This past year squeezed Tucson families from both ends — rising costs on one, flat wages on the other — and local nonprofits felt it first. Housing stayed stubbornly expensive, groceries climbed higher than many paychecks and interest rates made would-be buyers hesitate.
Even with inboxes full and a holiday weekend in the way, the organizations that did respond to our Giving Guide outreach painted a picture echoed across the city: need went up, resources didn’t always follow, and many Tucsonans leaned harder than ever on the safety net woven by local nonprofits.
Those voices included the Pima County Community Land Trust (PCCLT), one of Tucson’s few providers of permanently affordable housing, and St. Francis Community Services, a small but mighty food pantry on the city’s north side. Their responses showed how far community support carried each mission — and how much more could be done with sustained giving.
Building stability
While many nonprofits work on the immediate emergencies facing Tucson families, PCCLT focuses on stability that lasts decades. Communications Manager Jaclyn Hubersberger said the organization is “committed to providing permanently affordable housing for low- to moderate-income individuals and families” and to helping them “achieve, preserve and sustain affordable housing.”
The land trust holds land in perpetuity and sells homes on that land “at significantly reduced prices, protecting families from the volatility of the housing market.” The model ensures that affordability doesn’t stop with one homeowner but carries forward “for every household that comes after.”
That long-view approach stood out in a year when many working households struggled just to keep pace.
“The demand for affordable housing in Tucson has never been more urgent,” Hubersberger said. “Many working households are struggling to keep pace with costs that outstrip wage growth, making it extremely difficult to save for a down payment or cover closing costs. Prospective buyers are hesitant due to high interest rates, job uncertainty and a desire to preserve savings in an unstable economy.”
Interest rates have stayed high, inventory stays tight and median home prices hover around $315,000 citywide. For many modest-income households, the market simply doesn’t have a welcome mat out.
PCCLT’s programs cover the full arc of the housing journey. The organization purchases and rehabilitates homes for permanent affordability, offers down-payment assistance through city and county partnerships and keeps home prices low for future buyers through long-term stewardship. It manages 105 homeownership units, with new developments planned in Tucson’s original barrios, as well as 18 affordable rentals. Through its HUD-approved counseling center, it supports 1,500 households since 2019.
“For many, homeownership seemed like an impossible dream before they began working with PCCLT,” Hubersberger said.
These numbers tell a story of steady, generational impact — the kind that appeals to donors interested in systems change rather than short-term relief. Still, like most nonprofits, PCCLT carries its own urgent needs into the holiday season. Hubersberger points to three areas where contributions make the biggest difference: acquiring more properties to expand the trust’s portfolio, supporting down-payment assistance and funding general operations.
“Upfront costs, especially down payments, are often the biggest hurdle,” she said, and donations go directly toward clearing that barrier for families who are otherwise ready for homeownership.
Arizona residents can also take advantage of the Qualifying Charitable Organization tax credit. Individuals can give up to $495 and couples filing jointly up to $987, receiving that amount back as a credit on their state taxes — a feature that makes PCCLT one of the most tax-efficient giving options available this season.
 100vw, 780px”/>Two homes in PCCLT’s Barrio Hollywood development on Ontario St. “PCCLT now manages 105 homeownership units, with two new developments in Tucson’s original barrios soon to break ground,” says Jaclyn Hubersberger. <span class=)
On the front lines of hunger relief
While PCCLT focuses on long-term stability, St. Francis Community Services deals with the immediate realities of food insecurity that play out week after week.
Director of Operations Shawn Milligan said the nonprofit’s mission is straightforward: “to provide essential services to those in need.” For the food pantry, that means supplying families with “ever changing choices of meats, produce, bakery and dairy,” much of it sourced through Feeding America. In the summer months the nonprofit also runs a cooling center for the unhoused in partnership with Ward 3 and Council Member Kevin Dahl, turning a community room into a refuge when temperatures climb into triple digits.
If housing costs feel urgent, food insecurity hits even faster. “We have seen our clientele grow from 100 to now over 140 each week in just the past few months,” Milligan said. Donations of nonperishables from Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona dip slightly at times, making Feeding America even more critical.
“We collect an average of 4000 to 5000 pounds of food each month. With this amount we are able to pass on to other food pantries as well.” It is a grassroots distribution model powered almost entirely by grants and community donations.
Heading into the colder months, St. Francis faces its own seasonal pressures. “Our immediate need is donations — whether cash or nonperishables,” Milligan said. The group assembles meal kits for the unhoused that cost about $7 each and include tuna packets, crackers, pop-top meals, snack bars and bottled water. High-demand items fly off pantry shelves as quickly as they arrive — peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, pasta sauce, cereals. Hygiene items are another staple. The nonprofit buys 1-oz bottles to repackage donated body wash, shampoo and conditioner, stretching every large bottle into dozens of individual servings.
St. Francis also relies on partnerships that help amplify its work. A donated truck from the Jim Click dealerships replaced a vehicle with “over 300,000 miles on it,” Milligan said, and allows the pantry to pick up and deliver food for Sister José Women’s Center and other collaborators.
“Our partnerships has created a nice network of give and take making sure very little food is wasted, which means more people have the opportunity to receive it,” he said. “Food pantries are a lifeline to so many Tucsonans, and it’s great to be part of helping those in need.”
That network grows even more once the nonprofit completes its move into a new, larger facility. Milligan said they plan to acquire furnishings and equipment slowly — “as we have the means to do it” — and welcome both monetary support and new volunteers. As a qualified Arizona charity, St. Francis also accepts Arizona Tax Credit donations and IRA required minimum distribution gifts, giving donors multiple ways to support the expansion.
The wider nonprofit landscape
The broader nonprofit community is also impacted during Tucson’s giving season. A look at this year’s service landscape shows how many organizations work adjacent to PCCLT and St. Francis, often intersecting with their missions:
Haven Totes continues to send food home with students who might otherwise go hungry over weekends and school breaks.
Interfaith Community Services offers rent and utility assistance, senior programs and job support — one of Tucson’s most comprehensive safety-net providers.
Gospel Rescue Mission, housed at the Center of Opportunity, delivers meals, shelter and recovery programs that help move people from crisis toward stability.
Tucson Samaritans carry water and aid into the desert, responding to humanitarian need in one of the harshest landscapes in the state.
The Colibrí Center for Human Rights helps families searching for missing migrants, supporting those navigating profound loss with dignity and care.
Each group meets residents at different points along the continuum of need — from a hot meal to transitional housing to desert survival. Together they form the patchwork that keeps Tucson’s most vulnerable from slipping through the cracks.
 100vw, 780px”/>A sign marks the construction of PCCLT’s new Riverview project. <span class=)
A season for strengthening the safety net
Many Tucson nonprofits share a similar message. Whether through housing that stays affordable for generations or food boxes that last a week, every donation lands somewhere meaningful. Gifts come back to donors too, through Arizona’s array of tax credits and the built-in incentives of supporting qualified charities.
As Southern Arizona families prepare for the holidays, the organizations that serve them hope for the same thing – enough support to carry their missions into a new year. The agencies that do the work remind us that every gift, no matter the size, helps someone make it through the season a little warmer, a little safer and a little more hopeful about the year ahead.