Tucson’s south side is set to receive a boost as Ward 5 Councilmember Rocque Perez announced $300,000 in grants to support local small businesses, community programs, and neighborhood initiatives, aiming to strengthen the area’s cultural and social fabric.

Perez was appointed to the seat in May to serve out the remainder of Councilmember Richard Fimbres’ term after he resigned due to health reasons. The term is up in December, when Selina Barajas, the winner of the Democratic primary who is running unopposed in the general election, is sworn into office.

Perez said he was eager to put funding directly into the community once he took office.

“One of the things that I had told my colleagues, or who then became my colleagues, was that I knew that there was budget capacity within the Ward 5 council member's office, and that I wanted to use some kind of budget participatory process to make much needed investments in Ward 5,” Perez told Tucson Spotlight.

He wanted to do this to address what he said was the disinvestment in the city’s south side, despite it being the cultural core of Tucson.

“It's significantly disinvested, and that's reflected in everything from our streets to our schools to our service centers to our neighborhoods,” Perez said.

There is $75,000 available for small business and another $75,000 for community programs. Each organization can receive up to $5,000, with Perez saying he hopes to award 15 grants in each category.

The Safe Street Grant is also awarding two grants to Ward 5 for neighborhood associations, community groups, or homeowner association boards, up to $75,000.

“This grant process—alongside an additional $291,000 in direct investments—is part of my half-million commitment to address that gap and strengthen our community together,” Perez said in a post on Instagram.

In order to receive funding through this program, the project or business must be located in Ward Five. For mobile businesses, at least 75% of revenue must come from Ward 5.​

Last month, the Tucson City Council approved $291,851.28 in Ward 5 surplus fund designations benefiting organizations including the Sunnyside Foundation, Education Enrichment Foundation, United Hearts of Arizona, and neighborhood revitalization programs.

Perez said he felt a responsibility to support these programs after seeing how his community had been affected by policies under the Trump administration, including the discontinuation of the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Senior Mobile Meals program.

“I really want to see a continuation of very high need services to young people, families and our seniors,” Perez said. “We know that a small investment can go a long way, or at least provide some relief, while long-term solutions are sought after.”

The surplus fund designations included a $15,000 investment in the Senior Mobile Meals program to keep it running through the end of the year. Perez hopes the additional support will extend the program’s reach even further and provide similar backing for other initiatives funded or created through the grants.

“It really comes down to the intentional withdrawing of grants and people capacity that focuses on these communities, and really the relief and the … funds that … can provide a little bit more of a means to sustain some of the programs, and to maybe even kick off things that could lead to larger investments later on,” Perez said.

Ward 5 also directed funds toward Spanish-speaking programs in his community, including $10,000 to El Foco de Tucson, calling the effort particularly vital in this time of uncertainty and fear.

“I think that there is a heightened level of misinformation that folks from disinvested backgrounds can be much more susceptible to,” Perez said.

He highlighted Ward 5’s partnership with Groundswell Capital, which he describes as ground-level capacity building for nonprofits and businesses.

“I felt it incredibly important to partner with an organization that could provide long-term support,” Perez said. “With groundswell capital, I think came in a lot of existing connections they had, particularly with small businesses and other organizations that have come and sought out resources through groundswell capital that they might not have had the capacity to invest into.”

When his time on the City Council is over, Perez, who is taking a leave of absence from his position as executive director of the Metropolitan Education Commission, is eyeing a run for the region’s Education Council and potentially a move to the state or federal level.

He said he feels driven by the lack of representation he currently sees among his constituents.

“I have taken issue with the lacking representation at the state and federal level, including representatives that oversee my own address, my own congressional representation, my own state representation, and I know that I feel that I have an imperative to elevate those concerns, both in this role and anything to come after,” Perez said.

Perez’s office has already received around 20 applications from small businesses and two from nonprofits. The application will close on Oct. 1 and is available on Groundswell Capital’s page.

Emma LaPointe is a journalism, political science and German Studies major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at emma.m.lapointe@gmail.com.

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