“Our mission is to help kids in our community.”
By their own admission, Theresa and Peter Conti first wandered into Fountain Hills because of a television restaurant review. That was in 1995, one year after the couple had moved to Arizona. Since then, the two philanthropists have been avid community supporters, donating time and money to organizations like the Fountain Hills Community Foundation.
“I like that I can give to the Fountain Hills Community Foundation,” Theresa said, “and it gets directed to the organizations in our community that really need it.”
Theresa said their philanthropic efforts began when their nephew started school and they realized how much the teachers and PTO needed.
“We don’t have kids of our own but kids and education are a big part of our philanthropy,” she said. “We have a lot of families in Fountain Hills that really need our help and the FHCF does a good job of spreading our donation among organizations that serve those families.”
Theresa, who has worked in financial/retirement services since 1990 and serves on the board of directors for the FHCF. Peter, owner of Sunray Publications, volunteers with all three schools in Fountain Hills.
The Contis set up their own foundation in 2017 in order to create a locally-focused Christmas Angel program through the Salvation Army in Fountain Hills. Once established, the couple realized the structure would also allow them to serve other kid-centric organizations such as the PTO, area children’s hospitals and the FHCF. The Conti Foundation has also supported Flutter at the Fountain.
“I was pretty poor as a kid so being able to help underprivileged kids is a really big deal,” Peter said, adding that 80% of their donations stay right here in Fountain Hills. “We came over the hill in 1995, saw the view, and have lived here ever since. We love the small town. We love the community. Our mission is to help kids in this community, in whatever manner that looks like.”