SDG&E Environmental Grants Available To Nonprofit Groups

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego Gas & Electric is accepting grant applications for the Environmental Champions program, with a focus on habitant restoration or urban green space projects, including tree-planting and community gardens, the utility announced Tuesday.

Now in its 14th year, the program awards grants to local nonprofits, and has invested more than $10 million in local organizations in the last seven years alone, officials said.

The utility said that awards have increased from $20,000 to $40,000 this year as part of a shareholder-funded initiative supporting organizations in San Diego and southern Orange counties.

Officials added that in 2023, 99% of SDG&E's charitable investments "benefited diverse and underserved communities."

Estela de Llanos, SDG&E vice president of Land & Environmental Services and chief sustainability officer, said her company believes that community engagement and collaboration "(are) essential to improving our local environment and enhancing our region."

Leona Sublett, president and CEO of San Diego Parks Foundation, said the grant program allowed her group to plant more trees in some of San Diego's most under-invested neighborhoods.

"Through this partnership, as well as the support from several other donors, we are making incremental progress toward meeting our city's Climate Action Plan goals and improving quality of life by planting more than 300 trees in communities like Bay Terraces, Southcrest, Linda Vista and Otay Mesa," Sublett added.

SDG&E officials said the company "encourages nonprofit collaboration between two or more nonprofit organizations, which will allow smaller, grassroots organizations to receive support through joint grant applications."

Eligible groups may apply until 5 p.m. on April 12 at sdge.com/environmental-champions-initiative.

— City News Service