WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) announced that he secured the inclusion of $725,000, $325,000 and $400,000 respectively, for the Pimería Alta Historical Society and Museum Archive project in Nogales and Small Business and Co-working Center for the International Sonoran Desert Alliance in Ajo, Arizona in the 2023 Financial Services and General Government funding bill.

This funding will make a critical difference for the Pimería Historical Society and Museum to further preserve the history of the southern border region by digitizing and archiving photographs, documents, newspapers, maps and other items that tell the story of the American-Mexican border region and the American West.

It will also provide the International Sonoran Desert Alliance an opportunity to revitalize the isolated region of Ajo, Arizona with a the establishment working space to build on a nexus of micro-businesses and emerging opportunities for entrepreneurs to have access to capital, technical assistance, digital communications support, staffing assistance and shared workspace.

“I am proud to have secured this much-needed funding for these projects that will preserve and tell the story of the borderlands and promote opportunities for an equitable economic recovery for an underserved region,” said Rep. Grijalva. “I will continue to fight for our district to ensure that we get the federal funding we need to stimulate local economies, invest in sustainable infrastructure, create good-paying union jobs and provide community development and recreation.”

 “We are thankful to Rep. Grijalva for his unwavering advocacy for the rural and geographically isolated communities of Southern Arizona,” said Aaron Cooper, Executive Director of International Sonoran Desert Alliance. “Starting and running a business in a place like Ajo comes with a whole host of challenges due to imbalances in the risk-reward paradigm and an overall scarcity of resources. We believe the development of a business support center and co-working space with wraparound services for entrepreneurs can help to balance the scales and thereby build a more prosperous future for the region.”

“The Pimería Alta borderlands region has traditionally had strong connections between US and Northern Mexico and this community project funding will benefit our historical efforts immensely,” said Christine Courtland, Pimería Alta Historical Society and Museum Board of Trustees President. “We appreciate Rep. Grijalva’s support and are excited to organize and share our archival resources with a broader community to ensure the preservation of them for the future.”

Rep. Grijalva submitted several Community Project Funding requests to the Appropriations Committee. Information on the status of additional requests will be announced in the coming days. The inclusion of this funding in the Appropriations Committee draft bill is the first step in the funding process.