UES Contribution Guidelines
For Grants that Make a Difference, click here.
Contribution Guidelines
Tucson Electric Power Company - UniSource Energy Gas -
UniSource Energy Electric - Southwest Energy Solution
Overview
- All donation requests are approved or denied based on application criteria and UniSource Energy Corporation's (UNS) available resources.
- UNS operates on a calendar year.
- Incomplete or inaccurate information will eliminate your organization from consideration.
- See tep.com or uesaz.com for complete information about all company programs and guidelines.
In addition to providing safe, innovative and reliable energy services, UniSource Energy Corporation (UNS) is committed to generously investing in the communities where we work and serve. There are several ways to connect to UNS, please review the guidelines and overview for guidance.
Thank YOU for your partnership to build stronger and healthier communities!
Volunteer Program Overview
The Community Action Team (CAT)
UNS has embraced and empowered employee volunteerism through the Community Action Team (CAT) Program. Guided by regional steering committees and staffed by Community Relations, CAT provides connections and support for employees to volunteer their time and expertise to community partners - and tap company resources as appropriate to assist the volunteer activity.
Organizations are welcome to request assistance from CAT for their nonprofit volunteer activity. In the completion of the Request for Volunteers form, there is a place to indicate if a financial contribution is being requested to support the volunteer involvement (i.e. funds needed to purchase paint for volunteers to use painting the classroom).
UNS has a strict non-solicitation policy, employees may not fundraise for their charity or event at work or using workplace resources. So when employees choose to support a nonprofit fundraiser (i.e. charity walk), the Company will donate to the charity in place of employees paying/raising a participation fee.
Process:
- employee or an agency can initiate the request by completing the Request for Volunteers form.
- Only projects approved by the local CAT Committee will go forward. The Committee, in conjunction with Community Relations, will determine if/at what level the funding request associated with the approved CAT project.
- It is recommended that Request for Volunteers be sent to the CAT Committee Chair at least 5 weeks prior to event date. Due to the high volume of requests, the more lead time the better.
Youth Sports Grant
- Employees coaching or volunteering for a nonprofit youth organization may submit a Youth Grants Request Form and substitute w-9 form to the Director of Community Relations to request a donation.
- This is an internal document; request MUST be initiated by the employee volunteer.
Employee Serving on a Nonprofit Board
UNS' most valuable resource is our employees. The Company encourages employees to participate in community leadership by serving on the board or a committee of a nonprofit organization. Employees serving in governance positions should contact the Director of Community Relations to explore resources that may be available to their agency. In general the company will give some level of contribution in support of volunteer leadership, grant higher priority for donation of in-kind services (i.e. printing, salvage equipment) and seek employee's input on agency's grant or volunteer requests.
Grants That Make a Difference
Grants That Make a Difference (GTMD) is a competitive grants process for organizations serving at risk persons in UNS service territories. GTMD has specific RFP timeline, application. See details at tep.com or uesaz.com.
General Contribution Guidelines
Note GTMD has DIFFERENT application & guidelines
Eligibility
- Programs directly benefiting customers and communities in UNS service territory or where company facilities are located, are eligible for consideration.
- Eligible organizations must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code, educational or government.
- Eligible organizations will have been operating in good standing at least three years.
Focus Areas For Funding Considerations
- Environmental programs that are engaged in conservation activities.
- Programs to support basic health, safety and well-being.
- Community development and civic engagement that have UNS upper management leadership involvement.
- Child welfare and family strengthening programs.
- Education, especially areas that promote academic progress in science and engineering.
- Science/technology educational enrichment.
Significant Factors In Evaluating Funding Requests
- Impact on the community and practicality of successful results.
- Employee volunteer involvement (CAT).
- Number of people served; strive for broad-based community impact.
- Programmatic strength and financial viability of organization.
- Partnerships that promote collaborations, reduce duplication of services and increase agency capacity.
- Generally organizations will not be funded multiple times in a calendar year.
Restrictions
In general the company will not contribute to the following:
- Organizations that are outside of service territories or company facility locations
- Religious, fraternal, social or recreational activities
- Political or partisan organizations or candidates
- Individuals
- Individual schools K-12 (all schools in UNS service area are offered safety, environmental and science related curricula and supplemental resources at no charge. See websites for details.)
- Organizations serving people suffering from a single disease or medical condition, or for medical research (exception are CAT projects i.e. walks, etc.)
- Endowments
- Capital Campaigns
- Travel funds of any kind
- Adult sports
- Entertainment/Recreation events
- Agencies that contribute more than 10 percent of budget to outside service territory
Application Process
Requests for contributions (financial, equipment and in-kind) must be made in writing on agency letterhead, or appropriate form (i.e. Request for volunteers), and include:
- Concise description of the project or event for which you are requesting funds or materials, including purpose, expected impact and timetable.
- The amount requested.
- Location and composition of the population to be served by the program.
- Name of executive director.
- Description of how gift will be acknowledged.
- Proof of tax exempt status and ability to return signed w-9 in a timely manner.
For more information contact:
Sharon Foltz
sfoltz@tep.com
Tucson Electric Power
UE102 - P.O. Box 711
Tucson, Arizona 85702
Phone: 520-884-3740
Fax: 520-884-3606
For a .pdf version of this document, click here (PDF).
