Building Strong Communities

Each day, Black Hills Improves Life with Energy by providing essential energy to our customers and communities. This goes well beyond the safe delivery of electricity and natural gas. It encompasses the energy of our entire Black Hills team and our commitment to improving the communities in which we live and work. In 2018, our community giving totaled over $4.1 million.

Community Giving Areas	2018 (rounded)
Black Hills Cares/Energy Assistance	$534,000
Contributions & Sponsorships*	$2,196,000
Economic Development/Chamber Sponsorships	$678,000
United Way	$609,000
Energy Saving Trees/Power of Trees**	$104,000
TOTAL	$4,121,000
*Contributions include BHC Foundation giving, donations, sponsorships, scholarships and in-kind giving
**In 2018, Black Hills helped our customers plant 2,400 trees across our service territory through tree giveaway programs administered through the Power of Trees program in Iowa and the Arbor Day Foundation's Energy Saving Trees program in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Total Community Impact by State	2018 (rounded)
Arkansas	$355,000
Colorado	$920,000
Iowa	$461,000
Kansas	$375,000
Nebraska	$763,000
South Dakota	$855,000
Wyoming	$392,000
TOTAL	$4,121,000

Economic Development by State*	2018 (rounded)
Arkansas	$20,000
Colorado	$132,000
Iowa	$153,000
Kansas	$58,000
Nebraska	$164,000
South Dakota	$101,000
Wyoming	$50,000
TOTAL	$678,000
*Includes chamber sponsorships

Black Hills Cares/Energy Assistance by State	2018 (rounded)
Arkansas	$45,000
Colorado	$112,000
Iowa	$65,000
Kansas	$101,000
Nebraska	$156,000
South Dakota	$29,000
Wyoming	$26,000
TOTAL	$534,000

Black Hills Corp. Foundation

The Black Hills Corp. Foundation was established in 2001 to support community organizations across our service territory. Since that time, the Foundation has provided nearly $5.3 million in funding for long-lasting, "brick-and-mortar" projects and capital funding campaigns. Foundation grants are awarded in the following focus areas: Helping People, Responsible Energy & Environmental Stewardship, Strong Communities, and Workforce/Education. In 2018, the Black Hills Corp. Foundation awarded $631,000 in grants to qualifying 501(c)3 nonprofits across our states.

Learn more: To apply for an event sponsorship and donation from our state utilities or the Black Hills Corp. Foundation, click here.

Employee Involvement

Giving back is a value that is deeply rooted in our company culture. Each year, our employees give generously of their time and talents to support community organizations and nonprofits across our service territory. This support includes personal contributions made to the United Way made through monthly payroll donations and one-time gifts. In 2018, more than 1,100 employees - about 40 percent of our workforce - participated in the company's annual United Way campaign, contributing at least their Fair Share (one hour of pay per month) for a total of nearly $500,000. Combined with a 25 percent matching gift by the Foundation, 2018 giving to the United Way totaled over $609,000. In addition, in 2018 our employees engaged in nonprofit board service, provided mentoring to students in STEM education, coached youth sports teams, and participated in countless volunteer service projects - providing support to more than 900 organizations.

Your Safety Matters

We work each day to help our customers and communities learn how to stay safe around overhead and underground electric and natural gas lines. Learn more here.

Program/Service	About
Training for first responders	In 2018, we provided over 50 training sessions to more than 900 first responders on natural gas pipeline and electric safety.
811 - Call Before You Dig	We actively promote 811 - Call Before You Dig - to build awareness about this essential underground utility-marking service.
Pipeline awareness and outreach	We provide detailed instructions to the general public, emergency responders, excavators and public officials to inform them about safety around natural gas pipelines, compressor stations and storage facilities.
Power line safety	We provide information to our customers, community and the general public to help them stay safe around power line.
Pipeline integrity management	We have a comprehensive pipeline integrity management plan to proactively monitor and assess the integrity of our natural gas pipelines through continuous inspections and testing.
Vegetation management	To support the reliability of our electric distribution and transmission system, we perform tree trimming and integrated vegetation management activities to manage power lines' rights-of-way.