Change Is All It Takes
SharingChange is MTE’s charitable foundation funded by members who add pennies a month to their monthly electric bills as a donation. This enables us to support hundreds of local nonprofit organizations. Join us today and help make a difference.
LOCAL
Grants are awarded to local charities and nonprofits serving our communities.
100%
Every penny of the money raised goes to help other members — not to overhead costs.
500+
500+ local nonprofits and charities have received grants.
$11 MILLION
Since 2003, MTE’s charitable foundation has given over $11 million.
HOW IT WORKS
As a charitable foundation, SharingChange exists to give back to the communities that MTE serves. Members like you donate funds, with 100% of the donations going to local charities and organizations such as Empower Me Day Camp in Lebanon and Project Healing Waters. Since 2003, Middle Tennessee Electric’s charitable foundation has distributed more than $11 million to more than 500 local organizations.
HISTORY
The cooperative's member-elected Board of Directors decided to create MTE’s charitable foundation in November of 2003. In 2016, we renamed and changed the foundation’s name to SharingChange. As former Board Chairman Gordon Bone put it, "It fits perfectly with the principles of our cooperative — to pool a small amount of our individual resources to make a big difference for the community as a whole. So not only is it easy, it’s impactful.”
Change Is All It Takes
SharingChange is MTE’s charitable foundation funded by members who add pennies a month to their monthly electric bills as a donation. This enables us to support hundreds of local nonprofit organizations. Join us today and help make a difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
SharingChange is MTE’s charitable foundation whose sole purpose is to give back to the communities we serve. Members like you donate funds, with 100% of the donations going to local nonprofit organizations such as Empower Me Day Camp in Lebanon and Project Healing Waters. Since 2003, Middle Tennessee Electric’s charitable foundation has distributed more than $11 million to more than 500 local organizations. Members donate monthly to SharingChange either by having their bill rounded up to the nearest dollar or adding a fixed amount to their bill — or sometimes using both of these options.
The cooperative's member-elected Board of Directors decided to create the charitable foundation in November of 2003. It was renamed SharingChange in 2016. As past Board Chairman Gordon Bone put it, "It fits perfectly with the principles of our cooperative -- to pool a small amount of our individual resources to make a big difference for the community as a whole. While your individual contributions may only add up to pennies a month, when it is added along with mine and thousands of other MTE members, it will be a sum that will allow a real impact to be made in our communities."
One option is to have your monthly bills rounded up to the next whole dollar amount. For example, if your electric bill is $49.25, it rounds up to $50.00. The additional 75 cents is set aside for worthy causes. This shows up as a separate item on your electric bill. You can also choose to donate a fixed monthly amount to give even more back to your community. Some members have chosen to donate using both options.
Yes. If you choose this option, a $49.01 bill and a $49.99 both round up to $50.00. Your average round-up amounts to about 50 cents per month, or about $6 a year.
Yes. In fact, a critical aspect of SharingChange is you must choose to participate. You can join the program using the form on the site or by calling 877-777-9020.
You can choose to stop donating at any time, and you can have your contributions refunded up to 12 months retroactively. In other words, you can donate money for a year to see what you think about the program. If you don’t like it, let us know, and we can credit your money back to you up to 12 months. Just call member service at 877-777-9020.
SharingChange has a volunteer board made up of members appointed by the MTE Board of Directors. The SharingChange board meets regularly to review all grant applications and decide on the grant levels given to the nonprofit organizations.
Funds have been used for things like firefighting equipment for volunteer fire departments; life-saving equipment for ambulance or rescue squads; hospice programs; youth programs; food shelves; clothing, shelter and medical services following an accident or storm. Donations are not limited to these categories; however, these funds may not be used for political purposes. You can see a SharingChange highlight every month in The Tennessee Magazine or on our spotlight page here.
We love talking with and learning about new organizations that help our members. If you’re interested in applying for a grant, you can submit an application on the Grant Application page. If you’d like more information about the program or have issues related to applying, reach out to MTE’s community relations coordinator.
Yes. If you’d like a form to submit for your tax deductions, please contact our member support team at 877-777-9020. If you donate more than $250 a year, we are required to send you the form automatically at the beginning of the year. Any questions or concerns about your tax deduction form can be answered by our community relations coordinator.
