Meet ASCPA Members Helping the West Valley Grow

Ayres-Benavidez monitors grants provided by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; as well as the COVID-response funding under the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These grants have a wide array of uses, from helping cities recover from the economic impacts of a lockdown to housing and additional homelessness resources.

“As long as I help maintain compliance, our city keeps receiving money, and as long as we keep receiving money, we can help people,” says Ayres-Benavidez. “I help make sure the funding gets to the nonprofits that can get it to the community and do the most good.”

Without strong compliance systems for grants like the ones Ayres-Benavidez oversees, substantial funding could be cut from nonprofit agencies that rely on it to help low-income and vulnerable residents. The rules and priorities have changed over the years, but often communities can locally control the use of these funds to serve the greatest needs.

“That makes a difference in the community for the people who need a hand up to get themselves restabilized and moving again,” Ayres-Benavidez explains. “For example, many seniors are having trouble with affordable housing, and homelessness is an issue. Without these funds, we would have difficulty addressing some of those needs.”

Some of Peoria’s funding is used for social services, such as senior day center services, case management for the homeless and education on fair housing rights via nonprofit programs. There are more projects that Ayres-Benavidez has touched within the last year: renovations at a Boys and Girls Club, home repairs with Habitat for Humanity and the list goes on.

In any given year, Ayres-Benavidez has as many as 30-40 grant contracts active between the federal and local grant funding, each with its own touchpoints throughout the year. Most partnerships need her support during the annual funding cycle through writing contracts, reviewing billings and referring clients to ensure compliance.

“The type of grants we have do a lot in the community, and they are sub-granted to nonprofits,” says Ayres-Benavidez. “The city of Peoria is very citizen-centric, so we get calls all the time from people who need assistance. On any given day, we might take a call from someone who needs help with rent or maybe a food box, so we work with nonprofits that can provide these services.”

Ayres-Benavidez has always worked in regulation and compliance. She started her career with the Arizona Auditor General’s Office working on regulatory compliance, accounting and procedures manuals, and in partnership with many local governments. She went on to work with HUD grant programs at the city of Glendale and Maricopa County, and also worked at a nonprofit, utilizing her knowledge of developing and implementing compliance procedures.

“I have been lucky enough to see it now from all sides: the regulatory side, the pass through side and to see it from the ultimate recipient side,” says  Ayres-Benavidez. “It helps me think about how we work to build better systems so nonprofits can be compliant and still get the work done.”

Still, Ayres-Benavidez knows that there is more need than the available funding can provide. Ultimately, the decision to decide funding priorities is up to policymakers and city and state leaders.

“I help the city by providing information to the city council and management so they can make those important decisions,” Ayres-Benavidez says. “It’s about keeping your eye on the community need and making sure the money gets where it’s most needed.”

Her experience working with HUD grants has also provided the opportunity to work on the great need for people facing homelessness. Just a few weeks prior, her staff organized a Homeless Outreach Provider Event that brought a number of nonprofit providers and partners together to offer services to unhoused citizens to help them find shelter, begin case management or get their driver’s license.

“Every single person has a different reason why they’re on the street and a different story. You can’t lump them together,” Ayres-Benavidez says. “I’ve seen all the hard work that goes in behind the scenes to help them. It’s not about picking them up and taking them to a shelter, but I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t had a chance to work so closely with the nonprofits who work on this issue every day.”

She is proud that her work in finance enables projects that, in the long term, can bring solutions to residents of her city.

“When I say I do grants compliance, I am, but there’s more to it than that. This is also about the people we help too,” she says.