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UniSource is dedicated to improving the community where we live, work and play through the strategic support of community partners that have the greatest impact on our areas of focus: community assistance, education and the environment.

The majority of our corporate giving goes to organizations whose work aligns with these priority areas. We typically initiate donations to community partners with whom we have an established relationship and to organizations supported by our employee volunteers. We encourage nonprofit groups to work together to stretch limited resources and avoid duplication of services.

All contributions come from corporate resources, not customers’ rates.

Our Key Focus Areas

Most of UniSource'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-March and October-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-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-September

Activities that support pre-K through 12^th-grade education and learning, 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.

Types of Contributions

UniSource 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 membership requests for a corporate UniSource membership to community organizations, such as chambers, 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 UniSource's Community Action Team (CAT) employee volunteers, and require that a UniSource employee be affiliated with group’s activity.
• Sponsorships support events and activities that are mutually beneficial to UniSource and the requesting organization and may include the promotion of goods, products or services. The organization promoting the sponsorship is responsible for providing UniSource with a record of the value received through any sponsorship for tax purposes.
• Board Participation by UniSource 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 UniSource invite an employee with certain expertise to serve on their board. Employee participation on boards does not guarantee a financial contribution from UniSource.

Year-Round Giving

Rather than restricting requests to specific periods, UniSource will consider donation requests submitted throughout the year. Eligible nonprofit organizations that meet our Corporate Giving Guidelines and have not already been invited to request funding may submit an application to request funding up to $2,500 once per calendar year. Please understand that we receive many more requests than we are able to fund annually.

UniSource 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 UniSource 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 UniSource is unable to fund are encouraged to participate in the Alliance for Arizona Nonprofits/Arizona Gives Day, which is  supported by UniSource contributions.

Corporate Giving Guidelines

UniSource prefers that recipients:

• Operate within UniSource’s service territories
• 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 budgets to services outside of UniSource’s service territories

In most cases, UniSource 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