Industry
Energy
Summary
Endeavour Energy has debuted a grants program that not only provides financial support to community initiatives but also fosters deeper connections and shared value between the company, its employees, and the community. A great example of grass-roots, business aligned program.
Success factors
The hands-on involvement of Endeavour Energy employees, from initial grants promotion word-of-mouth, to participation in the reviewing panel and delivering in the field support.
About Endeavour Energy
Endeavour Energy's business purpose is powering communities for a brighter future. The intent of the inaugural grant round is to drive change at a local level by providing support where it is needed most.The Challenge
Endeavour Energy was determined to create a grants program that went beyond mere financial support, aiming to establish deeper connections and leverage the shared value of the company, its employees, and the communities, in which they work and live.
The Solution
Endeavour Energy's Powering Communities grants program was launched in April 2023, a flagship initiative designed to support grassroots projects that align with the company’s core values. The program focused on four key areas: education, health and wellbeing, environment, and social inclusion. This strategic approach ensured that the selected projects would have a meaningful impact on the community. A key factor in the program's success was the hands-on involvement of Endeavour Energy employees, from initial grants promotion word-of-mouth, to participation in the reviewing panel and delivering in the field support:
- Attending the Megalong Valley Community Resilience Day to share insights on our resilience programs and community support available.
- Providing an incursion for Macquarie Fields High School which offered unique Endeavour Energy STEM programming and an insight into our apprentice and graduate career opportunities.
- Attending a training camp for Street Industries hosted by Western Sydney Wanderers to provide additional mentoring support
- Volunteering at:
o Eat Up to make over 1000 sandwiches to provide school lunched for kids
o Ozfish to work alongside the community to restore a salt marsh ecosystem
o Parramatta Mission to offer vital support for food preparation.
The Results
The Powering Communities grants program successfully launched with over 250 applications received and 16 impactful community projects being funded, directly benefiting 3,645 individuals. The total funding pool for the grants was $120,000, demonstrating Endeavour Energy's commitment to making a substantial impact.
The additional direct community engagement embedded into the grants laid the path for meaningful involvement by employees. The business saw a significant increase in employee engagement scores, rising to 68%, and employee perception of societal impact also increasing to 64%, exceeding the industry average by 11%. Additionally, stakeholder reputation was uplifted by 3.1 points.
