Who We Are

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Founders Julie and Harvey Grady, saw a great need in Yavapai County and took action in 2000 by creating Cornucopia Community Advocates <”CCA”>. Their commitment: to improve communities by promoting development and sharing of community resources in partnership with other organizations, with emphasis on creating self- sufficiency, collaboration, and opportunities for altruistic community service.

And so they have.

Starting with community networking meetings to identify the most urgent community needs, they partnered with Yavapai College to bring ASU non-profit training programs to Yavapai County. They offered HMath training programs for High School children – successfully teaching them how to reduce stress and achieve better performance.

Since then capacity building has been the driving force of Cornucopia and we have continued to develop countywide solutions for an ever expanding issue; food insecurities, with a special focus on children and have developed and implemented programs to such as Food Councils and Food Recovery Programs just to name a few. They have strived with great success for over 17 years to aid many grass roots organizations in service to our communities and help them realize their vision, becoming their own 5013(c) non-profits and continuing to help improve the quality of life for so many.

CCA continues involvement in direct service programs, community systems and initiative co-development such as Yavapai Food Council, NARJ – Northern Arizona Restorative Justice, PARI – Prescott Area Restorative Justice and the Food Recovery Program also supported by SEDI (Sustainable Economic Development Initiative, Flagstaff, AZ). These represent only a few projects CCA has assisted in the development of and our support of community-based programs continually expands.

CCA is a resource available to grass roots organizations (non 5013(c) organizations) that require strong support, a fiduciary agent to empower them to receive tax deductable donations and we offer additional services to assist with grant writing and program development. Our Affiliates have received in aggregate hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and grants under the umbrella of CCA as well as direct support, promotion and successful counseling from the Cornucopia team and Board Members.

As a Community Foundation we have provided support for over 60 tax-exempt public charities serving tens of thousands of people and who share a common interest—improving the quality of life in their area. Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help their communities meet local challenges. We are open to supporting countless organizations that benefit from having Cornucopia Community Advocates as their fiduciary agent and support system.

Advocacy and community service is something we do every day, not just Monday through Friday. We see a need in our communities we pull resources together to address it.

At the end of the day, we are only successful because we have a tremendous support group of donors, community members, co-developers, volunteers and we thank you for helping us, help them.

 Board Members:

  • Harvey Grady, President

Harvey and Julie have carried out their vision and commitment to service by improving communities through their nonprofit organization, Cornucopia Community Advocates. They promote development and sharing of community resources in partnership with other organizations, with emphasis on creating self- sufficiency, cooperation, and opportunities for altruistic community service.

  • Bill Erwin, Vice President
  • Julie Grady, Secretary
  • Ralph Bauer, Member
  • Jawn McKinley, Member
  • John Neville, Member
  • Jennifer Young, Member

Patrice Isham, Office Manager

Patrice is native to Arizona and is familiar with most communities in Northern Arizona.  She is new to Cornucopia Community Advocates this year, as well as the community of nonprofit organizations.

Patrice is developing a deep appreciation for the capacity of Cornucopia Community Advocates to make changes and bring our communities together through love and compassion for others.  She provides administrative support to our team and our affiliates.  She feels ultimately rewarded in her newest endeavors of service to the community.