Entergy 2013 Annual Report Download - page 59

Entergy Corporation 2013 INTEGRATED REPORT 58
SOCIAL
Partnering With Our Communities
Strategic Giving and Volunteerism
The goal of our corporate social responsibility strategy is to create shared value for our
communities by aligning philanthropic and community involvement strategies with corporate
and business unit objectives. We foster economic growth and community vitality through the
Entergy Charitable Foundation, which makes strategic investments in three key focus areas:
education, poverty solutions and environmental programs. In addition to the foundation, other
corporate giving programs support a broad range of community improvement initiatives such
as the Centennial Bridge Lighting project in Little Rock, Ark. We also provide disaster relief
to our communities when needed. Strengthening these focus areas and our relationships
with stakeholders supports our business growth and other economic objectives as well
as bolstering our environmental leadership goals.
OUR 2013 GIVING
In 2013, Entergy invested more than $15 million in local communities through the Entergy
Charitable Foundation and other grant programs. Foundation board members and local
employee committees review grant requests throughout the year to ensure corporate giving
aligns community needs and Entergy focus areas. We identify and fund high impact, data-driven
programs that deliver measurable results. Examples include our investments in education
transformation which are driving dramatic improvements in student scores and school
performance. Our poverty solutions initiatives have helped hundreds of families become first-
time homeowners. And our environmental programs are helping communities become cleaner,
greener and more resilient to climate change.
Through our Community Connectors program, Entergy employees and retirees logged a
record 100,477 hours of volunteer service valued at $2.2 million in 2013. For every 20 hours,
employees can earn a $250 grant for their favorite nonprofit organization. Community
Connectors creates an important link between Entergy’s corporate giving and employee
volunteerism.
Entergy’s legal team was named Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year for 2013 by the New Orleans
Pro Bono Project. More than 830 hours of free legal services were provided and 88 percent of
attorneys in the New Orleans area participated.
ENGAGING OUR STAKEHOLDERS
Our corporate social responsibility organization also engages employees and other
stakeholders through earned media, internal and external newsletters, the Internet and
social media. Entergy’s The Power to Care Facebook page is a community forum with
more than 17,500 subscribers. It includes news and information about nonprofit partners
and Entergy’s community activities.
In the Star Power! Powering Communities Video Contest, employees posted videos of
their volunteer experiences to The Power to Care Facebook page. The video that received the
most votes earned a $5,000 grant for the Montgomery County Animal Shelter. More than
12,000 votes were cast in the contest. Every eligible organization featured in the Powering
Communities contest received a $250 grant. Watch the winning video at entergy.com/mcas.
Entergy also hosts summits and local conferences and surveys community leaders to gather
input and benchmark our social responsibility performance against other companies. This critical
feedback improves our programs and results. For example, educating customers earlier in the
year about Earned Income Tax Credits helped them realize more on their returns through the
free tax preparation service provided by our community partners. We enhanced the ways we
reached low-income customers based on input from our community advocates, including phone
calls to customers about available LIHEAP support and adding mobile and social media ads to
our EITC campaign.
■ Arts & Culture 6%
■ Community Improvement 25%
■ Education/Literacy 28%
■ Environmental 7%
■ Poverty Solutions/Social Services 34%
2013 PHILANTHROPY
Invested more than $15 million