1st Quarter 2012
Save the Date: NFFN's Summer LIHEAP Action Day, Tuesday, July 31, 2012
IN THIS ISSUE
NFFN RECEIVES $9,000 IN DONATIONS
FROM MAGAZINE READERS
DOLLAR ENERGY FUNDS USES
AIRWAVES AND BREAD IN FUND
RAISING EFFORT
NFFN'S ON-LINE PETITION TO
CONGRESS ASKING FOR $5.1 BILLION
FOR LIHEAP IN FY 2013
NEUAC TO FEATURE NEW ORLEANS
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
NFFN SPEAKS NOMINATIONS FOR
ANNUAL AWARDS AND MEMBERSHIP ON
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
10TH ANNUAL LIHEAP ACTION DAY
BRINGS ADVOCATES TO CAPITOL HILL
DOMINION'S ENERGYSHARE PROGRAM:
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
Save the Date
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
NFFN's Summer LIHEP
Action Day
Join us in Washington and help restore
LIHEAP funding.
Watch the NFFN's website for
registration information.
A MESSAGE FROM
THE CHAIR
NFFN Receives $9,000 in Donations from
Parade Magazine Readers
Readers of PARADE Magazine’s first ever
“Giving” issue, which included a brief
story highlighting the work of National
Fuel Funds Network’s members, have
contributed $9,000 to the NFFN.
The “Giving” issue was published on
November 27 and contained vignettes
about the work of the NFFN and nine other non-profit organizations.
Readers of this special edition of PARADE were urged to make
contributions to the featured organizations.
George Coling, executive director of the NFFN, said “we are
extremely grateful to the editors of PARADE for including the NFFN
in this special issue. The exposure the organization received was
very important to our efforts to spread the word about the assistance
offered by our members across the country“. Coling said the funds
raised will be distributed to nonprofit energy assistance programs
who are NFFN members.
The segment on the NFFN, in the magazine, told the story of the
Ramirez family of Hamilton, New Jersey. Mr. Ramirez owned a
small trucking company, but his business fell victim to the economic
recession. Despite their best efforts to keep up with their expenses,
the family soon found themselves two months behind on their gas
bill.
Mrs. Ramirez contacted NJShares, a statewide emergency energy
assistance program that is a member of the NFFN, and received an
assistance grant that allowed her to pay the past due utility bills.
The story about the NFFN and other non-profits remains available
for viewing on PARADE magazine’s website. To access the article,
visit http://www.parade.com/news/2011/11/giving-issue.html
Dollar Energy Fund Uses Airwaves and Bread
in Fund Raising Effort
By Tom Stovall, Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the National
Fuel Funds Network and executive
director of the Operation New View
Community Action Agency in Dubuque,
IA.
Today, I would like to use this space to
talk a little about the NFFN’s advocacy
activities on behalf of the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program.
On February 15, more than 130 NFFN
members and LIHEAP supporters
participated in the 10th annual LIHEAP
Action Day. Action Day participants
took part in more than 150 meetings
with members of Congress or their
staffs to urge them to resist efforts to
reduce LIHEAP funding for the
coming fiscal year.
Over the last ten years more than 1,000
LIHEAP supporters have come to the
Nation’s capital on LIHEAP Action
Day to lobby for this important
program. What began with just a small
group of Washington based supporters
of the federal energy assistance
program meeting with their
Congressional delegations has now
grown into one of the most impactful
and broad based efforts to keep
LIHEAP as an effective social safety
net program.
I’d like to thank everyone who has
either participated in LIHEAP Action
Day or has supported this event for
your help in this effort. Your
involvement has been meaningful in
keeping LIHEAP an effective and
Dollar Energy Fund took to the
airwaves in Pittsburgh and made
“bread” in West Virginia to raise
funds for their energy assistance
programs.
In Pittsburgh, the 2012 NewsRadio
1020 KDKA Warmathon to benefit
Dollar Energy Fund raised more than $380,000 during its two days
on the air in February. This year’s Warmathon marked the fourth
year in a row that the radio station and Dollar Energy Fund have
partnered to raise money for energy assistance.
The event has raised more than $1.15 million since it began in 2009.
Cindy Datig, chief executive officer of Dollar Energy Fund, said “We
are thankful to all of our generous donors for making our
Warmathon a success again this year. Many families, individual, and
senior citizens in the Pittsburgh area are not able to afford the cost of
maintaining their utility service. The funds from the Warmathon
will be directly applied to help those who are less fortunate – our
neighbors in need – stay warm in their homes when the
temperatures drop.”
Meanwhile, in West Virginia, the Dollar Energy Fund’s WV Utility
Assistance Program teamed with Panera Bread in a fund raising
effort that netted more than $21,000 including utility matching
funds.
For the month of December, Panera Bread donated $1 for each
purchase of a soup in a bread bowl at any of its nine cafes in
Wheeling, Parkersburg, Morgantown, Clarksburg, Barboursville,
Charleston and St. Clairsville, OH and Ashland, KY.
Additionally, Panera Bread donated all of the funds collected in its
“Operation Dough-Nation” canisters located at the cash registers in
its cafes.
Danielle Snidow, WV Utility Assistance Fund executive director,
described the fund raising campaign as “extremely successful” and
efficient program.
In recent years, the NFFN has
expanded its efforts to include Summer
LIHEAP Action Day, which is
designed to remind our nation’s
lawmakers that energy assistance is just
as important in the heat of summer as it
is in the cold of winter. This year
Summer LIHEAP Action Day will be
held on July 31.
But our advocacy does not end with
these two important lobbying events,
NFFN executive director George
Coling works closely with our
champions in Congress and the
Washington based representatives of
our utility partners to continue to
garner support for LIHEAP.
Through George’s efforts, NFFN
members have helped collect the
signatures of members of Congress on
“Dear Colleague” letters and have
signed on to letters to the
Congressional leadership supporting
LIHEAP.
Additionally, George coordinates bimonthly nationwide conference calls to
keep NFFN members and other
LIHEAP advocates appraised of the
status of legislation concerning
LIHEAP and activities to support the
program.
Now the NFFN has begun an internet
petition campaign with the goal of
collecting 100,000 signatures by the
time we come to Washington for
Summer LIHEAP Action Day. The
petition urges Congress to provide $5.1
billion for LIHEAP for FY 2012. I ask
that you take a few minutes to sign this
petition and I urge you to ask your
friends, co-workers and associates to
sign it also.
said next year the campaign would begin in mid-November.
NFFN's on-line petition to Congress asking
for$5.1 Million for LIHEAP in FY 2013
On the NFFNs’ LIHEAP Action Day, the National Fuel Funds
Network launched an on-line petition drive asking Congress to
provide $5.1 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program for FY 2013.
George Coling, executive director of the NFFN, said “What we want
to do is demonstrate to Congress just how many people understand
the importance of LIHEAP. We wanted to give those who could not
come to Washington for LIHEAP
Action Day the opportunity to make
their voices heard.”
The petition drive was started in
response to President Obama’s FY
2013 budget proposal which called
for LIHEAP to be funded at $3.020
billion and the goal is to obtain
100,000 signatures on the petition by
Summer LIHEAP Action Day, July
31.
Every time a signature is added to the petition an email is sent to
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye,
Ranking Committee member Sen. Thad Cochran, House
Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers and Ranking
Committee member Rep. Norm Dicks.
Coling pointed out that the petition gives “every person who signs
the opportunity to make a personal statement about LIHEAP” and
urged signatories “to let the decision makers in Washington know
exactly how you feel about this important program.”
“We are asking our members, supporters and friends to sign the
petition and spread the word so that we can reach our goal,” Coling
said.
Here is what you can do to help:


We all know that these are difficult
times. Government leaders are facing
difficult decisions as they try to reduce
government spending and our nation’s
Sign the petition and ask your colleagues, co-workers, friends
and family to do so also. You may use the built-in feature of
the petition site to do so or send it separately.
Post the link to the petition on your organization’s website
and include it in your newsletter and/or blog. In printed
materials, please cut and paste the following link:
www.change.org/petitions/congress-approve-51-billion-in-
debt. But these are also difficult times
for millions of Americans who are
trying to keep their homes livable and
their families secure.
The work that all of us do to support
those in need and fight for LIHEAP is
vital. I thank all of you for your time
and energy and I encourage you to help
us keep up the fight.
In just a few months, we will gather in
New Orleans for the National Energy
and Utility Affordability Conference,
which will give us a change to share
ideas and innovations and learn from
each other. I look forward to seeing
you in the Big Easy.




funding-for-liheap-in-fy-2013.
Post the link or button on your Face book page and other
social media and networking sites.
Print out the link on a card as a handout to meetings that you
are attending or organizing.
Mention the petition and include the link in all intraorganization communications.
Include the button or link in the auto-signature feature of
your email.
NEUAC to Feature New Orleans Motivation
Speaker
Dr. Calvin Mackie, Ph.D. author of an
inspirational memoir A View from the Roof:
Lessons for Life and Business will be a featured
speaker on the first day of the National Energy
and Utility Affordability Conference. The
conference will be held June 11-13 at the
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
Dr. Mackie, the managing partner of Channel
ZerO Group, LLC, an educational and motivational consulting
company he co-founded in 1992, is a New Orleans native whose
memoir paints a vivid picture of his early life in the Crescent City.
In 2003, Dr. Mackie received the Presidential Award for Excellence
in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
More than 600 people are expected to attend the three day
conference which is co-presented by of the National Fuel Funds
Network and the National Low Income Energy Consortium. The
conference is the nation’s largest gathering of people involved in the
energy issues affecting low income households.
This year’s conference will feature more than 50 workshops dealing
with subjects including energy availability and sustainability,
weatherization and energy efficiency, energy assistance and
education, energy policy and advocacy, vulnerable populations,
energy programs in Indian country, and utility and fuel programs.
The workshops will provide information on important issues
confronting the energy assistance community like “Fuel Funds
Revamped: Answering the Call of the Times,” “Using Social Media to
Meet Goals, Engage Limited-Income Customers, Improve
Outreach,” “Energy Affordability: Supplementing LIHEAP Cuts,”
and “The Effect of the Political Climate on Low-Income Programs.”
The conference plenary sessions will take a look at the status of nonprofit community in 2012 and issues surrounding protecting at-risk
consumers.
Popular Hot Topic sessions will include discussions of effective
fundraising techniques, how to establish bank accounts for lowincome households, and shale gas and its impact on low income
consumers.
NFFN Executive Director George Coling said “The issues that will be
discussed during the conference are made even more relevant by the
current recession, high unemployment rates and the possibility of
reductions in LIHEAP funding. Bringing together so many people
from different aspects of the energy assistance field can spur
innovations and new approaches to the problems facing so many
people.”
On the final day of the conference, the NFFN and the NLIEC will
present their annual awards. The NFFN will announce the winners
of the Sister Pat Kelley Award, the Victorine Q. Adams Award, the
Corporate Excellence Award and the Extra Mile Award, and the
NLIEC will bestow its Achievement Award.
On-line registration is available now at the NEUAC website -www.neuac.org.
NFFN Seeks Nomination for Annual Awards
and Membership on Board of Directors
The NFFN is currently seeking nominations for its annual
recognition awards and for membership on its Board of Directors.
Each year the NFFN recognizes the achievements, contributions and
innovations of its non-profit and corporate members with a series of
awards. They include:
·
The Sister Pat Kelley Achievement Award which
recognizes exemplary personal achievement in furthering the
organization’s goals of increasing public awareness of lowincome energy problems, advancing energy assistance policy
and promoting charitable energy assistance. This is the
NFFN’s highest honor.
·
The Victorine Q. Adams Award which highlights
institutional innovations and achievement among nonprofit
NFFN members.
·
The Corporate Excellence Award which recognizes
outstanding achievement by a company on behalf of its low
income customers.
Nominations are also open for membership on the NFFN’s 19
member Board of Directors.
NFFN executive director George Coling said members have received
the call for nominations and the awards nominations will be
available on the NFFN website in early April.
10th Annual LIHEAP Action Day Brings
Advocates to Capitol Hill
The National Fuel Funds Network’s 10th annual LIHEAP Action Day
drew more than 130 supporters of the federal energy assistance
program to Washington for a day of grassroots lobbying aimed at
preserving funding for the vital safety net program.
LIHEAP Action Day participants took part in 150 meetings with
Senators, Representatives and their staffs where they explained the
importance of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to
the millions of households that receive help with their home energy
bills. They also urged the members of Congress to provide $5.1
billion for LIHEAP for FY 2013.
President Obama’s FY 2013 budget proposal, which was released two
days before LIHEAP Action Day, included only $3.020 billion for
LIHEAP. Reducing funding for LIHEAP to this level would leave
millions of Americans without assistance.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill news
conference, NFFN Board
Chairman Tom Stovall
expressed his “disappointment”
with the President’s budget
request and announced that the
NFFN was launching an on-line
petition drive to urge Congress
to fund LIHEAP at $5.1
billion. The petition is
available at http://www.change.org/petitions/congress-approve-51billion-in-funding-for-liheap-in-fy-2013?pe=d4e.
During the news conference Representative Ed Markey (D-MA)
announced that he had introduced legislation that would increase
the level of funding for and expand availability to LIHEAP. The
Energy Assistance for American Families Act would increase the
authorized funding level for LIHEAP to $7.6 billion per year for
fiscal years 2013 to 2016, an increase of $2.5 billion over the last
authorized level, enacted in 2005.
The bill would also extend the expanded eligibility levels that were
included in the omnibus appropriations bills for fiscal years 2009
and 2010 – giving states the option of helping families with incomes
up to 75 percent of the state median income level.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Representatives Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT), John Larson (D-CT) and Peter Welch (D-VT), all of whom
participated in the news conference. Rep. DeLauro, the ranking
member of the House Appropriations Committee, expressed her
support for the legislation and vowed to fight against cuts to LIHEAP
funding for FY 2013.
NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe revealed that a recent survey
found that one out of every five households, that receive aid through
LIHEAP, contain a veteran. The number of veterans receiving
federal energy assistance has increased from 12 percent of total
recipients to 20 percent since 2008, increasing from 695,760 in FY
2008 to 1.78 million in FY 2011, Wolfe said.
Wolfe also told reporters that 12 percent of all veterans receiving
LIHEAP have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and seven percent of
military families are currently serving in the military.
Former LIHEAP recipient Eric Lopez, a former Marine from
Colorado, explained to reporters how he had to turn to LIHEAP for
help after he lost his job. Lopez said he not only received assistance
with his utility bills but also got his home weatherized. He later was
hired by the company that weatherized his home.
LIHEAP Action Day started with a
welcome from Stovall and
messages from American Gas
Association President and CEO
Dave McCurdy and Larry Borgard,
the President and COO of Utilities,
Integrys Energy Group and
Chairman of the AGA Board of
Directors.
Before participants began their meetings on Capitol Hill, time was
taken to present Rep. Peter King (R-NY) with the NFFN’s 2011 Extra
Mile award for his long standing support of LIHEAP.
Last year, Rep. King and Rep. Ed Markey co-authored a Dear
Colleague letter urging the members of the House to maintain level
funding for LIHEAP.
To watch a video of the LIHEAP Action Day news conference visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuDtVLEMo2s&feature=youtu.
be and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7flYYBu5pM&feature=youtu.b
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Dominion's EnergyShare Program: Celebrating
30 Years
By: Rita J. Randolph
Senior Community Affairs Representative
Dominion
It all began 30 years ago with a bright idea:
that our electric utility ought to help the
state’s most vulnerable citizens – the
unemployed, the working poor and families
facing a financial crisis with no other place to turn – meet their
heating needs during the winter freeze.
That idea became our signature energy-assistance program,
EnergyShare, which has distributed $52 million to aid 250,000
families – or more than a half-million people – so they may remain
comfortable in their homes during the coldest and hottest times of
the year.
In recognition of EnergyShare’s 30th anniversary, a new advertising
campaign was developed including television commercials and print
ads. Employees also got engaged in January 2012, through a “$30
for 30” fundraising drive. More than 1,100 employees donated more
than $103,000 toping the $100,000.goal.
Dominion’s contribution was increased this year by $2 million to
$4.5 million in Virginia and Ohio where the program operates. In
addition, customer contributions total $1 million annually.
Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell attended a special ceremony
commemorating the 30th Anniversary and presented Dominion with
a Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
We’re making some changes to the layout and format of the National
Energy Assistance Report in order to make the newsletter easier to
read and deliver.
The National Energy Assistance Report has been published by the NFFN
since 1992 and is the only nationally distributed newsletter that has continually reported on
low income energy issues.
The National Energy Assistance Report, a quarterly publication of the National Fuel Funds Network, is free to members and available by subscription at $20/year.
Editor, George Coling, NFFN Executive Director and Reporter, Ivan Brandon. We welcome articles, news items and calendar events. To submit material, contact NFFN,
1010 Vermont Ave, NW Suite 718, Washington DC 20005; 202-824-0660 or info@nationalfuelfunds.org.
Thanks to Entergy Charitable Foundation for providing a grant for NFFN to publish National Energy Assistance Report in-house.