Sempra Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Sempra Foundation runs signature programs to bring energy to communities in need in the U.S. and Mexico. Other funding interests include education and health.
IP TAKE: The major portion of this foundation’s work consists of partnerships with utilities and other organizations to combat energy poverty in communities in need in the U.S. and Mexico. Additionally, this funder makes grants for education and health, with a strong emphasis on the state of California, where its parent energy company is based.
At this writing, the foundation does not run an application program, but it expects to begin accepting applications for funding at some point in the future. Grantseekers should check Sempra’s website periodically for updates. Its accessibility may be increasing.
PROFILE: The Sempra Foundation is the philanthropic entity of the San Diego-based Sempra Energy company. Sempra is involved in energy infrastructure, including the distribution of natural gas and wind and solar energy generation. The Sempra Energy Foundation works for “social progress and economic inclusion by addressing energy access for those who live in energy poverty.” Its philanthropic work includes signature projects that bring energy to communities in need in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as grants for K-12 and higher education, diseases and public health.
Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy
The Sempra Foundation’s tax filings to not reveal grantmaking for climate change and clean energy per se, but the foundation does engage in signature projects to bring energy resources to communities in need in the U.S. and Mexico. In California, the foundation has partnered with GRID Alternatives to bring solar energy to tribal communities at affordable rates. And in Mexico, the foundation has partnered with Fundación Mozcalti to distribute over 2,000 clean cookstoves to households in need.
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
The Foundation names responding to disasters as one of its key grantmaking areas, and, according to the website, has “donated more than $3 million to help people and communities impacted by hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters.” It put over $1 million toward this area in both 2020 and 2021.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The Sempra Foundation’s education grantmaking emphasizes K-12 and higher education n the foundation’s home state of California. K-12 grantees include the Monarch School Project in San Diego, Los Angeles’s Windward School and the La Jolla Country Day School. Higher education recipients include the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego. Outside of California, the foundation has given to Boston University and Louisiana Tech.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
The Sempra Foundation does not name health as a grantmaking area of interest, but tax filings reveal an interest in this area. Most of the foundation’s health grantees are located in the state of California, including Alzheimer’s San Diego, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Los Angeles, the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the Burn Institute of San Diego.
Important Grant Details:
In addition to its signature energy distribution projects, the Sempra Foundation makes about $1.5 million a year in grants, prioritizing schools and universities in the state of California. Grants are generally awarded in amounts of up to $50,000, with an average grant size of about $5,000. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
The Sempra Foundation has indicated that it will begin accepting applications for funding in 2022 and encourages prospective grantees to check its website periodically for updates. Foundation staff may be reached via email.
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