Mission: To enhance and strengthen the quality of life for the people in Maricopa County through the support of health care and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations.

Background:
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust was created in 1995 by Virginia Galvin Piper, the widow of Motorola founder Paul Galvin. Ten years after Galvin's death in 1959, she married Kenneth Piper, vice president of Motorola, who passed away in 1975. Following Virginia Piper's death in 1999, the trust received $589 million from her estate, making it the largest foundation in Arizona and one of the one hundred largest in the nation. Since opening its doors to the public, in September 2000, it has awarded grants totaling $140 million.

Outstanding Web Features:
The trust recently published its first electronic newsletter (5 pages, PDF), detailing its work and other news of interest to the nonprofit community. The site also provides information on the Piper Fellows program; publications, including the trust's 2003-2005 biennial report (116 pages, PDF); and a description of its grantmaking programs, which focus on early childhood, youth, older adults, and arts and culture in Maricopa County, which includes the state capital, Phoenix. In addition, the site supplies a fact sheet about the trust and its code of ethics.