• The Energy of Community
• Community Partnerships
• Contribution Guidelines
• Community Partnership Request Guidelines
• Community Partnership
  On-Line Request

Community Partnership Request Guidelines

At The Gas Company, we receive thousands of requests each year from non-profit organizations. Because it is impossible to fund all requests, we have adopted the following criteria which guide our decisions:

 Preferences

We prefer to:

• Make direct contributions, as opposed to contributing to organizations, foundations or federated groups that exist to re-grant to other groups or causes
• Fund programs, projects or services that reach consumers or businesses with direct benefits
• Fund single-year efforts as opposed to multi-year commitments

 Exclusions

We generally exclude requests that benefit:

• Individuals, with the exception of company-sponsored scholarship programs
• Private foundations and endowment funds
• Organizations that practice discrimination based on age, gender, sexual preference, marital status, physical or mental disabilities, race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry
• Sectarian or denominational religious organizations, except for programs which are broadly promoted, available to anyone and free from religious orientation
• Political parties, candidates or partisan political organizations

 Restrictions

We generally do not provide funds for:

• General operating expenses
• Travel expenses
• Loans or loan guarantees
• Debt reduction or past operating deficits
• Liquidation of an organization
• Reducing or donating the cost of any gas or electric service that other customers must pay for, with the exception of our utility winter assistance programs
• Capital improvement or building funds

 Filling Out & Submitting Your Request

If you believe your organization has a project or program that fits within our guidelines, you are invited to submit a request.

Your request must include the following:

• A description of your organization's purpose, size and the audience it serves
• A description of theprogram or project to be funded and the audience it reaches (including target audience, ethnicity, age or other relevant criteria)
• A description of the geographic locations and areas that will be served by the project or program
• A description of the need, objectives and any relevant research that support the effort
• A current budget for your organization, including revenue sources and reserve or contingency funds
• A description of how success will be measured
• A description of the promotional activities you plan to build awareness of your project, program or even and/or a listing of sponsorship benefits
• A copy of your federal non-profit tax exemption letter from the IRS documenting 501(c)(3) status with your Federal Tax identification number

For questions, please send an electronic message to: CommunityRelations@semprautilities.com