Community Partnership Report - Giving Back to Our Communities
TEP's corporate philanthropy and employee volunteerism help local nonprofit agencies improve the quality of life in our community.
The most current information about TEP contributions and grant guidelines is available here. Agencies are encouraged to view the eligibility criteria to determine how TEP can help. Our funding is focused on three areas:
- Supporting employee volunteer involvement
- Supporting major community initiatives like the Regional Transportation Authority or economic development efforts
- Grants That Make a Difference
Community Action Team
TEP's corporate volunteer program, the Community Action Team (CAT), is recognized as one of the most effective programs of its kind in the country.
Information and forms to request TEP volunteer involvement are available at tep.com. Due to the volume of community need, all volunteer projects must be screened by the CAT Steering Committee.
TEP employees are encouraged to devote their time to the causes closest to their hearts. One CAT volunteer might choose to pound nails for Habitat for Humanity, another might opt to serve on an agency's board of directors. TEP supports these efforts with charitable funding to the agency and organizational support for volunteer projects. TEP is proud to be a mentor for area businesses starting employee volunteer programs. The company is a founding member of the Southern Arizona Volunteer Management Association.
TEP's employee-driven community service efforts have produced remarkable results. In 2008, TEP employees joined their friends and family in contributing 33,000 hours to charitable efforts that benefited nearly 300 nonprofit groups in Tucson and the White Mountain area of eastern Arizona, where TEP operates the Springerville Generating Station.
TEP's CAT program has won nationwide acclaim. In 2004, the national Points of Light Foundation recognized TEP with its Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs - making TEP the first two time winner of the prestigious award. In 2006, UniSource Energy received the National Corporate Advocate of the Year award from the National Child Welfare League.
- View the list of nonprofit organizations that TEP helped in 2008.
- View the list of organizations in which TEP employees served as officers, on executive committees and in similar leadership roles.
Corporate Philanthrophy
The financial support we provide to local charities is typically directed to support the efforts of TEP's Community Action Team (CAT), our employee volunteer program. Our goal is to effectively match company resources — including people, funds, relationships, donated material and information — to our community's needs.
In 2008 alone, TEP donated more than $500,000 to nonprofit organizations. This figure does not include the value of our employees' volunteer hours. We also provided significant support for scholarship programs that are helping hundreds of children attend high-quality schools.
TEP also developed the Grants That Make a Difference program — a competitive grants process for nonprofit agencies that help people afflicted by homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, child abuse and other social problems. The goal is to encourage collaboration in providing services and to leverage resources as effectively as possible.
A local committee of employee volunteers selects grant recipients. TEP also provides free grant-writing workshops to increase the fundraising capabilities of the nonprofit agencies. In November 2008, TEP awarded $100,000 to local nonprofit agencies that help at-risk youth, seniors and families in need. Since its inception in 2001, GTMD has funded $751,000 to approximately 85 nonprofit agencies, often leveraging additional grant money or volunteer involvement.
Bruce Bayly powers up a static electricity demonstration at the 2007 Grants that Make a Difference ceremony. Bayly, a University of Arizona mathematics professor, is also an instructor for the Physics Factory, a nonprofit organization that seeks to raise students' interest in science through hands-on demonstrations. The group has received more than $12,400 in grants from TEP over the last four years.
Supervisor Dan Wilhelm and volunteer Kyle Reber upgrade a Tucson home in 2007 for Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona. The nonprofit organization can respond immediately to requests from the public for emergency improvements like building wheelchair ramps for seniors coming home from the hospital. TEP’s Grant of $10,000 helped the organization outfit a truck with tools.
