The Partnership History


An Opportunity Existed

In the early 2000s, former Big Park Council president, the late Dr. Mel Copen, clearly saw the opportunity to unite the Village. As a result of Mel’s inspiration, Sedona Village Partnership was created in 2012. Anchored by our core values: Connect, Educate, Respect, Collaborate, and Accomplish, our shared purpose is: “To serve as a catalyst to inspire thoughtful leadership and informed action in our community, to forge collaborative relationships, to build trust, to exchange ideas and information, and to find solutions for Village challenges as well as our dreams.” This is aptly summarized in our vision statement: “Connecting the Community.”

Building Momentum

Since our founding, we have provided funding and volunteers to support a variety of worthy projects in the Village. Most recently, we

  • 2019 — co-sponsored the Verde Valley Forum on Land Use,

  • 2020 — awarded a reimbursable stimulus grant to Sedona Village Learning Center and held a fundraiser for the school “Country Elegant Paella Party”,

  • 2020 — co-sponsored Halloween Pet Parade – a real hit with families in the community,

  • 2021 — sponsored “An Evening of Argentine Dining and Dancing” to raise funds for Sedona Arts Academy,

  • 2021 — coordinated volunteers for the 1st Annual Rotten Johnny’s Wood-Fired Pizza Pie and Geter Plumbing Golf Tournament to secure scholarships for less-advantaged students to attend Sedona Village Learning Center,

  • 2023, 2022, 2021 — co-sponsored the Annual Community BBQ ,

  • 2021 — and we are collaborating with Big Park Council to create a Disaster Resource Repository to provide the information needed in a Big Park community emergency.

Going Forward

Be sure to look for the announcements of new initiatives such as our support for the Verde Valley Sanctuary’s 30th Anniversary fundraiser on October 1, 2023, and our annual presentation of the “Shining Stars” awards – showcasing the remarkable members of our community. Because we are autonomous, without commitment to any other national or state organization, we are able to operate independently and with agility to respond to emerging community ideas and needs.

Sedona Village Partnership is an Arizona nonprofit corporation and a federal 501(c) (3) charitable organization. We are governed by a Board of Directors that sets annual priorities and makes financial decisions.