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Our Key Focus Areas

Most of TEP's charitable contributions address a need in one of the following areas, which are addressed quarterly in most cases:

Community Assistance – 1^st and 4^th Quarters
January/February/March and October/ November/December

Programs and services for limited-income families and other vulnerable communities. We support nonprofit groups focused on food security, homelessness, housing stability, domestic violence, poverty, foster care, child abuse prevention/treatment and other critical issues.

Environmental Protection – 2^nd Quarter
April/May/June

Local or statewide programs and projects that protect and preserve our air, land and water as well as wildlife and their habitat.

Education – 3rd Quarter
July/August/September

Activities that support achievement for students from pre-K through 12^th-grade, including but not limited to classroom resources and field trips, literacy, teacher assistance, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs that encourage critical thinking skills. Successful funding requests must tie directly to core school curriculum. We also consider funding for secondary education, scholarships and activities that promote diverse workforce development. Individual schools are not eligible to apply.

Racial and Social Equity
Considered upon request

Programs, services and efforts that promote a more inclusive community and embrace diversity, equity and inclusion.

Types of Contributions

TEP invests in our community through several types of assistance:

• Financial contributions to support nonprofit programs, services or special events. Requests for contributions may made throughout the year, preferably during the funding quarter appropriate for the project or program (see focus area list above).
• In-kind donations include non-monetary valuable goods such as computer equipment, office furniture, printing of materials, meeting/event space or use of operational equipment, if available.
• Corporate memberships are requests for TEP’s annual corporate membership with community organizations, such as chambers of commerce, industry and professional associations and business groups, as appropriate.
• Employee volunteer projects are employee-driven initiatives to support and assist charities with their community events, fundraisers and program services. These requests are typically coordinated by TEP's Community Action Team (CAT) employee volunteers, and require that a TEP employee be affiliated with the request and willing to be engaged with the requested activity.
• Sponsorships support events and activities that are mutually beneficial to TEP and the requesting organization and may include the promotion of goods, products or services. The organization promoting the sponsorship is responsible for providing TEP with a record of the value received through any sponsorship for tax purposes.
• Board Participation by TEP employees allows them to share their professional expertise and leadership skills to benefit nonprofit organizations. Employee service on various boards and committees may occur through their own personal involvement with an organization, or nonprofits may request that TEP invite an employee with certain expertise to serve on their board. Employee participation on boards does not guarantee a financial contribution from TEP.

Year-Round Giving

Rather than restricting requests to specific periods, TEP will consider donation requests submitted throughout the year. Eligible nonprofit organizations that meet our Corporate Giving Guidelines and that have not already been invited by TEP to request funding may submit an application for funding up to $5,000 once per calendar year. Please understand that we receive many more requests than we are able to fund annually.

TEP prefers to fund requests that limit administrative costs to 15 percent or less of the amount requested.  We prefer that the majority of any contribution from TEP be dedicated to direct program services, including personnel.

Requests that closely align with our philanthropic focus areas are most likely to receive funding. We encourage applicants to provide a minimum of three years of audited financial statements. Nonprofit groups that TEP is unable to fund are encouraged to participate in Social Venture Partners and the Alliance for Arizona Nonprofits/Arizona Gives Day, each of which is supported by TEP contributions.

Corporate Giving Guidelines

TEP prefers that recipients:

• Operate within TEP’s service territory or in communities where our company’s facilities are located
• Be designated as a nonprofit organization by the IRS with a current EIN number and compliant with all state and federal regulations
• Devote less than 10 percent of their budget to services outside of TEP’s service territory

In most cases, TEP does not fund:

• Pass-through proposals where the recipient re-grants donated funds to another organization, unless the request is a collaborative proposal
• Religious, fraternal, social or recreational activities
• Political or partisan organizations or candidates
• Individuals
• Individual K-12 grade schools
• Charities focused on combatting a single disease or medical condition, unless they are championed by our Community Action Team’s employee volunteers
• Endowments
• Adult sports and recreation
• Entertainment and recreation events
• Travel