Contribution Guidelines

1. The objective of Canoochee EMC Foundation, Inc. (the Foundation) is to provide assistance to Canoochee EMC members, organizations and projects whose primary purpose is an improvement in the quality of life for residents in our service territory.
2. Our goals are to address the needs of our service area, to designate available dollars where we can optimize our impact, and to provide cost-effective assistance to worthwhile individuals, organizations, and projects with local significance.
3. Board of Directors Guidelines:
   1. Contributions are generally made in the following categories:
      1. Health & Human Services
      2. Emergency Services Equipment  
      3. Community Projects
      4. Education
      5. Catastrophic Intervention
   2. All requests to the Foundation must be made in writing and may merit a formal presentation.  Incomplete applications will automatically be denied assistance.
   3. Grants are primarily intended for capital programs and special needs and not for on-going operational expenses.
4. Exclusions:
   1. Grants are not made to members for payment of utility bills.
   2. Grants are not made to organizations that discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, disability or national origin.
   3. The Foundation cannot make grants to lobbying groups or political causes.
   4. The Foundation cannot make grants to its Board of Directors either directly or indirectly (see Article VII of Bylaws).  
5. Administration of Corporate Contributions:
   1. Dollars are distributed to tax-exempt organizations as defined under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and are within the area served by Canoochee EMC.
   2. Distributions on all amounts require the Board of Directors' approval and shall be limited to a maximum of $1,500 for individuals and $5,000 to any family unit, group, organization, charity, or like organization. The Board of Directors can increase this limit by a two-thirds vote of the entire Board of Directors.  In addition to a written proposal on the application provided by the Foundation, the request for an organizational donation must include the organization’s fiscal year budget.  No more than one request per year per member or organization will be permitted.
   3. Contributions will be evaluated in the categories listed above.