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Non-profits and charities in the communities we serve are the foundation to supporting people in need during difficult times. In 2020, we stepped forward to lift up these organizations that, in their own right, required support as they helped others.
We implemented a multi-phased support program for community organizations beginning in May 2020. At launch, the focus was on delivering relief funds into the community quickly — $350,000 in donations to support social service organizations in the communities where we operate.
Three subsequent funding phases were designed with community input, targeting resources to the areas of greatest need.
We tripled our community investment in 2020 to more than $3 million, helping community organizations support those in need.
Our employees raised more than $570,000 in support of United Way in 2020, earning the company United Way’s Leading the Way award.
In total, we deployed more than $2 million in new community investment to support non-profits and charitable organizations in their pandemic relief and recovery efforts. This investment was in addition to $1 million provided annually in community sponsorships and partnerships.
To support organizations that bring joy to communities and provide a lifeline to those hardest hit by COVID-19, we launched the Heart + Soul Fund.
Through this program, we provided $1.25 million in 2020 to help support organizations adjusting to the changing landscape brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure they can continue offering marquee cultural events and critical social supports. An additional $1 million was made available in 2021, which helped support 60 arts, culture and charitable organizations in Canada.
Provided funding to nearly 60 arts, culture and charitable organizations (49 in Alberta, 8 in Ontario and 2 in BC)
Helped employ 680 artists, including 141 BIPOC artists, of whome 68 are Indigenous.
Supported 13 artist centres, 8 local theatres, 10 festivals 5 Indigenous-specific arts programs, and 520 new artistic works.
Many of the charities used their funding as matching dollars within their fundraising campaigns. The $420,000 provided to charities through the Heart + Soul fund helped raise a total of $2.6-million.
In 2021, the charities that received contributions further maximized the $420,000 provided by EPCOR. By leveraging these funds to seed innovative fundraising and gift-matching programs, and allowing donors to benefit from having their gifts matched and impact doubled, these charities raised an amazing $2.6-million.
The funding delivered to organizations allowed them to continue or reinvent their approach to arts or community events, and bring outstanding entertainment to communities, through events such as: the Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival, the Art Gallery of Alberta Sidewalk Cinema, and the Takin’ it to Streets (Folk Music Festival) in Edmonton; the Strathmore Stampede in southern Alberta; and the Kincardine Community Living Golf Tournament, and Huron-Kinloss Free Public Skate events in Ontario.
In the U.S., seven different organizations and causes benefited from over $63,000 U.S. in support, including: Route 66 Arts Alliance (Edgewood, New Mexico),
Free Arts of Arizona (Phoenix), West Valley Arts Council (Surprise, Arizona), TheaterWorks (Peoria, Arizona), SciTech Festival (Arizona), First Responders Tree (Fountain Hills, Arizona), and Fighter Country Partnership (Glendale, Arizona).
Learn how we are investing in our communities
Hear from some of our 2020 Heart + Soul Fund recipients
While the pandemic relief investments took centre stage in 2020, we continued to deliver on the focus of our community investment program. We help lift young individuals out of poverty by supporting programs that set vulnerable youth up for success along their educational journey and pave the way to stable, successful employment.
Our charitable partnership program goes beyond just cutting a cheque. We look for multi-year partnerships, and the opportunity to mobilize employees, facilities, and other resources unique to EPCOR. The goal is to create a true partnership that has more impact on young lives and to bring profile to the work we are doing together.
We focus our support on three critical educational milestones that can mean the difference between poverty and prosperity:
Supporting causes and events that improve lives and create meaningful experiences is important to us, as well as something we encourage across our workforce.
EPCOR’s Helping Hands Program offers a $300 grant to an employee’s charitable or non-profit organization of choice for those who volunteer for at least 30 hours a year. In 2021, Team EPCOR logged almost 8,000 volunteer hours through this program and more than $25,000 was provided to more than 65 community groups in 2021.
From 2019 to 2021 we've provided $130,000 to the University of Alberta's Transition Year Program, within the First People's House. This support provides Indigenous students the opportunity to take fundamental core STEM curriculum courses in a smaller setting where they can engage with both the instructor and other students, as well as have embedded Teaching Assistant support and scheduled, collaborative work time to enhance their likelihood of success.
When it became clear that the pandemic would stretch the resources of social and cultural agencies for another year, EPCOR’s Heart + Soul Fund stepped up again. But supporting our communities means more than just writing cheques.
Our community investments
Schooling is the pathway to better opportunities for so many. But for some students, ambition alone may not be enough. EPCOR helps remove barriers to educational success — from kindergarten to post-secondary.
Our support of the UofA's transition year program
