Explanation
BACKGROUND:
Columbus Water and Power is committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable utility services and assisting customers experiencing financial hardship. The City of Columbus would like to establish the Columbus Water and Power Assistance Fund at The Columbus Foundation to create a charitable mechanism through which individuals, businesses, corporations, organizations, customers, philanthropic partners, and other interested parties may make voluntary contributions to support utility customer assistance and other approved utility-related community initiatives and projects.
The Columbus Water and Power Assistance Fund, a fund to be established at The Columbus Foundation by the City of Columbus, will provide an established charitable structure to receive, hold, invest, and administer eligible contributions. Contributions may be used to supplement existing utility affordability and customer assistance programs, provide utility bill assistance to eligible customers experiencing financial hardship, and support other approved utility-related community initiatives and projects. Columbus Water and Power will retain responsibility for establishing program requirements, determining eligibility for assistance, approving assistance, and directing the use of distributions from the fund.
The Columbus Foundation will provide charitable fund administration, including the receipt and administration of contributions, investment of fund assets, accounting and reporting, and processing of authorized distributions. Establishing the fund through The Columbus Foundation will also provide the ability to accept tax-deductible contributions from a broader range of donors and charitable sources.
This ordinance is needed to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into an agreement with The Columbus Foundation to establish and manage the fund known as the Columbus Water and Power Assistance Fund and to authorize the initial funding nec...
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