The Avangrid Foundation, Volunteering & Contributing
At Avangrid we believe companies can – and should – make positive impacts in the communities they serve, including and beyond the services they provide. For us, this includes philanthropic giving through the Avangrid Foundation, corporate donations, employee giving, and volunteerism. We also work to understand the needs of our communities through stakeholder engagement, and we seek to create equitable economic development in our communities, for example by increasing our supplier diversity while working to create a clean energy future.
INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE AVANGRID FOUNDATION
Since 2001 Avangrid, through the Avangrid Foundation, has invested $36 million in our communities, and today it is the centerpiece of our philanthropic work. The Foundation’s mission focuses on four key pillars, including:
- Training and Research
- Biodiversity and Climate Change
- Art and Culture
- Social Action
In 2022, the Foundation provided $4.1 million to support meaningful action across these four pillars. This includes more than $1.6 million to support training and research programs and initiatives, approximately $794,000 in support of efforts to protect biodiversity and address climate change, $160,000 in support of art and culture, and nearly $1.5 million directed to organizations and initiatives addressing social action and critical social issues.
In addition to the Foundation giving, our companies provided a combined $1.2 million in corporate donations, and our employees gave nearly $253,000 to support our communities and causes. Throughout the year, the Foundation, our companies, and our employees combine their giving power to support numerous organizations doing critical work across these four key pillars. Some examples of these efforts include:
- The University of Southern Maine (USM) Foundation: To advance education and research with a specific focus on sustainability and cultivate and prepare the next generation of sustainability leaders, the Avangrid Foundation made a gift of $1.2 million to The University of Southern Maine Foundation to establish the Avangrid David Flanagan endowed professorship and scholarship in sustainability.
- Wildlife Rehabilitation: In 2022, the Foundation provided a total of $136,000 in grants to 15 wildlife rehabilitation centers as part of its Wildlife Rehabilitation Program. These grants support operational capabilities and expand outreach to improve knowledge and awareness of wildlife resources. From combating the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus and studying copper toxicity to building new shelters and purchasing nutritious food, the funds are supporting impactful and lasting changes for the good of wildlife and our environment.
- The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC): To help families facing difficult challenges in our service areas, the Avangrid Foundation granted $30,000 to the RMHCs in Connecticut, New York, and Maine. These funds will support their Pantry Pals Program, which alleviates financial burdens by providing basic provisions free of charge during a family’s stay at RMHC. This grant builds on AVANGRID’s long-standing support of RMHC, bringing the company’s total support to more than $378,000.
ENGAGING OUR EMPLOYEES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
So many of the positive social impacts we help create are driven by our employees. In 2021, we launched Energized for Good, an initiative that elevates the opportunity for Avangrid employees to volunteer and give back. This program creates volunteer options through partnerships established by the Avangrid Foundation and helps our employees maximize the impact of their volunteer work by providing a $15 donation for every hour an employee volunteers with an eligible nonprofit organization (up to 100 hours each year per employee).
This online platform is proving to be effective. In 2022, our employees volunteered for a total of 10,464 hours, well above the goal we set of 7,000 hours, during 143 company-organized events serving 243 nonprofit organizations. Their efforts also generated $132,535 donated to these organizations through Energized for Good.
We desire to support our employees’ bold, creative, and impactful volunteer efforts such as:
- Helping the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County Serve Those in Need: Through Energized for Good, NYSEG employees volunteered at this community “food hub” to help unload and organize delivery of food and healthcare items. As they worked, NYSEG volunteers came across a challenge: the YMCA had only a few freezers and refrigerators, limiting their storage capacity. Through a donation from NYSEG, the YMCA has since purchased an additional freezer and refrigerator. They also hired a local electrician to relocate all their appliances to one central location.
- Building Stronger Communities with Habitat for Humanity: While the Avangrid Foundation’s national partnership with Habitat for Humanity began in 2019, several of our operating companies have partnered with\ the organizations for much longer to help create quality, affordable housing across the country. We deepened our\ partnership with Habitat for Humanity this past year by supporting 31 volunteer build days with local Habitat chapters across our service areas where our employees volunteered 1,153 hours of their time.
