Firstenergy Foundation

## How to Approach the FirstEnergy Foundation

The FirstEnergy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of FirstEnergy Corp., one of the largest investor-owned electric utility holding companies in the United States. This is a corporate foundation, meaning its grantmaking is tightly aligned with the parent company's business footprint, customer base, and strategic priorities. Understanding this alignment is essential to any successful approach.

Critical gating factor: You must be in FirstEnergy's service territory. The foundation exclusively funds organizations serving communities within FirstEnergy's electric utility service areas across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and select areas of New York. If your organization does not serve customers of Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Jersey Central Power & Light, Mon Power, or Potomac Edison, this funder is not a fit.

Alignment signals that matter most: - Direct community impact in service territory: The foundation prioritizes organizations that tangibly improve quality of life for FirstEnergy customers. Frame your work in terms of community vitality, not abstract social goals. - Safety initiatives: As a utility company, safety is core to their identity. Programs addressing public safety, electrical safety education, or emergency preparedness resonate strongly. - Workforce development and STEM: FirstEnergy faces an aging workforce and growing demand for skilled electrical workers. Programs that train the next generation of utility and STEM workers align with direct business needs. - Employee volunteer engagement: The foundation explicitly supports programs that align with employee volunteer interests and community leadership. Organizations where FirstEnergy employees already volunteer have a significant advantage. - Hunger relief and basic needs: This has become the foundation's largest grant category by dollar volume, with $2.5 million dedicated to hunger relief alone in 2025.

Theory of change: The FirstEnergy Foundation operates on a stakeholder capitalism model — community investment strengthens the regions where the company operates, builds goodwill with regulators and customers, and supports employee engagement. Proposals should demonstrate how funded work benefits the communities FirstEnergy serves.

## Funding Patterns and Grant Distribution

Annual giving: Approximately $7.2 million in foundation grants (2024), plus additional corporate giving and employee United Way campaigns. Total community investment exceeded $13 million in 2024 including employee volunteer hours. In 2025, the Foundation distributed more than $5.5 million.

Grant size distribution: - Standard program grants: Up to $25,000 (most common) - Large grants: $25,000+ (require separate proposal and meeting with Foundation President) - Hunger relief grants: $5,000 to $50,000 per organization - Gifts of the Season: $10,000 to $20,000 per organization - Total grants (2024): 151 awards - Historical volume: 194 grants in 2023, 1,125 in 2022, 975 in 2021 (variability reflects major initiative cycles like Investing with Purpose)

Sector allocation (estimated from recent activity): - Hunger relief and food security: ~30-35% of total giving - Education, STEM, and workforce development: ~20-25% - Human services (housing, domestic violence, veterans): ~15-20% - United Way and community foundations: ~10-15% - Arts, culture, and diversity initiatives: ~5-10% - Safety and disaster relief: ~5%

Geographic distribution by state (estimated): - Ohio: ~25-30% (headquarters state) - Pennsylvania: ~30-35% (largest service territory by population) - New Jersey: ~15-20% - West Virginia and Maryland: ~10-15% - Other (New York, Virginia): ~5%

Grant duration: Most grants appear to be one-year awards, though the foundation has demonstrated long-term commitment to key partners (10+ years supporting Fill a Glass with Hope in Pennsylvania, sustained United Way relationships). Multi-year grants are not the default but exist for flagship partnerships.

Employee matching: FirstEnergy employees receive 16 hours of volunteer time off annually. The United Way campaign generated over $1 million in the first half of 2025 through employee giving with company matching.

## Peer Comparison

The FirstEnergy Foundation operates in the corporate utility foundation space, a distinct niche within philanthropy. Here is how it compares to peer utility foundations in asset size and giving patterns:

Distinguishing characteristics: - Higher asset base, moderate giving: At $125M in assets and $7.2M in annual giving, FirstEnergy's payout rate (~5.8%) is conservative compared to peers like Dominion ($30M+ on $95M) but above the IRS minimum. This suggests capacity for increased giving. - Strongest hunger relief commitment: FirstEnergy's $2.5 million single-year hunger relief investment is among the largest in the utility foundation space, reflecting strategic emphasis on basic needs. - Narrower geographic focus than peers: While Dominion and Duke span the Southeast, FirstEnergy concentrates on the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, creating deeper impact in fewer states. - Gifts of the Season diversity focus: The first-time grantee diversity program (minority-owned, woman-owned, LGBTQ-owned organizations) is distinctive among utility foundations and signals a commitment to DEI that peers have been slower to formalize. - Leadership transition creates uncertainty: With the recent retirement of Foundation President Lorna Wisham, strategic priorities may shift under new leadership, potentially creating openings for new grantees.

## Recent Activity and Strategic Shifts

Leadership transition (2025-2026): Lorna Wisham, who served as Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Foundation President, retired in early 2025. Amanda Mertens Campbell is serving as interim leader while FirstEnergy searches for a permanent replacement. This transition could result in shifts in grantmaking priorities and creates a window of opportunity for organizations that have not previously been funded.

Record hunger relief investment (2025): The foundation made its largest hunger-relief grant to date, distributing $2.5 million to 104 food banks and pantries across six states. State-level breakdowns included $750,000 to 37 organizations in Pennsylvania, $620,000 to 32 organizations in West Virginia/Maryland/Virginia, and similar investments in Ohio and New Jersey. This positions hunger relief as potentially the foundation's signature initiative going forward.

First half 2025 giving pace: The foundation distributed more than $2 million in the first half of 2025, including nearly $1.1 million in foundation grants and over $1 million through the employee United Way campaign. Over 800 organizations received direct donations. The full-year 2025 total exceeded $5.5 million in community support.

Fill a Glass with Hope milestone (2026): In January 2026, the foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to Feeding Pennsylvania's Fill a Glass with Hope program, marking 10 consecutive years of support for this milk distribution initiative at Pennsylvania food banks. This demonstrates the foundation's commitment to long-term partnerships.

Employee engagement expansion: FirstEnergy now provides 16 hours of volunteer time off (VTO) annually to employees, generating nearly 5,000 volunteer hours in the first half of 2025 alone. The foundation increasingly ties grantmaking to employee volunteer engagement.

STEM and electrical trades push: The foundation continues investing in pipeline development for future utility workers, including $55,000 to New Jersey electrical trades and STEM programs and grants to York College and other educational institutions. This reflects broader industry concern about workforce succession.

Domestic violence awareness grants (2025): The foundation awarded $100,000 to emergency shelters and housing providers across its service territory during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, including grants to Heartly House, 180 Turning Lives Around, Bethany House, and Providence House.

Original website domain (firstenergy.org) is no longer active — it redirects to a parked/spam domain. All foundation information is now accessed through firstenergycorp.com.

## Application Tips for the FirstEnergy Foundation

1. You cannot cold-apply. Build a relationship first. The FirstEnergy Foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Before any formal submission, you must contact the Community Involvement Department (FE_Comm_Involve@firstenergycorp.com) or local FirstEnergy company management. For New Jersey organizations specifically, contact Community Involvement Consultant Alix Hayes at (732) 904-9778 or ahayes@firstenergycorp.com. This relationship-building step is not optional — it is a hard requirement.

2. Know which FirstEnergy utility serves your area. The foundation is organized around its operating companies: Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison (Ohio); Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power (Pennsylvania); Jersey Central Power & Light (New Jersey); Mon Power, Potomac Edison (West Virginia/Maryland). In your inquiry, identify which utility serves your community. This helps the foundation route your request and demonstrates geographic awareness.

3. Keep initial requests at or below $25,000. Standard program grants cap at $25,000 and are processed through an online platform. Requests exceeding $25,000 require a separate written proposal and a meeting with the Foundation President — a significantly higher bar. New grantees should start at the standard level to establish a relationship.

4. Align with their stated priorities explicitly. Frame your proposal around one or more of these priorities: (a) community safety, (b) workforce development, (c) economic development, (d) STEM and educational advancement, (e) hunger relief and basic needs, (f) employee volunteer engagement. Use their language — "community vitality," "transformative organizations," "critical needs of customers."

5. Leverage the employee volunteer connection. If FirstEnergy employees already volunteer with your organization, highlight this prominently. The foundation explicitly values programs that "support FirstEnergy employees' community leadership and volunteer interests." Employee champions can be powerful internal advocates.

6. Consider the Gifts of the Season pathway for diverse organizations. If your nonprofit qualifies as minority-owned, woman-owned, disability-owned, LGBTQ-owned, or service-disabled veteran-owned, and you have never received a FirstEnergy Foundation grant, the Gifts of the Season program ($10K-$20K) is a lower-barrier entry point specifically designed for first-time grantees from underrepresented groups.

7. Timing matters for thematic grants. The foundation runs seasonal campaigns: hunger relief during Hunger Action Month (September), domestic violence awareness grants in October, Gifts of the Season in December, and STEM education grants aligned with the school year. Plan your outreach to align with these cycles.

8. Do not apply if you fall into excluded categories. The foundation does not fund: individuals, political activities, government institutions, religious organizations (unless programs benefit all regardless of affiliation), K-12 schools (higher ed is eligible), research, equipment purchases, salaries, scholarships, international organizations, or correctional facilities. Pre-screen carefully before investing time.