To help address the growing need for winter energy assistance, the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation is contributing up to $1 million to Minnesota’s Reach Out for Warmth Program (ROFW).
Created in 1992 by state law, ROFW is a fuel fund that provides financial assistance to low-income residents struggling to meet energy costs. It allows some flexibility to serve people who may not qualify for the traditional energy assistance.
During 2009, the program, administered by the state’s LIHEAP office, the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Office of Energy Security, provided assistance to more than 3,200 households in the state.
Individuals and businesses make donations to the state-run program, which then directs the money to local energy-assistance providers. Contributions are eligible for a two-to-one match for provided federal funding — allowing Minnesota residents to help their neighbors directly.
Pohlad Family Foundation Funds are available to 37 energy-assistance providers in Minnesota that are eligible to distribute the money. All 37 providers have applied. Once approved, providers will receive distributions in two payments.
The Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation started in 1995 with a mission to improve the lives of economically disadvantaged children and youth and to participate in projects that positively affect the quality of life in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
More information on Reach Out for Warmth and other energy assistance programs is available by visiting www.staywarm.mn.gov.
Source: Minnesota newspapers
