FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 24 2016
News Media Contact: Joseph Barrios, (520) 884-3725, jbarrios@tep.com

Tucson, Ariz. – Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will award $250,000 this year to help local nonprofit groups improve education, protect our environment and expand limited-income assistance through its new Community Impact Grants.

TEP Community Impact Grants are available to organizations in TEP’s service territory and in the White Mountains communities around TEP’s Springerville Generating Station. The expanded program replaces the company’s longstanding Grants that Make a Difference program, which provided $101,000 last year.

“We want to increase our positive impact in areas where we’ve focused our philanthropic support, including education, environmental protection and community assistance,” said David G. Hutchens, TEP’s President and CEO. “We’re committed to improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.”

Application guidelines, forms and other details will be available on tep.com beginning Wednesday, June 1. Applications must be submitted online at tep.com/community by July 27 to be considered for funding. To encourage early entries, eligible nonprofit organizations that submit completed applications by 5 p.m. on June 27 – one month early – will be entered into a drawing for a $1,000 donation. Applications will be reviewed through September, and grants will be awarded this fall.

Additional details about the grants will be presented to local nonprofit groups during a breakfast meeting on Thursday, May 26 from 8-9:30 a.m. at TEP’s headquarters, 88 E. Broadway. Prospective applicants may send up to two representatives to the meeting. To RSVP, please email cgottshall@tep.com by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24. The same details also will be posted later that day on tep.com.

“There’s no limit to how much of our total funding an agency can request, so we’re asking our community partners to think big and use TEP Community Impact Grants to achieve real, measurable results that improve the lives of those in need,” Hutchens said.

Grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations that provide services in three focus areas:

• Education. Examples of eligible programs include enrichment activities for preschool through 12th grades, payment for classroom resources and field trips, teacher assistance and science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) activities.
• Environmental Protection and Sustainability. Local or statewide programs and projects that support efforts to protect and preserve our air, land, water and habitat may qualify.
• Community Assistance. Qualifying programs provide services for limited-income families and individuals affected by homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, child abuse and substance abuse.

TEP Community Impact Grants are awarded through a competitive process. Members of TEP’s employee volunteer program and other stakeholders choose grant recipients by evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of programs. Recipients must demonstrate financial and organizational stability and meet other criteria. Agencies often use their grants as matching funds to seek additional funding from other sources.

TEP Community Impact Grants, like other community investments, are funded from corporate resources, not customers’ rates. TEP’s sister company, UniSource Energy Services (UES), also has expanded grant funding for nonprofit agencies in its service territories.

TEP’s award-winning community service efforts include direct contributions, in-kind services and volunteer support for local nonprofit groups. In 2015, TEP and UES contributed nearly $2 million to charitable causes. Company employees also joined their friends and family in contributing 25,000 volunteer hours to hundreds of nonprofit groups.

TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 417,000 customers in southern Arizona. To learn more, visit tep.com. TEP, UES and their parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com.