Maricopa County Arts Organizations Receive $350,000 Holiday Surprise from Piper Trust and Stardust Foundation

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PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 30, 2025--

In a surprise announcement timed for the holiday season, 47 Maricopa County arts and culture organizations are receiving a total of $350,000 in unexpected “Arts and Culture Experience” grants from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and Stardust Foundation. The two foundations collaborated to identify and award the grants, which arrived as a surprise to the recipient organizations via a joint notification.

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Maricopa County Arts Organizations Receive $350,000 Holiday Surprise from Piper Trust and Stardust Foundation

“Arts and culture experiences are much more than entertainment,” said Steve Zabilski, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. “These experiences also educate, inspire, and build community. Every performance, every museum visit, every concert has the potential to open minds and change lives.”

“With the holidays approaching, these grants are especially timely,” said Jerry Bisgrove, founder of Stardust Foundation. “Increasing opportunities for more children and families to experience the joy of the arts this season is a gift that is very meaningful to me.”

Piper Trust and Stardust Foundation share a deep belief that arts and cultural experiences are essential for community health, contributing to individual well-being and improved educational outcomes. The “Arts and Culture Experience” grants, awarded in amounts of $5,000 or $10,000, are intended to provide a funding boost to help these organizations welcome more community members through their doors, especially children and families who may be less likely to attend due to financial or transportation challenges.

The following arts and culture organizations serving children and families in Maricopa County were jointly identified by Piper Trust and Stardust Foundation for an “Arts and Culture Experience” grant:

Arizona Musicfest ● Arizona Opera ● Arizona Science Center ● Arizona Theatre Company ● Ballet AZ ● Black Theatre Troupe, Inc. ● CALA Alliance ● Chandler Cultural Foundation ● Children’s Museum of Phoenix ● Childsplay, Inc. ● Cultural Coalition ● Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts ● Desert Botanical Garden ● East Valley Children’s Theatre ● Empowered Theater & Arts ● Fountain Hills Theatre, Inc. ● Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation ● Heard Museum ● Herberger Theater Center ● i.d.e.a. Museum ● International Dark Skies Discovery Center ● Japanese Friendship Garden ● Jazz in Arizona, Inc. ● Mesa Arts Center Foundation ● Musical Instrument Museum ● Musical Theatre of Anthem ● Phoenix Art Museum ● Phoenix Boys Choir ● Phoenix Center for the Arts ● Phoenix Chamber Music Society ● Phoenix Chorale ● Phoenix Conservatory of Music ● Phoenix Theatre ● Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra ● Phoenix Zoo ● Phonetic Spit ● Scottsdale Arts ● Scottsdale Community Players (a.k.a. Greasepaint Youththeatre) ● Shemer Arts Center ● SOUNDS Academy ● Southwest Shakespeare Company ● Theater Artists Studio ● The Phoenix Symphony ● Theater Works ● Valley Youth Theatre ● Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West ● Xico, Inc.

As Virginia Piper said, “We all have an opportunity to do ‘good things’ on a daily basis for others and do them in an unselfish manner, to provide our world and its people, through giving, an improved beautiful culture and places to live, work, and grow healthy families—and to enjoy the arts.”

About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $763 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit pipertrust.org | X | Facebook | LinkedIn.

About Stardust Foundation

Stardust Companies CEO Jerry Bisgrove and his late wife Debi established Stardust Foundation in 1993. Stardust Foundation invests in programs and activities that support children, youth, and families strengthening individual responsibility and spiritual values in partnership with God and the community.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251030815010/en/

CONTACT: Media Contact:

Karen Leland,[email protected]| 480-556-7125

Chief Communications Officer, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ARIZONA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ARTS/MUSEUMS CHILDREN ENTERTAINMENT PHILANTHROPY FAMILY THEATRE MUSIC CONSUMER FOUNDATION OTHER PHILANTHROPY

SOURCE: Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

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PUB: 10/30/2025 04:00 PM/DISC: 10/30/2025 04:00 PM

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