About Special Assistance Fund for Energy(Safe)
The Special Assistance Fund for Energy (SAFE) concentrates its giving on local emergency energy and utility assistance in the Reno/Washoe County area, providing large grants to organizations that deliver immediate bill relief and coordinate broader energy aid. The foundation shows a practical, service-oriented approach—funding direct client assistance (utility vouchers) and partnering with community-wide intermediaries to align state and federal energy programs. Its grants are highly localized and targeted toward immediate household energy stability.
Focus Areas
Utility bill assistance for low-income households in Washoe CountyFunding for community resource centers providing emergency energy/utility vouchersSupport for United Way-led coordination of state and federal energy aid programs
Who They Fund
low-income householdsenergy-burdened households (at risk of shutoff)vulnerable households reliant on public energy aid
Giving Approach
Concentrated, large-dollar grants to a very small number of local partners (repeat funding to the same provider); funds are earmarked for direct emergency energy assistance and program coordination rather than broad capacity-building.
About Special Assistance Fund for Energy(Safe)
Special Assistance Fund For Energy(Safe) is defined by utility vouchers and emergency bill relief in Nevada, with repeated large awards to local intermediaries that move energy aid quickly to households. The clearest pattern in the record is a multi-year commitment to Washoe County Family Resource Centers in Reno, where the foundation made some of its largest grants for utility vouchers across several years. It also backed United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra in Reno to complement state and federal energy aid programs, showing that it funds both direct client assistance and coordination work. The grant list is tightly focused on organizations that distribute short-term energy support: county social services departments, family resource centers, human services agencies, and indigent services offices. Awards appear across several Nevada communities, but the structure of the giving is consistent—supporting partners that can translate funds into bill relief, voucher payments, and related assistance for energy-burdened households. The foundation’s role is operational and targeted, not broad-based or multi-issue, and its grants align with immediate household energy stability rather than longer-term program building.
What Special Assistance Fund for Energy(Safe) Funds
Utility bill assistance is the core of the foundation’s work. In Reno, it gave $286,485 to Washoe County Family Resource Centers for utility vouchers, and in Carson City it supported Friends In Services Helping (FISH) with $33,952 for the same purpose. Those grants point to a direct-service model built around short-term energy payments. The foundation also funds county and regional agencies outside the largest metro areas. It awarded $14,457 to Elko County Social Services Department and $13,678 to Douglas County Social Services, both for utility vouchers, showing that energy aid extends into rural and regional Nevada. Another strand is coordination: United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra received $245,000 to complement state and federal energy aid programs. That grant suggests the foundation supports both front-line household relief and the systems that help administer it.
How Special Assistance Fund for Energy(Safe) Gives
Typical grant size is small relative to the largest awards: p25 is $1,031, the median is $3,756, and p75 is $8,834. The recent record also includes a few much larger payments, indicating that the foundation layers routine voucher support with occasional high-dollar commitments to key intermediaries. The grant list shows recurring awards to the same recipients across multiple years, especially for utility vouchers, which points to continuing support rather than one-time giving. The funder is not a family foundation or DAF; it operates as a utility-administered assistance fund associated with NV Energy. It does not make program-related investments. Accepts unsolicited: false.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$245K
Total Assets
$0
Total Revenue
$8K
Total Expenses
$252K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $1K and $9K, with a median of $4K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$4K
75th Percentile
$9K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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