Our community impact
Sharing our energy with the communities we serve through charitable giving, outreach and employee volunteerism.
We are privileged to serve natural gas and electric utility customers in our eight-state footprint. Giving back to those communities is part of our history, our culture, and will hopefully be our legacy. We continuously strive to positively impact the lives of every person, business, and organization in the towns and cities we all call home.
Providing safe and reliable energy every day is what we do, and alongside that commitment, our employees make a meaningful difference in the communities where they live and work.
We are proud to share this summary of our community impact activities.
Serving over 1.34 million natural gas and electric utility customers in 800+ communities across eight states, our direct economic impact included charitable giving, compensation for almost 2,900 employees, franchise fees, payments to suppliers, and property, sales and use taxes paid to our communities.
We know that by giving back in our communities, we are helping build a stronger and more vibrant society. At the same time, volunteers benefit by finding a sense of purpose and meaning. More than 760 employees spent over 31,000 hours sharing their energy while volunteering with hundreds of community organizations.
We supported the work of economic development organizations and chambers of commerce working to strengthen our communities. In 2023, we invested more than $651,000 to aid this development that fuels our local businesses.
Black Hills Cares
We all use energy to heat our homes when it’s cold and keep the lights on when it gets dark. Making the tough decision between paying for energy or feeding your family is beyond challenging. As the need increased, so did the giving. Last year, our energy assistance program, Black Hills Cares, helped over 4,600 families through partnerships with two dozen agencies throughout our service territory.
We match our customers’ and employees’ contributions to Black Hills Cares dollar-for-dollar, raising a total of almost $697,000 last year.
Energy in action
United Way pledges
Last year, we benefited 45 United Ways across our eight states including over $495,000 in employee pledges plus a 25% match from Black Hills Corp. Foundation.
Charitable giving
Included contributions and sponsorships to nonprofits, chambers and economic development organizations, United Way, energy assistance, in-kind donations, scholarships, investments in trees and the social impact of employee volunteer hours.
Charitable giving
Contributions and sponsorships
Our charitable impact included contributions and sponsorships for nonprofits, chambers and economic development organizations, United Way, energy assistance, in-kind donations, and investments in trees, as well as the monetary value of our employees’ volunteerism.
Nearly $2.3 million was invested by our state utilities and the Black Hills Corp. Foundation in the great work of hundreds of worthy local organizations and nonprofits.
Spreading Positive Energy in our communities
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Let’s be honest, we all go to parades for the free candy. Whether you’re taking it from your child or grabbing it off of the sidewalk, know that this past Independence Day our team from South Dakota would have had your sweet tooth covered! During this year’s Independence Day celebration, members… -
For the second year in a row our company was recognized by the Nebraska Safety Council (NESC) for our commitment to keeping our employees safe. At their 45th Annual Awards Conference this year we received a Star Level Safety Award, and also took home the Safest Company with Distinction Award in… -
Children of all abilities and their families have a new place to explore and play in York, Nebraska. Unveiled in May, the Peyton Parker Lane Playground features several all-inclusive play structures ranging from calming sensory zones to outdoor musical instruments, massive swing sets and ziplines… -
Employees from the Council Bluffs, Iowa, facility volunteered their personal energy at the United Way of the Midland’s Shine Bright event recently, helping to assemble bags filled with essential hygiene items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, clean clothes and dental products. These bags are…