SALT LAKE CITY — The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation awarded $57,000 to Utah nonprofit organizations this fall, primarily for civic and community betterment programs along the Wasatch Front and in northern Utah. The grants will help support youth education programs about environmental responsibility, government services and science; provide food for people in need; aid victims of domestic violence; provide disaster preparedness training; and more.

“This infusion of funding for civic and community betterment programs will benefit many Utah residents in a variety of ways, and will create learning opportunities for students that wouldn’t be available otherwise,” said Richard Walje, Rocky Mountain Power president and chairman of the Foundation’s board of directors.

The largest grants include $10,000 to Nature Conservancy of Utah for its Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve education outreach program and introductory wetlands experience; $7,500 to Clark Planetarium for new science demonstrations for patrons waiting in line to see a Star Show or IMAX film; and $6,000 to Utah League of Cities and Towns for posters to help students learn about the many services provided by municipal governments.

Grants were also awarded to the following Utah organizations:
·Salt Lake Legal Aid Society– for its Domestic Violence Victim Assistance program;
·Salt Lake City Foundation– for its Youth Community Planner Initiative, an after-school intern program designed to bring a youth perspective to the city planning process;
·American Red Cross of Northern Utah (Ogden) – for its Together We Prepare training program to help individuals and families plan and prepare for responding to a disaster or emergency situation;
·Ogden Nature Center– for its Vanimals environmental and wildlife education program;
·Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center (Logan) – for its science-based wetlands education program for 4th and 5th grade students from Cache County schools;
·George S. Eccles Ice Center (North Logan) – for its School Outreach program for Kindergarten through 12th grade students;
·Box Elder Community Pantry– to provide food for the homeless and residents in need; and
·Town of Springdale– to help furnish a new community center.

The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation awards four cycles of grants annually in the areas of education, health and human services, arts and culture, and civic and community betterment. The foundation is the charitable arm of electric utility Rocky Mountain Power.

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