Our employees carry out that task every day, engaging in our communities and providing thousands of volunteer hours to make them better. In 2023, employees in Arkansas dedicated more than 29,000 hours of volunteer service valued at over $922,000.

“As a company, our mission is to continually improve the communities we serve and create sustainable value and quality of life,” said Brandi Hinkle with Entergy Arkansas Corporate Social Responsibility. “Employees do this through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy.”

Our philanthropic focus

Across the company, those efforts are focused primarily on the broad pillars of poverty solutions, education and workforce development, and environmental programs. Additionally, the areas of healthy families, arts and culture, and community enrichment are part of the overall strategy to contribute to a society that is healthy, educated, environmentally safe and productive.

“Each employee is encouraged to volunteer a minimum of 16 hours per year – on the clock – but also to go above and beyond that to impact our friends and neighbors in a positive way,” Hinkle said. “We reward those employees with a grant of $250 to the nonprofit of their choice for every 20 hours of volunteer service, up to $750 per year.

“By using our dollars and time to alleviate food insecurity, provide equitable education and workforce opportunities, and help sustain healthy families, we can help our customers and their families move beyond survival into growth and greater well-being,” Hinkle said.

Grants are funded from shareholder profit, not customer dollars, and company shareholders contributed nearly $2 million to nonprofit partners in Arkansas that align with our areas of focus. More than 200 grants were awarded, many of which also included volunteer opportunities for employees. Programs that were funded ranged from emergency response and relief services to scholarships and youth services, food pantries and community safety events.

The largest grants were given to six nonprofits to celebrate the company’s 110^th anniversary. Each of the following organizations received a $110,000 grant as part of the Entergy Arkansas Bright Futures Campaign:

• Arkansas Community Foundation
• Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
• Arkansas STEM Coalition
• Habitat for Humanity
• The Nature Conservancy
• Women’s Foundation of Arkansas

Along with receiving the grant, each of these organizations will provide Entergy Arkansas employees with opportunities to volunteer and help with designated projects, such as stuffing backpacks with food for children in need or planting trees and litter cleanup.

Doing more in ‘24

So far in 2024, Entergy Arkansas employees aim to exceed last year’s service hours and have already participated in several important volunteer initiatives to help and serve our customers. A few of the largest endeavors this year include:

Super Tax Day

IRS-certified volunteers with Entergy Arkansas and other nonprofit partners provided free tax return preparation for qualified customers as part of the federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and other services at Super Tax Day events throughout tax season. During the Super Tax Day events, customers receive counseling regarding tax credits and deductions they may be eligible for, including the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, one of the nation’s most effective means of lifting Americans out of poverty. Tax preparation volunteers help customers determine if they are eligible for this and other tax credits in an effort to maximize their tax refunds.

Eclipse glasses

In preparation for the April 8 total solar eclipse, Entergy Arkansas partnered with the Arkansas STEM Coalition to purchase and distribute free eclipse glasses to all public schools in our service territory. A grant from Entergy Arkansas helped fund the purchase of more than 625,000 pairs of eclipse glasses, enough for all preK-12 students, teachers and staff. Volunteers from the STEM Coalition, Entergy Arkansas and other groups worked for more than six weeks to sort and deliver the glasses.

Girls of Promise STEAM conference

Entergy Arkansas participated in the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas Girls of Promise “Full STEAM Ahead” conference, which introduced 8th grade girls across the state to potential STEAM careers. Nearly 150 girls from 20 counties were able to meet women leaders in the fields of engineering, finance and more. The goal is to increase the number of girls in higher-level STEAM courses and careers to put them on the path to achieving economic security as adults.

We have planned philanthropy events each month throughout the year with our existing partners and are continually looking for new partners and ways to impact the communities we serve. Entergy is committed to��creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged culture��that inspires all individuals to work together to operate a world-class energy business for our customers, employees, communities and owners now and into the future. We’re proud to say that every employee volunteer hour makes a difference in achieving our goals.

Entergy employees and��retirees didn’t let a challenging year stop them from helping their communities in 2020.

While facing COVID-19-related restrictions, remote working and responding to five named storms, employees and retirees logged more than 95,000 hours of volunteer service during 2020. This service resulted in a $3.4 million impact to local economies.��

In addition, more than 3,600 of the total volunteer hours were dedicated to pro bono service, resulting in $932,000 of in-kind legal services.��

Entergy employees are helping create sustainable value for our communities through year-round volunteerism and charitable giving. We support and reward our employees whose volunteer service and fundraising efforts help build communities that are healthy, vibrant, prosperous and inclusive.��

Entergy’s corporate social responsibility initiatives help create and sustain thriving communities, position the company for sustainable growth and are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of those goals, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, is tied to our five-year commitment (2015-2020) to provide 500,000 hours of volunteer service – a goal we achieved.��

Entergy employees and retirees have given more than one million hours in volunteer service since official tracking began in April 2008.

Volunteering is one of the most important ways that Entergy employees power life in our communities. The company’s one million volunteer hours serving local communities and supporting nonprofits�� translates into more than $25 million in economic impact.

2019 Volunteerism Results
In 2019, the company’s volunteerism (115,000 total hours) had a $3.7 million economic impact. The breakdown of those hours and associated value in our utility service area:

Pro Bono Service
More than 3,700 of the total 2019 volunteer hours were dedicated to pro bono service, resulting in $930,000 of in-kind legal services.

Since 2012, Entergy’s legal pro bono program increased the commitment of company lawyers and paralegals to provide free legal assistance to some of the most vulnerable citizens living in our utility service area. The Louisiana State Bar Association honored members of the company’s legal department with the prestigious 2019 Friend of Pro Bono Award. And, in 2018, the legal department created a full-time position to manage its pro bono practice, making the company the first in the U.S. to have such a position at that time.

National Recognition
Volunteerism also comes from the heart. Through volunteerism, Entergy becomes more than just transformers, poles, lines or gas meters. Our employees live here too and we want to make a difference.

By showing the same dedication to volunteerism as we do to providing customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy, our employees demonstrate why they are known as the best in the industry. In 2019 alone, Entergy’s commitment to volunteerism earned the company three prestigious honors.

• Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, named Entergy as one of the top 50 most community-minded companies in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive year.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center recognized Entergy as a��Corporate Citizenship Hall of Fame inductee at the��2019 Citizens Awards.
• Entergy earned a place on the��2019 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, the only U.S. electric utility to be included 18 consecutive years.

For more than 100 years, Entergy has powered life in our communities through strategic philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy’s corporate social responsibility initiatives help create and sustain thriving communities, position the company for sustainable growth and are aligned with the��. Our top CSR priorities are education/workforce development, poverty solutions/social services and environmental programs. Each year, Entergy contributes $16-18 million in grants from shareholder dollars to more than 2,000 nonprofit organizations in the communities where we operate.

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COVID-19 Update: Providing reliable power is always important, but it is especially important during this crisis. The health and safety of our employees is critical to our ability to keeping the lights on and the gas flowing. Therefore, in response to this need, as well as the need to follow��stay-at-home orders, we’ve suspended all company-sponsored, in-person volunteer events.��However employees are still encouraged to participate in virtual volunteer activities so they can��continue supporting their��communities through this time of crisis��without risk of COVID-19 transmission.��