Fiesta Bowl Charities, the philanthropic arm of the college football bowl, announced this week that it would donate $2.5 million in the next year to 67 local nonprofit organizations in the Phoenix metropolitan region.

Fiesta Bowl stated that the $2.5 million donation was the largest ever from any college bowl organization.  Along with this donation, 100 winners will be selected at random to receive an additional $500,000 through the Fiesta Bowl Wishes for Teachers program.

Mike Nealy, Executive director of the Fiesta Bowl, stated, “Fiesta Bowl Charities, our board of directors, and our entire organization are honored that we can enhance the lives of Arizonans through this increased level of funding that sets a new standard.”  He continued, “Our three pillars of youth, sports, and education drive everything we do, including determining where this money was distributed.”

Approximately 1 million people are expected to be impacted by this funding, which will help provide 400,000 meals served; 100,000 backpacks donated; and additional educational programming for 250,000 underserved youth.

 “We’ve seen how our state’s nonprofits maximize the funds they receive and we look forward to hearing the stories of how these charities implemented the grants in the years to come,” said Nealy.

In the past seven years, Fiesta Bowl Charities has donated over $10 million to local communities and organizations in Arizona.