NSTAR has a long tradition of investment in the community. The NSTAR Foundation supports local organizations in the company’s service territory that improve the quality of life for our customers.
The NSTAR Foundation provides grants to a wide variety of organizations, from health and social service organizations, as well as youth programs and services for the economically disenfranchised. The common denominator for recipient organizations is that they serve a large cross-section of NSTAR customers.
Decision criteria includes:
- Tax Status - An organization must have IRS 501(c)3 status. However, foundations and religiously-focused groups will not qualify for funding.
- Geographic Location - The organization must be based in an NSTAR community and broadly serve NSTAR customers.
- Specific Program - To insure that our contribution is used to positively impact a particular need, we prefer to support specific programs rather than general operations.
- Strategy - Programs must have measurable goals and objectives that relate to a focus area of the NSTAR Foundation. There must be a realistic strategy for achieving those goals, and the program must be sustainable. Other potential sources of income, a sufficient staff, and regularly occurring activities in the community will also be considered.
- Collaboration: The Foundation encourages community organizations with similar missions to work together to achieve their goals.
- Employee Involvement - Volunteer involvement is an important part of the NSTAR Foundation giving strategy. Opportunities for NSTAR employee involvement are an important consideration.
- Visibility – It is important that our customers know when we are serving our community. We ask for your help in letting them know.
- Need - A proposal should clearly illustrate a demonstrated need for the program and avoid duplicating an existing effort.
- Future Considerations - Foundation support is not guaranteed beyond the year in which the contribution is made. Therefore, it is very important to demonstrate that the program is sustainable if Foundation support is withdrawn.
- Long-Term Impact - A project should provide a long-term solution to a particular issue and not act as simply a band-aid measure.
- Exclusions – Contributions will not be made to or for:
- Individuals.
- Political candidates.
- Fraternal and labor organizations.
- Athletic teams.
- Organizations that discriminate for any reason.
- The general funds of public institutions or agencies.
- Religious organizations (exclusive of social service activities).
- Group travel expenses.
Careful attention is paid to the equitable distribution of grants and sponsorships across the service territory. Boston and communities in close proximity to the city receive a greater percentage of funding because of the concentration of customers in the city.
Annually, about $1 to 1.5 million is distributed to non-profit organizations.
The NSTAR matching grants program is funded through the NSTAR Foundation. This program helps employees, retirees and NSTAR directors in their support of cultural, human service and educational organizations. The NSTAR Foundation matches dollar-for-dollar each gift of $100 or more to a maximum of $2,500 in any calendar year -- with a $10,000 maximum cap for recipient organizations.
All grants are made on a first-come, first-served basis up to the budget set for each year.
Two other programs that are funded outside of the Foundation but provide community support are the Dollars for Doers program and the Pledge Partners program.
- Dollars for Doers -- Employees and retirees who actively participate in a community organization on their own time, can apply for a grant of up to $300 per year, with a $1,000 annual maximum cap for their organization.
- Pledge Partners -- If an employee or retiree personally participates in a walk-a-thon, race, bike ride or any other similar event that supports a non-profit organization, NSTAR will match dollar-for-dollar pledges collected from a minimum of $50 to a maximum of $300 per event, with a $1,000 maximum cap per event for that organization.
Organizations seeking support from the Foundation are asked to submit a proposal letter to the NSTAR Foundation. The letter may be shared with the Chairman, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations, the Director of Corporate Communications and suitable NSTAR Community Relations representatives.
If we are interested in learning more about your programs, we will request a formal proposal. The Associated Grant Maker Common Proposal form is the recommended format.
