Staff Reports | Community Updates
Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, a Phoenix‑headquartered nonprofit serving Arizona’s foster care community, released its 2025 impact data detailing outcomes across its core programs.
In total, the organization served 3,129 unduplicated foster children and young adults ages 0 to 26 through its Childhood Activities Program, Post‑Secondary Program and Keys to Success initiative, according to a press release.
The Childhood Activities Program supports youth ages 0 to 20 by covering costs for enrichment opportunities not funded by the state, including items and experiences such as bicycles, athletic equipment, textbooks, summer camps, special‑event clothing, car seats for young children and school picture fees.
During 2025, the program provided funding to 2,671 foster youth across Arizona, delivering assistance 5,593 times. In surveys of caregivers whose children received support, 98.2% agreed the resources enriched the child’s life.
The Post‑Secondary Program offers financial and personal support to current and former foster youth ages 18 to 26 pursuing higher education. In addition to covering tuition and fees, the program includes regular check‑ins, scholar outings and care packages. In 2025, Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation served 219 students through the program, with 112 receiving scholarships. The nonprofit awarded 178 scholarships and provided emergency and enrichment funding to 328 youth for needs such as groceries, gas and auto repairs.
Keys to Success, a program designed for foster youth ages 16 to 26 transitioning out of care, supports participants in achieving education and career goals, securing housing and developing financial literacy. In 2025, the program served 644 foster youth, a 36% increase from 473 participants in 2024. Ninety‑six percent of participants secured employment within one year of program completion, and 170 youth completed financial literacy courses.
Housing assistance through the program helped prevent homelessness for 229 participants.
“AFFCF takes a ‘bookend‑to‑bookend’ approach to supporting youth through the foster care experience, as each stage of their life matters,” Luis De La Cruz, president and CEO of Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, said. “Whether it’s meeting a youth’s emotional needs through the Childhood Activities program, and then later helping them graduate and get their education for a stable adulthood, we’re able to be a consistent, supportive presence,” Mr. De La Cruz said.
Mr. De La Cruz is a former Arizona foster youth and a past participant in the organization’s Post‑Secondary Program, through which he graduated from Arizona State University in 2013 and gained professional experience before later leading the nonprofit.
“Our three programs are structured to address the challenges children and young adults face before, during and after the foster care experience, and are so effective because many members of AFFCF leadership, staff and program managers – myself included – have lived experience with foster care,” Mr. De La Cruz said. “We are an organization created by and for this community.”
Beyond its core programs, Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation provided additional support to the foster community in 2025. When Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were temporarily suspended during a late‑year government shutdown, the nonprofit distributed emergency grocery funding to 350 kinship care families.
During its Giving Tuesday campaign, the organization raised $30,000 to fund three weeks of groceries for 120 young adults aging out of foster care and living independently.
In 2026, the organization plans to continue serving Arizona’s foster care community, with a focus on supporting youth development and successful transitions to adulthood.
