Strategic Charitable Contributions

In 2008, many communities and charitable organizations along our operations were increasingly challenged to meet their clients’ needs as the impact of the economic downturn spread. To help, El Paso contributed more than $5 million to support charitable causes in 2008. Our employees had a considerable voice in where the company made those contributions. Each fall during our annual giving campaign, when an employee makes a financial pledge to the qualified charity of their choice, El Paso matches their gift 100 percent, up to $20,000 per employee. In 2008, employees contributed $1.3 million during our annual campaign, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the company. Our employee contributions during the giving campaign have almost doubled since 2006.

To commemorate El Paso’s eightieth anniversary, the company contributed $80,000 to local chapters of the American Red Cross in the communities where we operate. During a year in which many communities were hit hard by natural disasters ranging from wildfires to hurricanes, we were proud to support an organization with a rich history of training and organizing neighbors to help their neighbors and provide compassionate disaster relief. Overall, the company contributed more than $800,000 to help agencies with disaster relief and recovery programs across the nation.

In-Kind Giving

El Paso also has an in-kind giving program, through which we donate office furniture, computers, and other surplus equipment to organizations in need.

Volunteer Outreach

In 2008, our employees volunteered more than 10,000 hours in communities across our system. Through active participation in a variety of organizations and programs, El Paso volunteers have a tangible and immediate impact on our neighbors in the towns and cities we call home.

A fulltime volunteer coordinator oversees our STEP program, which helps employees become involved in the volunteer activity of their choice. In 2008, we launched a new Web site for STEP that makes it even easier for employees to volunteer by providing a central location where they can learn about and register for upcoming volunteer events. Volunteers can also record their hours and those of family and friends who may also register for certain events.

In supporting fundamental needs, El Paso’s employee volunteers assist organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, Child Advocates, and Target Hunger.

In our focus area of education, El Paso volunteers help improve the academic achievement of youth by supporting programs that teach essential skills needed to succeed in the workplace, including:

In support of our focus on environmental stewardship, El Paso supported such organizations as Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition and Trails and Open Space Coalition.
To help align El Paso’s charitable support with the interests and passions of our employees, we created ep36, our employee volunteer grant program. Implemented in January 2009 using the STEP volunteer Web site, the program allows employees to track their personal volunteer hours at organizations they support. After an employee records 36 volunteer hours for an organization, the employee can request a $500 grant from El Paso to the organization in his or her name.

⁵ Calculated using IRS-allowed value of $18.77, $19.51, $20.25 per hour for years 2006 through 2008, respectively.

⁸ In our work with CPA, we agreed to provide more detail on individual corporate contributions in any state election campaigns where such corporate contributions are permitted by applicable state law that are (a) in excess of $1,000 in any states in which there is no legal or regulatory obligation by El Paso to report such individual corporate contributions or (b) in excess of $200 in any states in which there is a legal or regulatory obligation by El Paso to report such individual corporate contributions.