WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — The board of directors for the National Fuel Gas Company Foundation, the charitable giving arm of National Fuel Gas Company, held its annual meeting on March 26.

Foundation directors, led by David P. Bauer, foundation president, and president and chief executive officer of National Fuel, reviewed the more than $1.3 million in company gifts from fiscal 2020, including $250,000 in emergency grants that addressed critical needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the company’s New York and Pennsylvania service territories. “Last year, the Foundation was pleased to help the communities where we live and work meet the challenges presented by the pandemic,” Bauer said. “The Foundation will continue to support local nonprofits as we enter new recovery phases.”

The board of directors also discussed the preliminary enrollment results for the 2021 Employee Charitable Giving Program, a matching gift program through which the Foundation will match employee donations dollar for dollar up to $750 per employee per year to employees’ chosen nonprofits. This year, nearly half of employees have elected to participate in the program, pledging more than $500,000 to nonprofits across the U.S. with the majority located in the company’s New York and Pennsylvania service territories. With the Foundation match, the program will donate nearly $1 million.

Going forward, the Foundation remains committed to initiatives that advance strong and vibrant communities and to its focus areas: the underserved/economically disadvantaged, education, community vitality/economic impact, and veteran services.