NRG has revealed the New Jersey Nonprofits Vying for $65K from Crowdsourced Charitable Program. The launch took place Monday October 21, 2019 at the NRG Princeton headquarters.

-For the first time, “NRG Gives” features only New Jersey nonprofits-

“NRG Gives is one of the best parts of our work at NRG and has generated great participation and excitement in this region,” said Mike Starck, Vice-President and General Manager of NRG Retail East division. “NRG Gives provides employees the opportunity to directly impact nonprofits where they live and work and allows our customers and the public a say in where we invest in this community.”

Hopeworks Camden, based in Camden, NJ, focuses on education, technology, and entrepreneurship, to help young people build strong futures and break the cycle of violence and poverty in Camden. Hopeworks connects youth to life-changing opportunities, first within our own social enterprises, then they put their technology skills to work for enterprising businesses within the community. The real world, on-the-job experiences they gain, raises their potential and benefits Hopeworks’ partners.

Tara Miller Melanoma Foundation, based in Longport, NJ, raises money to support the research of effective treatment methods and ultimately a cure for melanoma. Tara Miller founded the Foundation in 2014, after being diagnosed with melanoma at age 28, losing her battle at 29 years old. Since 2014, TMMF has funded more than $3.4 million to melanoma research with 100% of all money raised going directly to research.

Camp Fatima of NJ, based in Harrison, NJ, is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to providing no cost recreational programming to individuals with developmental disabilities from school age through adulthood. Camp Fatima is also dedicated to providing respite to caregivers by delivering safe, nurturing, and high-quality programming to the campers.

All three nonprofits took part in a vote kickoff pep rally at NRG Energy’s headquarters in Princeton, NJ. NRG Gives is NRG’s crowdsourced charitable program. For the first time since NRG Gives launched in 2016, only New Jersey-based charities serving primarily New Jersey residents, are eligible to participate. The nonprofits are nominated by NRG employees.

Now each nonprofit is vying for $65,000 in donations from NRG during a public voting period that runs from 9:00 a.m. today, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, October 27. The donation each charity receives will be determined by the percentage of total votes received. This is different than previous NRG Gives campaigns. More than ever, every vote counts.

The Blue Bell-based Special Olympics Montgomery County earned its nomination due to its importance to NRG employee Brett Guerin (who was on hand on Monday), whose brother, Michael Guerin, is a Special Olympics athlete proficient in basketball, volleyball and golf, noted Scott Otterbein, Special Olympics Montgomery County manager and coach.

The NRG Gives program, established in 2016, has donated $574,500 to 20 diverse nonprofits in the tri-state area through spring 2019. In addition, NRG supports local communities through our Choose to Give program, volunteerism, and other charitable giving. In 2018 alone, employees who are based in New Jersey and Pennsylvania spent 2,554 hours volunteering across these states.