DRIVE Electric Arizona | Built by Volunteers
A statewide nonprofit built around people, partnerships and communities.
DRIVE Electric Arizona is a virtual, all-volunteer nonprofit organization. We have no headquarters, no paid staff and no paid CEO or executive director. Our officers, Board members, chapter leaders and event volunteers contribute their time because they believe in helping Arizonans understand, experience and adopt electric transportation.
Rather than building an organization around an office in Phoenix, we're building one around people and communities across Arizona.
Volunteers Are the Organization
Our administrative work happens virtually, but our organization is built on personal relationships. We meet online—and face-to-face at rallies, Ride & Drives, EV showcases and community events throughout the state.
Today, more than 200 volunteers help DRIVE Electric Arizona and our partners conduct 60+ events annually.
And we've demonstrated what that volunteer model can accomplish.
During a recent 24-month period of our DRIVE Electric USA project, we conducted:
- 19 Ride & Drives
- 1,024 EV test drives
- 25,224 people directly reached
- 410,376 onsite impressions
Our volunteers have brought EV education from metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson to Flagstaff, Sedona, Kingman, Peach Springs and Tribal communities across Arizona.
Building Local Capacity
Our goal isn't simply to arrive in a community, conduct an event and leave.
We're building regional chapters and local partnerships that can create lasting capacity.
Along Historic Route 66, our outreach helped lead to the creation of DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona, serving Coconino County, the Verde Valley and Route 66 communities east through Winslow and Holbrook.
In 2026, our Route 66 EV Education and Outreach initiative earned national recognition at the Driving Forward Together Clean Cities and Communities Training Workshop for expanding EV awareness and infrastructure efforts across rural and historic corridors.
Working With Native Nations
Our statewide DRIVE Electric Native Nations chapter is helping us develop relationships with Arizona's 22 federally recognized Tribal Nations.
In April 2026, volunteers helped conduct the first Tribal Drive Electric Earth Month Ride & Drive at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. A week later, 17 EVs traveled to Peach Springs for an EV Showcase with the Hualapai Tribe during the Historic Route 66 Fun Run.
These aren't simply EV events. They create opportunities for conversations about transportation, infrastructure, tourism, economic development and community priorities.
That work is expanding through our selection as a 2026 Charging Smart Regional Engagement Partner. Working with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's Charging Smart program, DRIVE Electric Arizona is helping participating Native Sovereign Nations explore EV charging infrastructure and the economic opportunities it can create.
Our philosophy is simple: work with communities to build local capacity—not simply do projects for them.
The Infrastructure Behind the Volunteers
Being volunteer-run doesn't mean operating without professional accountability.
DRIVE Electric Arizona is fiscally sponsored by the Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona (TAPAZ), an Arizona nonprofit affiliated with Vitalyst Health Foundation.
TAPAZ provides financial and administrative infrastructure including accounting, financial reporting, grant tracking, payment processing and oversight. That allows our volunteers to concentrate on EV education, community relationships, chapters and statewide outreach.
We combine the reach and energy of a grassroots organization with the financial accountability of an established fiscal sponsor.
Why Funding Goes Further
Our volunteer structure changes the economics of what we do.
We certainly have expenses—insurance, event equipment, educational materials, websites, communications, technology, travel and professional services.
But much of the human effort required to deliver our programs is contributed rather than purchased. A sponsor may provide the tents, signage, equipment and promotion for an event. Volunteers provide their EVs, organize the event, talk with participants and contribute hundreds of hours of expertise.
A grant can fund a project. But the volunteers, relationships, chapters, equipment and community capacity it helps create can continue producing results long after the grant ends. The dollars provide the tools. Volunteers multiply their impact.
Powered by People
We don't measure DRIVE Electric Arizona by the size of our payroll.
We measure it by what gets done.
More communities reached.
More people experiencing EVs firsthand.
More rural and Tribal engagement.
More local chapters.
More partnerships.
More people equipped to make informed transportation decisions.
Every volunteer expands our capacity. Every chapter extends our reach. Every partnership adds expertise. Every donation, sponsorship and grant gives those volunteers more tools to work with.
No headquarters. No paid staff. No paid CEO.
Your support doesn't build a bureaucracy. It builds the mission.