Beginning January 1, 2008 financial support from the Office of Community Relations will be provided through grants made to non-profit organizations. These grants will replace the individual sponsorships and ticket purchases you may currently receive. Support will continue to be concentrated on organizations serving the greatest number of individuals in our main service area of Southern New Jersey, and whose missions best align with our strategic interests in the following areas:

Health and Social Services – specifically, addressing the health and welfare of women, children, and families

Economic Development - assisting our communities and their residents in enhancing the region’s economic vitality

Cultural Diversity – Complementing efforts to promote cultural diversity through a variety of outlets throughout our region.

Vocational and Technical Education – complementing lifelong learning efforts through support of secondary, vocational and technical education initiatives and programs

Environmental Preservation – protecting the environment and our natural resources

Please note, you must identify with which area your organization’s interests are aligned, and elaborate as to how your programs and initiatives will help further the goals mentioned above.

Grants will be offered by SJI pursuant to the following guidelines and requirements.

Organizations applying for grant funds must be structured as a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity that utilizes the support of volunteers in addition to at least one full-time paid staff person.

Grant applicants will be asked to adhere to a specified proposal format (included within this mailing) which outlines your organizational mission, populations served or affected, and identification of how the funds requested will be used. While we recognize that some organizations create their own forms for specific events or requests, we request that those forms be included as supporting material. A completed SJI Social Investment Request Form must also be received in order for a request to be considered.

Those NOT ELIGIBLE to apply for SJI and subsidiaries grant funds include:

• Religious organizations soliciting funds to be used largely to benefit their membership or to improve facilities used predominantly by their membership.

• Benefits providing financial support only for Individuals/Families

• Political causes

• Program Advertising Only (These requests must be directed to Joanne Brigandi of the Corporate Communications Dept.)

• Public, private and religious affiliated elementary and high schools

• Youth sports leagues/teams

• Projects funding causes lacking ties to the local communities served by our subsidiaries.

Grant funds will be distributed twice per calendar year, during the months of April and October.

If you would like to be considered for distribution of funds in April, please submit your application between the January 1 and February 28 review period.

If you would like to be considered for distribution of funds in October, please submit your application between August 1 and September 30 review period.

Requests for support received outside of the time periods outlined above will not be reviewed immediately. Instead, they will be filed for consideration during the next disbursement period.

You may only submit an application for funding once per year. However, we would encourage your organization to apply annually if a demonstrated need remains. When you submit a request, it should outline the total financial commitment you are seeking for the entire calendar year, as well as highlight any benefits the company might enjoy as a supporter of your organization.

You are strongly encouraged to use the process described herein when seeking any type of financial support, regardless of the dollar amount or the type of support (i.e. event sponsorship, ticket purchase, annual appeal, volunteer service, etc.)

EXAMPLE: If you are a charitable organization who previously received sponsorships from SJI or a subsidiary for three separate events, solicited at three different times per year, totaling $2500, you should only submit ONE request during calendar year 2008.

This single request should outline the total dollar amount you are seeking for the entire year, as well as any benefits that may be offered to the company for any events, programs or initiatives you facilitate throughout the year. (i.e. # of tickets to event(s) and dates of those events, potential for volunteer participation, potential Board Membership, banner recognition, program book recognition, etc. (Please note, providing opportunities for recognition, attendance or participation is not necessarily a requirement or a condition of receiving social investment support, but rather a way for the company to better track our organizational commitments internally.)

Submissions can be made electronically or in hard copy format through regular mail (preferably postmarked during the aforementioned time frames.)

In most cases, grants will be awarded at the discretion of the SJI Contributions Committee in the following denominations:

$500 - $1,000 - $2,500 - $5,000 - $10,000 - $15,000

Larger grant amounts will be available in more limited quantities than smaller amounts so it is critical that you demonstrate sufficient need and a comprehensive outline of the application of funds to be considered for these amounts.

If you do not currently have a relationship with South Jersey Industries, you might consider a more conservative request in your first application for funds. Be sure to highlight the benefits of a relationship with your organization at all levels, and not just at the maximum funding level.

Your request for financial support should identify any benefits to be received by the company for the entire year and must include the total amount of funds you are requesting for the calendar year.

You can only submit one request per year, BUT you may submit in the Fall a request for the following year to ensure that a decision is made in time for early year initiatives. You will not receive payment until the following year’s distribution period, but you would have confirmation of the award of funds.

All information outlined on the accompanying application must be provided in your submission. Submissions should be comprehensive, as we would prefer to not have to seek additional information beyond the deadlines.

All organizations will need to participate in the grant process outlined herein. Though we do regret any inconvenience or hardship that may result, prior receipt of charitable or sponsorship dollars does not guarantee award of a grant in subsequent years.

In an effort to help you conserve your resources, please note that it is not necessary to include SJI on fundraising, event or solicitation mailings for your organization, as the Social Investment program is the preferred method of petitioning the company for funding. Other mailings cannot be reviewed upon receipt.

Organizations that have received funding any SJI subsidiary must now apply in the format outlined herein. This includes dollars received from South Jersey Gas, South Jersey Energy, South Jersey Energy Solutions, South Jersey Energy Service Plus, and any other subsidiary, through the office of Community Relations. Please note, however, this does NOT include those dollars spent in support of Marketing or Advertising efforts. Those funds are not managed by the Community Relations office.

Click here for an application in the Adobe PDF format.

Click here for an application in Microsoft Word format.

If you have any further questions, please contact:
Marissa Brooks Traveline
Manager, Government & Community Relations
South Jersey Industries
1 South Jersey Plaza
Folsom, NJ 08037

Email mbrooks@sjindustries.com
Phone 609.561.9000 ext. 4227
Fax 609.561.8225