As unsheltered homelessness swells across Phoenix, UMOM New Day Centers just landed a serious boost: a $1.5 million unrestricted grant over three years from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, aimed at expanding shelter capacity and family services across the city.
The private funding is designed to chip away at long waitlists, add more safe places for families to sleep and strengthen wraparound supports like job training, health care access and healthy food for parents and kids exiting homelessness.
UMOM announced the award in a Jan. 9 release, describing the three year investment as unrestricted support that lets the organization pivot quickly as needs change. The nonprofit said the grant will help reduce waitlists, grow safe housing options and expand supportive services for families, according to UMOM New Day Centers.
Monique Lopez, UMOM’s CEO, said in the release, "This unrestricted grant gives us the ability to break down barriers, stabilize families in crisis, and open the door to long-term opportunity for thousands," adding that the flexibility will help the nonprofit tackle the most urgent needs as they surface. UMOM said the gift will be spread over three years to sustain and grow its core programs.
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation described the award as part of a long-standing partnership with UMOM and highlighted its continuing investments in shelters and housing across the Valley. Bob Parsons said UMOM "embraces families at one of the toughest times," and the foundation’s announcement details the three year structure of the gift on The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation.
Why Unrestricted Funding Matters
Unrestricted grants give service providers rare breathing room. Instead of being locked into narrow program lines, organizations can plug the unglamorous but critical gaps that restricted awards often skip - things like staff coverage, lease deposits, emergency hotel rooms or rapid move-in costs that get families out of shelters and into housing fast.
UMOM operates emergency shelter, rapid re housing, workforce development and affordable housing programs that wrap families in support meant to help them exit homelessness and stay housed. Those programs and services are outlined by UMOM New Day Centers.
A City Under Strain
The Parsons grant lands at a tense moment for Phoenix. The foundation’s announcement notes that about 3,760 people were counted living unsheltered this past winter, a near 40% jump from 2024 to 2025. City officials and nonprofit partners have raced to add beds - the City of Phoenix, for example, converted office space into 20 shelter units with roughly 96 beds in late 2024 - but long waitlists and rising demand mean those new spots only partially close the gap. The City of Phoenix described that shelter expansion in a November announcement on its website.
UMOM plans to distribute the Parsons funds over the next three years, using the flexibility to shore up operations, move families into housing more quickly and scale services where the pressure is greatest. The gift highlights how private philanthropy can sometimes move faster than public funding, but providers and officials alike say long-term public investment will still be crucial if Phoenix hopes to catch up to the accelerating need.
