We’re using this blog post to give a shout-out to one of our sponsors, the Alliant Energy Foundation.
First, thanks to the Alliant Energy Foundation for their grant that is helping cover costs of upgrading the Gathering Waters website. A new website is always a fun and exciting project; however, more than just being fun, a website is arguably one of the most important tools nonprofits have to communicate.
We thank the Alliant Energy Foundation for their continued support of Gathering Waters. They also support a lot more great environmental work like conservation, education, improvements for parks and trails, and more. A few years ago, the company pledged to plant a million trees 2030 and they’re already almost halfway there.
We also want to share some information we recently learned while giving a presentation to Alliant Energy employees. Our Director of Philanthropy, Creal Zearing, was invited to speak with Alliant Energy employees about what Gathering Waters does. In turn, we got the chance to learn about opportunities that they (and other organizations) offer to their employees to support nonprofits in the community.
The Alliant Energy Foundation staff shared the ways employees work to maximize their personal philanthropic giving and engagement with other organizations. The number one tool discussed was a 1:1 match of donations to a nonprofit of the employee’s choice. In the Alliant Energy Foundation’s case, this match offers all employees and retirees up to $3,500, doubling the impact for an organization they wanted to support.
It’s possible your own organization offers something like this too! Check with your employer to see if they have a charitable giving program that will match your donation to Gathering Waters (or any nonprofit organization that you want to support).
We were impressed to learn about all the other ways in which the Alliant Energy Foundation also encourages and incentivizes their employees to be philanthropic and to engage with philanthropic causes, including:
- Teams of employees who volunteer together can request a $500 grant to support the organization where they are volunteering.
- Individual employees can volunteer for a nonprofit and earn a grant to donate to eligible charitable organizations of their choice. Grants range from $100-$400 depending on how many hours they volunteer.
- Each year Alliant Energy offers a variety of corporate volunteer events for employees to step away from their normal job to serve in the community.
- Employees who make a gift to nonprofits of their choice can request a matching gift when they donate over $50 (up to $3,500).
- Employees who give 1% of their annual gross salary earn an extra eight hours of vacation time.
So, thank you again, Alliant Energy Foundation, for your support of Gathering Waters, and for supporting philanthropy in the Madison community!
