SDCEA Matching Grant Program

Make Your Charitable Giving Go Further Locally

If you are a member or employee of Sangre de Cristo Electric Association (SDCEA), when you support charitable, civic, and educational organizations through financial contributions, SDCEA will match your donation to qualifying organizations based on the criteria outlined below.

Matching grants are awarded on a 1st-come, 1st-served basis from a limited pool of funds established annually by the SDCEA Board of Directors and administered through the Chaffee County Community Foundation. The SDCEA Board of Directors reserves the right to suspend, amend, or terminate the grants program at any time without notice. Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc. and the Chaffee County Community Foundation do not support organizations that engage in discriminatory practices.

Program Guidelines

• Matching grant requests must be submitted and signed by a member named on the account associated with the request. Please make sure the application comes from an account holder — a member named on the account. Family members, including spouses, are not always named as members on the account — it depends how it was set up by the member at the time of service. Applications cannot be processed for a friend or a family member — only the person named on the account. Any accounts or status associated with the member or employee must be in good standing. Please contact our office if you need assistance filling out the matching grant request form.
• Donations must be made in the calendar year in which you are submitting the request to be considered for the matching grant program.
• Donations must be made to:
  A 501(c)(3) providing services in Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Lake, or Saguache counties.
  An accredited, nonprofit educational or civic organization providing services in Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Lake, or Saguache counties. Matching grants may not be used to offset tuition or other school expenses.
• Donations that do not specifically meet the above criteria may receive a matching grant with approval by the Chief Executive Officer.
• Donations must be in the form of cash, check, credit, or debit. Gifts of in-kind, dues, membership fees, and pledges will not be matched.
• Donations will be matched in an amount not less than $25 and not more than $200 in aggregate, per membership per calendar year.
• Donations will be matched in an amount not more than $1,000 in aggregate per qualifying organization, per calendar year.
• Proof of the member or employee donation must be submitted by the matching grant applicant or the organization to which the donation was made. This can be in the form of a copy of your receipt or canceled check if you have one. If you do not have proof of the donation, the organization for whom the matching grant is requested will need to provide that proof when they submit their information for the matching grant.

Organizations that normally qualify are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Organizations that do not qualify are clubs, political campaigns, or other organizations where political or legislative activities (lobbying) are a substantial part of the activities of the organization.