Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association

Annual Report

Overview

The Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association is a non-profit charitable organization formed in 2002 under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation engages in a variety of energy-related and general charitable activities, including:

  • Donations to non-profit organizations and needy individuals for payment of utility bills and other energy-related and general purposes;
  • Funding energy internships;
  • Funding scholarships and educational grants;
  • Energy-related volunteer service projects, including residential home construction, weatherization and energy efficiency efforts;
  • General charitable service projects.

Mission

The mission of the Foundation is:

To engage in charitable activities, including the support of worthwhile energy-related charitable projects, as well as other community service projects, through financial contributions and volunteer services provided by the Foundation, members of the Energy Bar Association and others.

Get Involved!

There are numerous ways to get involved in the Foundation and its activities:

  • Volunteer for one of the Foundation's service project outings;
  • Organize a volunteer service project outing (this function would be particularly useful for outings outside the Washington, D.C. area);
  • Participate on one of the Foundation's committees;
  • Attend one of the Foundation's fundraising events;
  • Sponsor one of the fundraising events;
  • Make a financial contribution;
  • Volunteer to serve on the Foundation's Board of Directors.

Inquiries about getting involved with the Foundation may be made to any Foundation Officer, Board Member or Committee Chair (listed below) or to Ms. Michele Duehring, Energy Bar Association, 1990 M St., N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20036, Tel: (202) 223-5625.

Press Releases

Committees

The Foundation has eight standing committees which report to the Foundation's Board of Directors. Membership in the committees is open to EBA members and others. Your participation is welcomed and encouraged.

The Foundation's committees and their respective chairs are as follows:

  • Chapter Advisory Committee
    • Chair: Howard H. Shafferman (202) 661-2205
  • Communications Committee
    • Chair: Freddi L. Greenberg (847) 864-4010
  • Charitable Grants Committee
    • Chair: Meredith Berger Chambers (713) 265-0327
  • Fundraising Committee
    • Chair: Howard H. Shafferman (202) 661-2205
  • Gala Event Committee
    • Chair: Katherine Zeitlin (703) 798-8918
  • Golf Event Committee
    • Chair: Evan Reese (202) 298-1917
  • Charitable Service Committee
    • Chair: Walter R. Hall, II (703) 963-4875
  • Scholarships and Internships Committee
    • Chair: Gunnar Birgisson (202) 349-3494

To access the Foundation's Committee Participation Form, click here.

Contributions to the Foundation

Financial contributions to the Foundation may be made in several ways:

  • Send a contribution to the Foundation, attention Ms. Michele Duehring, Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association, 1990 M St., N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20036, Tel: (202) 223-5625;
  • Mark the check-off box designated for contributions to the Foundation on your EBA membership renewal form (EBA members only);
  • Purchase a ticket to one of the Foundation's fundraising events, including the Annual Golf Tournament (held each spring) and the Annual Gala Event (held each fall);
  • Become a Sponsor of one of the Foundation's fundraising events

Fundraising Events

The Foundation holds two major fundraising events each year:

The Annual Gala Reception

The Annual Gala Reception is held in conjunction with the Association's Mid-Year Meeting in the fall of each year. The reception typically includes an open bar, buffet and appetizers, live music and a silent auction. During the reception, the Foundation presents donations to selected charitable organizations.

The Annual Golf Tournament

The Annual Golf Tournament is held in conjunction with the Association's Annual Meeting in the spring of each year. In addition to 18 holes of golf, the tournament typically includes a buffet lunch and prizes. The most recent tournament will be held at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Virginia on April 30, 2010.

Sponsorships

The Annual Gala Reception and Annual Golf Tournament are supported by ticket sales and sponsorships. If you or your organization would like to become a sponsor of one or both events, please contact Michele Duehring, Energy Bar Association, Tel: (202) 223-5625 or Chair of the Fundraising Committee, Howard H. Shafferman (202) 661-2205.

Articles About the Foundation

Below are links to articles regarding the Foundation appearing in the EBA Newsletter:

Pictures

Below are links to pictures of Foundation activities:

Founders Campaign

The initial principal fundraising effort of the Foundation was its Founders campaign. The Founders Campaign was a two-year program during 2003 and 2004 to encourage the law firms and companies who employ EBA members to contribute to the Foundation as a means of providing the Foundation a solid financial base as it commenced its operations.

The Founders Campaign was an incredible success. 25 law firms and companies, as well as 17 individuals, pledged and made contributions to the Foundation at levels sufficient to become Founders. In all, $219,000 were pledged in the Founders Campaign. The Foundation wishes to express its deep gratitude to its many Founders for their wonderful generosity and acknowledges them immediately below.

Founders

Platinum Founders

($20,000 and above)

  • Troutman Sanders LLP
  • Van Ness Feldman, P.C.

Gold Founders

($10,000 and above)

  • Chadbourne & Parke, LLP
  • Day, Berry & Howard, LLP
  • Dewey Ballantine LLP
  • Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
  • Sullivan & Worcester LLP
  • Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

Silver Founders

($5,000 and above)

  • Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
  • Bruder, Gentile & Marcoux, LLP.
  • Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.
  • Harkins Cunningham LLP
  • Heller Ehrman LLP
  • Hunton & Williams
  • Jones Day
  • Miller, Balis & O'Neil, P.C.
  • Morrison & Foerster LLC
  • Northeast Utilities
  • Preston Gates & Ellis LLP
  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  • Steptoe & Johnson LLP
  • Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
  • Swidler Berlin LLP
  • Thelen Reid & Priest LLP
  • Wright & Talisman, P.C.<

Individual Founders

($2,000 and above)

  • Donna Attanasio
  • Richard Bonnifield
  • Stuart A. Caplan
  • Lisanne Crowley & Dwight Dickinson
  • David & Dianne Doot
  • Derek, Helen and Robbie Dyson
  • Mark Haskell
  • Barbara K. Heffernan
  • A. Karen Hill
  • Paul E. Nordstrom
  • Earle & Catherine O'Donnell
  • Jeffrey Petrash
  • Harvey Reiter
  • Michael Schnitzer
  • Jacolyn A. Simmons
  • Mary Vasile
  • Mark Williams

Major Charitable Donations

The Foundation has made charitable donations to many worthy non-profit organizations for energy-related purposes. Among these donations are the following:

  • My Sisters Place, Washington, D.C.
  • ADFAC Affordable Housing Program
  • Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, Tennessee
  • AMEN (Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs)
  • Arlington Academy Of Hope, Inc. (Uganda School)
  • Dollar Energy Fund
  • The Elizabeth Stone House
  • Fisher House Foundation
  • Foundation for the Carolinas
  • Global Playground
  • Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, Inc.
  • Habitat for Humanity – New Orleans Area
  • Jewish World Watch (Solar Cooker Project for Darfur refugees in Chadean camps)
  • Medical Missionaries
  • Mudzini Wetu (Kenyan Orphanage)
  • My Sisters Place, District of Columbia
  • National Center For Appropriate Technology (Energy Assistance Referral) - Project NEAR (LIHEAP)
  • NJ Shares, New Jersey
  • Northern Tool + Equipment (Hurricane Katrina Relief)
  • The Phoenix Society
  • Project Hope (Tsunami Relief)
  • Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (Solar Facilities)
  • Samaritan Inns
  • SERVE, Inc., Virginia
  • Washington Center For Internships And Academic Seminars
  • Volunteer Centers Of California
  • 54th Street Apartments

Letters & Testimonials

Internships & Scholarships

The Foundation sponsors scholarships to fund energy-related internships for both undergraduates and law students in the United States. The Foundation has funded undergraduate internships in Washington, D.C., including at the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Department of Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program. The Foundation has also funded numerous legal interns at both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy (including in a field office).  The Foundation is also expanding its legal intern program to more regions of the country and to state regulatory agencies, and has funded internships at the Illinois Commerce Commission and California Public Utilities Commission.

As it has done for the last four years, the CFEBA is sponsoring a Legal Intern at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) during the summer of 2010. This internship position has been filled. The deadline to apply for CFEBA internships at Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and New York Department of Public Service has passed and those positions will be filled shortly.

Public Service Projects

The Foundation has engaged in the following public service projects:

Habitat for Humanity:

  • Home construction outing with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (Fairfax, VA, September 29, 2007)
  • Home construction outing with District of Columbia Habitat for Humanity (Washington, D.C., May 12, 2007)
  • Home construction outing with District of Columbia Habitat for Humanity (Washington, D.C. October 14, 2006)
  • Home construction outing with District of Columbia Habitat for Humanity (Washington, D.C., May 2005)
  • Home construction outing with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (Vienna, VA, March 2005)
  • Home construction outing with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (Vienna, VA, January 2005)
  • Home construction outing with District of Columbia Habitat for Humanity (Washington, D.C., May 2004)

Public School Volunteer Activities:

  • School maintenance outing with Hands On D.C. (Washington, D.C., May 2004)

Volunteer Energy Efficient Projects:

  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Dec. 2004)
  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Oct. 2004)
  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Aug. 2004)
  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Jan. 2004)
  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Sept. 2003)
  • Caulking outing with Operation Caulk (Washington, D.C., Aug. 2003)

Officers

President
Paul M. Breakman
Duncan & Allen

Vice President
Robert H. Loeffler 
Morrison & Foerster LLP

Secretary
Evan C. Reese, III
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.

Treasurer
Robert A. Weishaar, Jr.
McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Directors

Gunnar Birgisson
NextEra Energy Resources, LLC

Meredith Berger Chambers
Horizon Wind Energy

Derek A. Dyson
Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Monica Gonzalez
ISO New England Inc.

Freddi L. Greenberg 
Freddi L. Greenberg, Attorney at Law 

John P. Gregg
Miller, Balis & O'Neil, P.C.

Walter R. Hall, II
Attorney-at-Law

Susan N. Kelly
American Public Power Association

Jason F. Leif
Jones Day

Susan A. Olenchuk
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.

Jeffrey M. Petrash
American Gas Association

Howard H. Shafferman
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP

Michael A. Stosser 
Day Pitney LLP

Channing D. Strother, Jr.
McCarthy, Sweeney & Harkaway, P.C.

Katherine C. Zeitlin
Attorney-at-Law

History

The Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association was organized through the joint efforts of the Board of Directors of the Energy Bar Association and the Foundation of the Energy Law Journal. The Associations' Board of Directors formally authorized the creation of the Foundation in December 2001. The Foundation was incorporated in April of 2002 in the District of Columbia and received its 501(c)(3) tax status in October of 2002. The Energy Bar Association, the Foundation of the Energy Law Journal, the members of the Association and their employers, including those members, law firms and companies who became Founders, have contributed generously to the Foundation.

Public Information

The Foundation's organizational documents are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the offices of the Energy Bar Association, 1990 M St., N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20036, Tel: (202) 223-5625. Inquiries should be directed to Ms. Michele Duehring.

Miscellaneous

The Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association is an all-volunteer organization. No Officer or Director of the Foundation receives a salary or any other form of financial compensation for his or her efforts on behalf of the Foundation.

Thank You!

The Board of Directors of the Foundation wishes to thank the Foundation's Founders, the Energy Bar Association, its members, the Foundation of the Energy Law Journal and others who have so generously contributed to the Foundation and participated in the Foundation's activities. We pledge that your contributions will be channeled strictly to worthwhile charitable organizations and needy individuals for energy-related and general charitable purposes with little or no overhead due to the Foundation.

Code of Conduct

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