New Jersey American Water recently announced its end-of-year charitable giving total for 2020. Last year, the company provided over $1.5 million through grants, general charitable contributions, and programming support to over 50 organizations across New Jersey.
“At New Jersey American Water, we believe in giving back, and we are committed to supporting organizations that benefit the health and safety of our customers, their communities, and watersheds,” said Cheryl Norton, President of New Jersey American Water. “In addition to the ongoing support we provide to our community partners, we committed to making additional efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19 last year. From allocating additional funding to our customer assistance programs to donating directly to local healthcare systems and food banks, we are here for our communities and will continue to support them in good times and in bad.”
Each year, New Jersey American Water provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to its communities through its annual First Responder and Environmental grant programs and through New Jersey’s Department of Community Affairs Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC). Last year, the company granted over $40,000 to 26 volunteer fire and EMS squads, $35,000 to four community organizations through its Environmental Grant program, and $950,000 to two non-profit development organizations through the NRTC program. Additionally, New Jersey American Water contributed $245,000 to help its customers through its H2O Help to Others bill paying assistance program, a resource that has been available for customers for nearly 20 years.
Aside from its annual grant programs, New Jersey American Water provided $146,000 through general community-based charitable contributions and environmental-focused sponsorships. The company also donated over $100,000 in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency to support the relief funds of seven organizations including health care systems, housing facilities, and food banks.
New Jersey American Water employees also engaged in philanthropy of their own having donated over $125,000 to 174 New Jersey non-profit organizations through the American Water Charitable Foundation’s volunteer and matching gift program. Employees also organized two food drives in 2020 which gathered 2,000 pounds of food and raised $7,000 for local and regional food banks.
