Essential Utilities gives back to the communities it serves through corporate philanthropy and employee volunteerism throughout the Aqua and Peoples service areas. The Essential Foundation was established to support the work of nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life of the customers, families, businesses, and communities throughout Essential's 9-state footprint. The Essential Foundation seeks to engage in collaborations that result in measurable success for the communities we serve and support the mission, vision, and values of Essential Utilities.

Primary areas of giving include environmental initiatives, direct human services, emergency services, community economic growth, education, food insecurity and other essential resources for life.

To learn more about our initiatives, check out our latest Community Impact Report.

Eligibility

Only nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations are eligible to apply for funding for work that benefits communities served by Aqua or Peoples. To learn more about our service areas, please visit Peoples-Gas.com or AquaWater.com.

The Essential Foundation aims to ensure no funding is directed to any organization with a written policy or an actual practice of discrimination against any person for their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, medical condition, physical or mental disability, covered-veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. The Essential Foundation requires grantees to comply with applicable local, federal and state laws relating to nondiscrimination. Violation of this Policy is grounds for the Essential Foundation to request the return of grant funds.

How to Apply

Please submit all grant requests using the application form below. You may want to save your answers separately for your records or in case of connectivity issues, as you will not be sent a copy upon submitting.

When to Apply

Our application is open from late January until early November. We recommend submitting three months prior to the start of your project or event date to allow enough time for our review process.

If your project fits with one of our annual campaigns, please see the suggested timeframes for submitting below.

Essential Earth Day- Environmental projects encouraged to submit January-March

Sure Splash- Water safety projects in Aqua’s service areas encouraged to submit April-June

Fall for Food Banks- Hunger relief projects encouraged to submit August-October

Sharing Appreciation for Fire Department Excellence (S.A.F.E.) 

To recognize our critical partnerships with and our gratitude for volunteer fire departments, our S.A.F.E. program provides grants of $2,500 to support fire protection needs, such as equipment and training. Fire departments in Aqua service areas may request funds using the form below. Fire departments in the Peoples Natural Gas service areas should follow the instructions to apply on the Peoples website.

Communication Preferences

Out of our strong commitment to protecting natural resources, we are no longer accepting paper applications and do not respond to general appeals. To lighten our environmental footprint, we kindly ask that we be removed from all mailing distribution lists.

Please reach out to us at TheEssentialFoundation@essential.co with any questions.