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Rocky Mountain Power announces new grants to support Utah, Wyoming and Idaho organizations this winter

SALT LAKE CITY — As winter settles into communities throughout the region, ending a year that has brought challenges like no other, it’s the arts and humanities programs that continue to provide needed connection and healing.

Local organizations that deliver performing arts, visual arts, community festivals and connection to local history and place have had to pivot during 2020 in ways never imagined. Many have moved to virtual programming to connect with families and students at home while also working behind-the-scenes to preserve cherished in-person programs so that they can return in the future.

To support these programs' ongoing efforts, PacifiCorp Foundation, a nonprofit arm of Rocky Mountain Power, is donating more than $200,000 in new funding across the six states it serves to support the arts and humanities – along with continued needs by organizations on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.

“Local programs like these are the heartbeat of our region, providing connection, education and tradition and helping to heal and strengthen our communities,” said Gary Hoogeveen, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power. “Rocky Mountain Power is honored to continue our support of these vital organizations, and we encourage others who have the means to support them as well, so their programming can continue long into the future.”

A total of 58 Foundation grants were given to non-profit organizations across Rocky Mountain Power’s service area, ranging between $1,000 and $7,500. The grants reflect the diversity of the communities Rocky Mountain Power serves, and the diverse needs of these communities during this time.

The following grants were given to organizations in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho providing vital arts and education programs as well as organizations providing additional community support during the pandemic:

Utah

Alta

  • Alta Community Enrichment in support of arts, culture and education programming, supporting local musicians, art and dance instructors and supply supplies;

Centerville

  • CenterPoint Legacy Theatre to sponsor production of family-favorite The Music Man in 2021;

Cottonwood Heights

  • The Center for Ecological Design to help provide climate change education through an interactive art installation;

Draper

  • Draper Philharmonic & Choral Society to help create the second part of an original, five-part solo, choral and symphonic masterwork series;

Park City

  • Kimball Arts Center to elevate the 2021 Wasatch Back Student Art Show, an annual exhibition for students in grades K-12, and integrate it with an exhibit featuring New-York based painter, Claire Sherman, presenting students an opportunity to learn about and from a nationally-recognized artist;
  • Park City Summit County Arts Council to fund exhibits and programming that benefit local artists, bring the community together and strengthen arts and culture in Eastern Summit County;
  • Park City School District Childcare Center for the purchase of outdoor tables, dome canopies and outdoor heaters to help them provide services in a safe, socially distant manner and expand outdoor learning; 

Salt Lake City

  • Artspace to provide rent relief  and other support for their tenants—including artists, cultural organizations, nonprofits, small businesses and low- to moderate-income residents—who have negatively affected by COVID-19 and are unable to meet their basic needs;
  • Bad Dog Arts to support their Bad Dog Studio programming, which allows children to explore visual arts, as well as community outreach;
  • Ballet West for their 2020/21 Youth Education and Outreach Programs, both virtual and in-person, that serve more than 100,000 students and teachers, special needs individuals, senior citizens and other community members, free of charge;
  • Discover Gateway to support their Creative Works program, which has been modified in response to COVID-19, to provide  a safe-touch based educational environment and low-touch or zero-touch educational interactives throughout the museum;
  • Dual Immersion Academy to provide COVID-19 relief support for students—90 percent of whom are from low-to-moderate income households—in the form of a digital hotspot and Chromebook training so they can successfully participate in online learning;
  • For the Kids.Org to help feed more school children in the Salt Lake downtown and Rose Park areas, where the need for aid has nearly doubled since the beginning of the pandemic;
  • Mundi Program for their Music Engagement from Home initiative, which supports the community during the pandemic by offering online classes, music education resources and a collection of performances that the community can access from home;
  • Neighborhood House of Utah to provide COVID-19 hardship assistance to provide daycare for families, many of whom have lost income during the pandemic, enabling them to continue working and avoid an economic crisis for their households;
  • Repertory Dance Theater in support of their Art IS Essential campaign, which lowers the cost of all performance tickets by 50 percent, providing encouragement for people to include arts events in their lives during this challenging time when they might not otherwise do so;
  • Salt Lake Acting Company to support their Title I Arts Education Program that, due to COVID-19, will provide a virtual theater performance to nearly 30,000  underserved Utah students;
  • The Sharing Place to support grief support services for youth, anticipating an increased need in the wake of the pandemic;
  • Spy Hop Productions to support their statewide media arts outreach program which provides media arts workshops to every student in Utah at least once during their K-12 years, with current workshops offered online during the pandemic;
  • South Salt Lake Arts Council to help create and implement the Creative Industries Zone Exploration Mobile App, which will an enhanced interactive walking tour to increase awareness of the creative businesses in the South Salt Lake Creative Industries Zone in a safe, socially-distanced way;
  • Utah Arts Alliance to provide free or affordable services for artists and the public in the 2021 season;
  • Utah Arts Festival Foundation to support 2021 programming at the state’s largest outdoor, multi-disciplinary arts festival; 
  • Utah Film Center to support media education, harnessing the power of film to help educators and students communicate and express themselves during COVID-19;
  • Utah Humanities Council to support their touring Museum on Main Street exhibition, WaterWays, which dives into the environmental, cultural and historic importance of water;
  • Utah Symphony & Opera for distance learning programs to support K-12 teachers and students as they work to master learning standards in music at a time when live performances in the schools are not possible;
  • Women of the World for COVID-19 emergency response services to refugee and asylum-seeking women in Salt Lake County, the majority of whom have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic;

Sandy

  • NOVA Chamber Music Series to support their COVID response strategy of designing flexible programs that can serve for both virtual and live performances, and to underwrite the musicians who bring great music to the community;
  • Sandy Arts Guild to help support the nearly 40 arts programs provided to the residents of the Sandy area;

Syracuse

  • Syracuse City Arts Council to help purchase timpani for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra;

Vernal

  • Uintah Basin Visual Artists to enable the Innovation Center to facilitate art shows and exhibits for local professional and novice visual artists;

West Valley City

  • Community Nursing Services to help them provide homecare and hospice services for uninsured and under insured people as the need for their services grows due to the pandemic;

Northern Utah

  • NEXT Ensemble to fund musical performances at Title I elementary schools and senior care facilities, two facilities that do not regularly get professional-level performances, and a series of videos that allow children to learn remotely about different musical instruments;
  • Weber County Heritage Foundation to help them create Weber Wander: An Interactive History App that will be provided free to the public and turn real historical sites into a fun game like Pokémon Go!

Cache Valley, Utah

  • American West Heritage Center to support 2021 educational programing that serves students, teachers, seniors, special-needs organizations and other nonprofits;
  • Cache Humane Society to support a special two-day discounted Community Veterinary Clinic for vaccinations and spay/neuter services since regular clinics earlier in the year were restricted to preserve PPE for hospitals and medical clinics;
  • Smithfield City Corporation to help fund restoration of the 1883 Douglas Mercantile Building to help convert it into a city museum;

Southern Utah

  • John Wesley Powell River History Museum to support community-based art exhibitions in the rural community of Green River, making exhibitions safe and accessible for all visitors;
  • Orchestra of Southern Utah to fund the 2021 Children’s Jubilee: “Everyone a Superhero,” which connects students with science, art and music through a concert, exhibits and activities;
  • Tuacahn Center for the Arts to support their 2021 25th Anniversary Broadway in the Canyon Series of theater performances;
  • Friends of Switchpoint for cleaning supplies and PPE to keep the emergency shelter clean and safe during the pandemic, and to help provide meals for shelter residents;

Wyoming (includes additional Community Giving grants)

Albany County

  • WTI Foundation to support their scholarship program aimed at  people who have lost their jobs due to COVID and who wish to transition into the automotive, diesel or collision industry;

Casper 

  • Artcore, Inc. for supporting artists through ARTCORE Outreach, which brings artists to schools and students and teachers to venues for music, dance and theater performances; 
  • Casper Theater Company to provide energy-efficient LED house lighting for the theater, which provides entertainment education and quality theater to the Casper community; 
  • Food for Thought Project to fund a commercial refrigerator, stove, vent and hood  to help them deliver on their mission to end hunger and alleviate poverty in the Casper community; 
  • Mimi’s House to support housing and transition programs for homeless teens 
  • Nicolaysen Art Museum to support therapeutic art programs through a variety of regional nonprofit organizations, which help children through adults cope with life’s challenges and connect with the larger community; 
  • Nicolaysen Art Museum for the Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise Again, a monumental sculpture to be constructed by repurposing nine obsolete wind turbine blades;

Douglas 

  • Converse Hope Center to support the mission of serving victims of crime, including domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and child, adult and elder abuse, which is especially critical now as reports of domestic violence and abuse have risen during the pandemic; 
  • Solutions for Life to support the purchase of a new water heater and chairs for their transitional group home for mental health patients;

Evanston

  • Roundhouse Restoration Incorporated to support The Music in the Air at Depot Square, a live concert series scheduled for summer, 2021, in conjunction with the local farmer’s market;
  • Uinta County Museum Foundation to digitally catalog artifacts at the Joss House museum and purchase archival materials to help exhibit and preserve museum artifacts;

Glenrock 

  • Boys and Girls Club to support their Feed the Kids on Friday program to support children who no longer have access to school nutrition programs on Fridays because of the four-day school week;

Greybull 

  • The Shack to provide food through their Life Intervention Initiative that targets at-risk middle and high school students, and provides a safe, constant place to go in a community impacted by the pandemic.;

Kemmerer 

  • Original Oystergrass Inc. to support sound engineering for the Oyster Ridge Music Festival, a cornerstone event for the community;

Laramie  

  • Albany County Public Library Foundation to support essential work and material delivery to meet community needs during the COVID pandemic; 
  • Alliance for Historic Wyoming to support the Historic Preservation Month 2021 program, which helps the nonprofit connect with organizations and businesses across the state to promote economic development and growth through preservation; 
  • Laramie Free Clinic to support their mission of offering healthcare to low-income, uninsured residents of Albany County, which is especially important now since unemployment has increased during the pandemic; 
  • Laramie Public Art Coalition to fund artist workshops and meet-ups and for engaging with the public through education about public art; \
  • University of Wyoming to support the Malcom Wallop Civic Engagement program, which supplies free, virtual social studies curriculum resources to Wyoming teachers and students;

Pinedale

  • Green River Valley Health Foundation to purchase needed equipment for local medical clinics in Sublette County, the only county in Wyoming without a hospital or trauma center;
  • Pinedale Fine Arts Council to support their COVID response, reworking school arts programs to include social distancing and moving the Senior Center Dementia Care classes into a virtual environment;
  • Rendezvous Point to fund Wyoming Home Services that provides vulnerable, home-bound seniors with housekeeping, personal care, respite and other services that allow them to age safely at home and stay out of nursing facilities, which have been hit particularly hard by COVID;

Rawlins 

  • Carbon County Library,  to support increased services during the pandemic as families turn to the library for online-learning support, educational materials and free wi-fi; 

Rock Springs 

  • The Actors Mission Inc. to help construct the Black Box Theater in donated buildings in downtown Rock Springs, as the theater company continues with its mission to “Feed the body, nourish the mind” by providing free admission and a meal to anyone wishing to attend a show;

Idaho

  • Oneida Pioneer Museum to help ensure the preservation of local pioneer history and textile art by funding a fabric/clothing conservator to evaluate, perform repairs and take other steps to preserve the museum’s extensive pioneer clothing and quilt collection.

In total, more than $2.3 million has been prioritized in 2020 for organizations across the six states PacifiCorp serves, dedicated to helping communities with the greatest needs. Prioritization will continue through 2021 for grants that support needs around the COVID-19 pandemic. The next grant cycle is now open through March 15; organizations may apply online.

Rocky Mountain Power also recognizes the ongoing support needed by customers, especially with the arrival of cooler weather. Customer care staff are available by phone to walk through account options and plans to alleviate financial burdens during this time. They can be reached at 1-888-221-7070 around the clock. For tools to help manage energy use this season, visit rockymountainpower.net/save.