 20, at Paupers’ Field at Evergreen Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Road, Tucson. 

Following reflections from Primavera Foundation CEO Tisha Tallman, Primavera Foundation Board President Andy Rouse, and Pima County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory Hess and a musical interlude, Primavera staff and Emeritus Board Member Debbie Wong and Board Member Trayce Peterson read the names of over 220 individuals who died while experiencing homelessness this year. Another 63 individuals who died in Pima County but were unidentified were acknowledged with a moment of silence and the ringing of a bell. 

"The deaths are a reflection of us as a society, as a nation, as Tucsonans," Tallman said. "The need is so great. It takes each and every one of us in all of our respective roles and positions to move the needle on poverty and homelessness." 

Primavera partnered with the Splinter Collective to provide 12 weeks of drop-in art, poetry and movement workshops for up to 25 participants at Casa Paloma this fall.

The workshops took place once a week at Casa Paloma, September-December. The experience will close with an end of session ‘showcase’ at Splinter Collective.

Participants were encouraged to join activities and events such as movement, dance and self-defense classes, open mics, and poetry/music nights at the Splinter Collective.

For future sessions, the Splinter Collective will incorporate activities like herbal salve making, jewelry-making, and sewing. As part of the final poetry workshop of this session, participants wrote poems to be shared. To read these poems, click on the button below.