Highlights
- Fiesta Sports Foundation is distributing $1.75 million to 500 Arizona K-12 teachers at $2,500 per grant.
- Public and charter school teachers statewide can apply through the end of September; winners are chosen by lottery.
- A three-time program winner says the application takes 15 minutes, one of the simplest grants she has filed.
- The foundation, home to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Rate Bowl, runs the program as part of its broader education-support mission.
The Fiesta Sports Foundation is putting $1.75 million into Arizona classrooms this fall, opening applications for the 11th annual Wishes for Teachers program that will award 500 public and charter K-12 teachers $2,500 each for classroom use.
Applications are open now and close at the end of September. Winners are selected through a lottery, not a competitive review process.
Kristina Chumpol, chief impact officer and chief of staff for the foundation, framed the program as direct action on a statewide need. "These teachers need our support. Education in the state of Arizona, it needs some support. So, this program is a way for Fiesta to be able to show up, really put in action what we mean when we say we are supporting education," Chumpol said.
Wendy Ramos, a physical education teacher at Washington High School with nearly 30 years in the classroom, has won the grant three times and is applying again this year. She used previous awards to purchase fitness equipment and heart rate monitors now used by more than 200 freshman girls she teaches. Ramos described the application as among the least burdensome she has encountered: "Honestly, this is probably the absolute easiest thing I've ever done as far as a grant is concerned. I've written quite a few, and this one is 15 minutes max."
Teachers are permitted to apply every year, and past winners are eligible. The foundation also runs the Empowering Diversity Scholarship, now in its seventh annual cycle, as part of its broader education portfolio.
The application deadline is the end of September.
Sources
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- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 02/09/2026 14:29
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 02/09/2026 14:29. Every claim traces to a source.
