Thank you! You did it!
You did it! We did it together!
We set out to raise $60,000 in a two-for-one match that would unlock $120,000.
The combined $180,000 would help us help those with empty fuel oil tanks and CMP shut off notices. As the appeal reached the April 30th deadline, your support helped us surge across the line and we raised a total of $78,000 or a total of $198,000 with the match.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
Most people may think of April 15th as Tax Day, but for many in the community it is also the day they face power shut off. That’s right, in the State of Maine, power companies can’t shut off power for individual households from November 15th until April 15th, for non-payment. Maine winters are always long, but this past winter (dare we call it past?!) we experienced severe, extended cold, and when combined with the higher CMP bills, the high cost of food and now gasoline, many are facing hard choices about what to let go—power, medical, food, housing. The Maine Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council estimates there are about 100,000 households in Maine who struggle to pay their energy bills and the average energy gap is about $700.
AIO’s Energy Assistance Program offers year round help with power and fuel bills, but in the Spring each year, it has helped families facing shut-off. As this season approached, an aware and concerned community supporter wanted to help and AIO became the recipient of a $120,000 matching opportunity. The challenge we were given:
If AIO could raise $60,000, it would unlock the $120,000 gift, creating a fund of $180,000 to prevent shut off.
And thanks to this community we successfully raised the funds!!!