Providing electricity and natural gas to over 1 million customers, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) serves Northern Indiana by both investing in the future and supporting the present. A large part of this work includes NIPSCO’s charity program.
Through its Charity of Choice program, NIPSCO provides both community service and donations to needy organizations throughout its entire service area.
“Service to our customers and communities takes many forms,” said Tara McElmurry, NIPSCO communication manager. “The annual Charity of Choice program allows us to give back to the communities where we are privileged to live and work.”
NIPSCO has been providing this aid for the past 13 years. In fact, the organization is so dedicated to this initiative that Charity of Choice is ultimately driven by NIPSCO’s mission to provide value to their customers.
McElmurry believes that a unique and essential feature of this yearly program is the role NIPSCO employees play in its success.
“Charity of Choice is NIPSCO’s annual employee giving program,” said McElmurry. “All NIPSCO employees are allowed four hours of paid company time a year to put toward a volunteer project of their choosing.”
Traditionally operated as a fundraising campaign, today Charity of Choice is an in-person volunteer opportunity for NIPSCO employees.
“When it first started, employees would vote on one organization or cause to support,” said McElmurry. “Since the pandemic, we’ve noticed that organizations are needing more hands-on help than in the past.”
This type of togetherness and community spirit has been good for the community and for the organization.
“While NIPSCO employees came up with some creative ways to raise dollars to support organizations virtually during the pandemic, employees have been excited to be back out in the community to give back in person, bonding as a team and seeing the power of their collective efforts make a difference for deserving organizations,” McElmurry said.
NIPSCO employees volunteer for causes throughout NIPSCO’s service area by selecting organizations that resonate with them.
“For the past two years, Charity of Choice has become more volunteer-focused where employees now are able to choose a volunteer opportunity that is meaningful to them,” said McElmurry.
McElmurry believes that this change has been vital to the program.
“Giving employees a choice in the organizations they’d like to support through the company allows them to bring personal motivation and passion to our efforts to give back,” McElmurry said.
In September of 2023, NIPSCO’s Charity of Choice program resulted in over 800 hours of employee-driven volunteer time.
“NIPSCO’s Public Affairs team works to identify volunteer opportunities that touch each part of the service area whether it’s supporting the St. Jude House in Crown Point, the Boys & Girls Club or Fort Wayne, or Habitat for Humanity of Kokomo,” said McElmurry.
Although Charity of Choice occurs once a year, NIPSCO and its employees continue to support Northern Indiana throughout the year.
“Employees have already begun raising dollars for NIPSCO’s Annual Hope for the Holidays giving campaign and are providing critical supplies to local women’s and children’s homes,” said McElmurry.
In truth, NIPSCO and its employees provide community support 12 months out of the year.
“NIPSCO’s parent company, NiSource, has a volunteer grant program called Dollars for Doers in which the company rewards the efforts of active employee volunteers through monetary gifts to eligible non-profit organizations where the employee contributes personal volunteer hours,” McElmurry said. “Employees can earn up to $500 ($20 per hour, 25 hours annually) per year for the eligible organization they support during their personal time.”
To learn more about NIPSCO’s Charity of Choice program, please visit its website.