
Tucson Electric Power contributed more than $1.6 million and thousands of volunteer hours in 2024 to help 167 nonprofit groups support community vitality, education, environmental stewardship, and racial and social equity.
“Our local nonprofit partners work daily to address the most pressing needs in our community,” said Shea-Lynn Hoisington, TEP’s Outreach Project Coordinator. “Through TEP’s resources, both financial and employee volunteerism, we work collaboratively toward a brighter future together.”
TEP funded a range of organizations, projects and events last year, including efforts to address housing and food insecurity, deliver educational programs and protect the environment.
Focus Areas
To promote community vitality, we supported services ranging from financial counseling to food for seniors and limited-income families.
To support the environment and promote sustainability, we supported cleanups and other improvements to trails, creeks and open spaces and helped enhance local gardens and outdoor venues.
We also donated about $156,000 to initiatives that advance racial and social equity through education workshops and events celebrating diverse holidays, such as Chinese New Year, Juneteenth and Mexican Independence Day.
Our education investments supported lessons on financial literacy, as well as science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM) courses.
TEP’s philanthropic contributions come from corporate resources and are not recovered through customers’ rates. Local charities use our contributions to sustain programs with measurable success built over many years.
Recipients of our largest donations included:
- Wildfire, a statewide nonprofit organization that provides utility bill-payment assistance to low-income residents – $380,000
- Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona – $55,000
- Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation (SARSEF) – $50,000
- Pima County School Superintendent’s Office – $50,000
- Interfaith Community Services – $40,000
- University of Arizona for raptor protection services – $32,808
- Social Venture Partners – $30,000
- African American Museum of Southern Arizona – $25,000
- Arizona Land and Water Trust – $25,000
- Pima Council on Aging – $25,000
Wildfire provided bill payment assistance to 489 local households last year. In addition, part of TEP’s contribution to Wildfire supported its Heat Relief Initiative, a collaboration with other Arizona utilities to replace non-functioning air conditioning units for low-income residents.
“This contribution has been crucial to meeting the needs of vulnerable and low-income families in a year that was the hottest on record. We’re grateful for that,” said Kelly McGowan, Wildfire’s Executive Director.
Impact on Local Initiatives
To support education, funding to the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office enhanced teacher training in STEM, along with wellness and social-emotional learning. TEP served as the gold sponsor for the Celebrating Resilience Summit, which provided professional development for 300 educators. The program helped them explore how a resilient school culture with a focus on connection can empower students and support teachers.
Dr. Leslie Anway, the office’s Director of Resilient Schools, said the summit would not have happened without TEP’s support.
“I’m so grateful because this summit has made such an impact, as educators take these concepts back to their schools,” Anway said. “It’s important for educators to know that a large corporation is interested in and cares about what is happening in the field of education.”
In support of environmental stewardship, TEP provided funding to the Arizona Land and Water Trust to rebuild agricultural wells on Sopori Farm in Amado.
“TEP’s generous investment in the re-building of the Sopori Creek watershed helps enhance the native plant habitat that serves as a vital wildlife corridor in the area, in addition to replenishing groundwater,” said Michael McDonald, the trust’s Executive Director. “We thank TEP for its longstanding commitment to conservation in Southern Arizona.”
Donations were given throughout TEP’s electric service area from the Marana and Oro Valley areas to the north and Green Valley and Sahuarita to the south.
Beyond the Tucson area, TEP supported 20 organizations and schools in the White Mountains community around our Springerville Generating Station. We also contributed to three organizations in rural New Mexico near our Oso Grande wind farm.
Volunteer Service
TEP values our employees’ commitment to community service. Last year, 448 active volunteers donated 13,146 hours to causes they care about.
Some of the organizations and community projects we support are chosen by TEP’s Community Action Team, comprised of employee-led committees that organize volunteer and donation activities to benefit the causes closest to their hearts. Last year, we provided $102,000, plus volunteer hours, to 23 Tucson-area organizations through those teams.
In addition, we invite employees who meet certain volunteer thresholds to apply for grants in support of the nonprofit organizations of their choice. Through our Dollars for Doers program, we provided $11,100 through grants of $100 to $500 each to 29 groups in the Tucson area.
“Local employees are deeply engaged with volunteer efforts and dedicate hundreds of hours to positively impact where we live, work, and play,” said Tara Barrera, TEP Community Program Coordinator. “Through these programs, employees can specifically direct where these funds are invested in nonprofit programs.”
Organizations seeking funding, in-kind assistance and volunteers can learn how to request support online at tep.com/community. Donations are made primarily through an invitation by TEP to apply.