Rocky Mountain Power Foundation Awards Over $460K to Boost Regional STEM & Education Initiatives
SALT LAKE CITY — The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation is proud to announce over $460,000 in grant awards to nonprofits and community groups that enhance education and strengthen STEM learning opportunities throughout the regions served by Rocky Mountain Power.
Through these grants, the foundation is committed to creating both immediate and lasting impacts by investing in initiatives that empower young people through education and essential skill development in our rapidly evolving world.
“The foundation is delighted to support local organizations that uplift the next generation of STEM professionals," said Dick Garlish, director of the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation and president of Rocky Mountain Power. “We are truly inspired by the communities’ efforts in opening doors for the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers and leaders.”
These education and STEM grants are distributed through one of the four annual grant cycles offered by the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, which supports a diverse range of organizations across the communities served by Rocky Mountain Power.
In this round, 78 grants totaling $469,200 were awarded to these regional organizations:
Utah:
Summit County
Summit and Wasatch Counties of Utah to support adult education students with nightly meals from local restaurants.
PC Tots to support tuition scholarships for low-income families to make high-quality and affordable childcare possible.
Salt Lake County
Autism Solutions Academy to obtain smart boards that provide engaging learning sessions in adapted learning classrooms for nonverbal students.
Jordan Education Foundation to facilitate funding for equipment and supplies for a minimum of 10 creative and innovative classroom grant projects.
University of Utah – Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital to build devices and software to improve independence and quality of life for individuals with complex physical injuries, illnesses and diagnoses.
University of Utah – KUER Public Radio for the production of local Utah news and information programming.
University of Utah – Natural History Museum of Utah to support wages for Teen Explainers, purchase program supplies and maintain staffing. These students create and develop engaging educational content for museum visitors.
University of Utah – PBS Utah to support PBS Kids 24/7 program acquisition and broadcast costs for families to have unrestricted access to proven educational content that meets evolving trends in children’s media consumption habits, ensuring accessibility for all children.
University of Utah – John and Marcia Price College of Engineering to fund five scholarships for senior students in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in electrical engineering.
Curly Me! to purchase supplies for free workshops designed for young girls in the Black community, connecting them with Black women and men who are driving positive change, and empowering them to envision and achieve their own potential.
Friends of Tracy Aviary to support a new nature-based STEM learning program based at the Nature Center at Pia Okwai that will host hands-on STEM activity labs geared toward K-12 students in South Salt Lake and surrounding areas.
Girl Scouts of Utah to purchase supplies for their STEM program, which provides valuable educational experiences and equips kids with skills and knowledge applicable to many areas of life and future careers.
Guadalupe School to support their Out of School Time programs, which provide students with academic support, enrichment opportunities, social-emotional learning and family engagement events.
HawkWatch International to support high-quality science education to underserved communities. Funding will cover the costs of program supplies and care for Raptor Ambassadors.
SLC International Rescue Committee to support immigrant and refugee youth and families across education, career readiness, early childhood development, vocational ESL and digital inclusion.
Junior Achievement of Utah, Inc. to support students attending the Junior Achievement City Storefront experiential learning spaces, which bring students into the business world and help develop skills including critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, problem solving, financial literacy and communication.
People Helping People to support their employment program, which offers comprehensive training tailored to help women navigate the job market, develop professional skills and learn strategies for earning a sustainable income.
SLC Jewish Community Center to support their summer camp of 400 children 2-16 years of age. The proposed project is to build an outdoor shade pavilion to facilitate better use of the existing outdoor space.
United Way of Salt Lake to support the Promise Partnership Community Schools program, which serves academic, health and social needs through innovation and coordinated service delivery, removing barriers to learning.
Utah FIRST Robotics to support funding for Utah teams. This can include robot parts, tools, batteries and anything the team might need to be successful.
Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Education Foundation to fund communication devices that are not covered by insurance, including BrailleNote Touch, Braille Sense, iPad, EyeOn Technology, hearing aids, smart glasses, screen magnifiers and others.
Utah Ukrainian Association to support the UUA’s Education Readiness and Youth Development Program, which utilizes the expertise of coordinators to assist Ukrainian refugee youth in obtaining their educational goals and personal development.
Wasatch Mountain Institute to support their programs, which provide immersive, STEM-based outdoor education for elementary and middle school students, focusing on underserved communities.
Youthlinc to support their Real Life Refugee and Immigrant Youth Mentoring program, which provides after-school tutoring and life skills peer mentoring, and partners Youthlinc with a variety of organizations in Salt Lake County. Real Life provides active, practical, after-school programming to youth with refugee or immigrant status in Utah.
Salt Lake Community College to support Partnership for Accessing College Education Scholarships, which facilitate college education and provide a guided path to seeking higher education.
The Leonardo Museum to support STEM education programs for middle school students.
Westminster University to support workshops crafted to both strengthen students’ interest in STEM fields and to provide them with a firsthand experience of higher education.
Playworks Utah to help subsidize program costs for schools, enabling a partnership in creating dynamic, engaging recess experiences that harness the power of play for learning and growth.
Latinos in Action to support its youth development program, which empowers Latino students through college and career readiness, leadership development and culturally responsive education.
Utah STEM Foundation to support their Utah Hydroponics Program, an innovative program that blends the use of hydroponics systems with engaging learning content for students and communities.
Tooele County
Grantsville City to support their Youth Council programming for the upcoming year, including their Back-To-School BBQ, Arts Festival, Think Tanks, local leadership training and Veteran’s Breakfast.
National Inventors Hall of Fame of Utah to facilitate STEM programs to provide hands-on learning experiences for underserved children in grades K-6.
Cache County
Bridgerland Technical College to support student scholarships for the emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician and paramedic programs.
Utah State University – College of Engineering to support the Engineering State (E-State) program, designed to encourage high school juniors and seniors to pursue STEM careers.
Richmond City to fund their Relief Society Building’s exterior improvements, including replacing the exterior windows and rotten exterior wood siding, and painting the building.
Box Elder County
Boys & Girls Club of Northern Utah to support the Club's STEM project for interactive and hands-on projects to make learning enjoyable and engaging, sparking curiosity and a passion for STEM subjects.
Utah County
Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County to support STEM programming that imparts skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and inference, along with behavioral competencies like perseverance, cooperation and responsibility.
Tech-Moms to support their Foundation Tech-Moms Program, which offers education, career development, training and job interview coaching for mothers looking to join the tech industry.
Utah Valley University Foundation for scholarship funding to provide financial assistance to four upper-level Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering students to help alleviate financial strain and retain students in school.
Weber County
United Way of Northern Utah to support community literacy efforts by maintaining literacy programs, including little libraries and family literacy classes in low-income areas.
Utah Neighborhood Connection to purchase STEM curricula and supplies for the Highland Junior High program, which offers free weekly STEM enrichment opportunities and daily homework help for students.
Weber State University to support scholarships for students majoring in electrical engineering or electronics engineering technology.
Youth Impact that integrates an age-appropriate pipeline of STEM career interest activities in their after-school and summer youth development program.
Ogden-Weber Technical College Foundation to support the OTECH Foundation’s 2025 scholarship program and provide scholarships for three to five students.
Davis County
The Davis Education Foundation to support AI Cyber Security and Computer Science education by creating a GPU lab.
Davis Technical College Foundation to provide general scholarships for students to achieve their education goals.
Grand County
Grand County School District to cover the costs of afterschool programs that support students in both academic and enrichment areas. These programs, which are open to all, include science clubs, tutoring, student council, physical education and more.
Science Moab to support the School to Science program, which provides students in grades 9-12 with valuable exposure to science learning and STEM career opportunities.
Duchesne County
Uintah Basin Applied Technology College Foundation to provide scholarships to underserved students to help them achieve their career dreams.
Iron County
Southern Utah University to support funding for scholarships for students from low-income families in rural areas, many of whom are first-generation college students facing financial and geographic challenges.
Southern Utah University to purchase a Ward’s Stormwater & Floodplain Simulation System and Youth Engineering Academy First Tech Robotics build kits.
Southwest Tech Foundation to support student scholarships to remove financial barriers to education.
Sanpete County
Snow College Foundation for scholarships to four underserved, first-generation students with a priority for interest in STEM programs.
Millard County
Millard School District-Technical Center to purchase 20 new protective welding jackets and material to construct new welding curtains.
San Juan County
Utah State University – Blanding Welding Program to purchase an ESAB Rebel 205ic welder that would offer students exposure to equipment they are likely to encounter in their careers.
Idaho:
Idaho State University – College of Technology for their Ignite Their Future Summer STEM program.
Idaho STEM Ecosystem to support participation in the Franklin County and Oneida County fairs. Funds cover staff time to plan, travel to, set-up, staff the booth and debrief after the fairs, along with materials for take-home kits and STEM-related activities in the booth.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center to provide funds for pretesting and test vouchers to take tests at College of Eastern Idaho.
College of Eastern Idaho Foundation for the CEI STEAM Summer Camp to support their summer program for STEM and the arts.
Sugar-Salem High School to complete the construction of a new greenhouse for their hands-on agricultural education classes and to provide increased opportunities for after-school and community STEM education programs currently being planned by their district.
Junior Achievement of Idaho to ensure students at South Fork Elementary in the Jefferson School District can participate in Junior Achievement in-class programs.
Wyoming:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming to support their Career Works program, which empowers youth by equipping them with essential skills, career exploration opportunities, work-based learning experiences and industry-recognized certifications.
Evansville Fire & EMS to equip their Polaris UTV with emergency lighting for visibility in smoky conditions, radios to stay in communication, reflective logos for high visibility and identification, and a trailer for hauling.
Junior Achievement – Rocky Mountain to support their K-12 financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness impact programs to help students make the connection between academics and professional success.
University of Wyoming Foundation to support important and practical learning projects, including:
- College of Engineering and Physical Sciences STEM outreach
- Marna M. Kuenhe Foundation Veterans Services Center at UW Veterans Student Center to support the Veterans Energized Instruction and Tutoring Program that is vital to enhancing student success
- Science Initiation Roadshow to support the mission of the roadshow to make STEM fun, relevant and accessible to students and communities in Wyoming
- School of Energy Resources
- Malcom Wallop Civic Engagement Program
- Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center to support initiatives aimed at providing a place of community, support, engagement and learning while assisting students in maintaining their cultural identity
Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom for the Wyo Wonders program, a ready-to-teach curriculum for Wyoming educators and students grades 2-5.
Children's Discovery Center to support their summer program, designed to provide hands-on learning experiences for students and to help create engaging and educational opportunities that nurture their growth and learning throughout the summer.
Disability: IN Uinta County to support their Employment Diversity and Youth Empowerment programs.
Hamsfork Museum to build an ADA-compliant ramp for the entrance of the museum.
Sweetwater County School Dist. #2 to purchase 8 Indie Robots, allowing up to 24 students to pair together at one time and 10 Bolt Robots, allowing up to 30 students to pair together at one time.
Uinta BOCES #1 Foundation to provide support and assistance for participants in literacy instruction, high school equivalency preparation and employment training.
Western Wyoming Community College Foundation to support their Powerline Technology program scholarships.
Wee Folks Place to fund their learning supplies, such as paper pencils, paints markers, books and motor skill toys, and to provide tuition assistance.
Northwest College Foundation to fund quality, affordable education to students pursuing a degree at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.