Backup Power When Your Community Needs It
The Powered & Prepared Initiative seeks proposals from nonprofit and municipal organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania for backup power solutions that allow those organizations to offer essential services during emergencies without disruption.
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On Tuesday morning, during a visit to a warming center, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor talked with KDKA about how the city is caring for those in need.
Pittsburghers looking to soak up sunshine and warm temperatures should do so while there’s light Thursday, as storms forecast for the evening are expected to segue into cooler conditions this weekend.
Southwestern Pennsylvania is increasingly impacted by severe weather events that cause widespread power outages and disruptions. The Powered & Prepared Initiative, supported by Henry L. Hillman Foundation, seeks proposals from nonprofit and municipal organizations for backup power solutions that allow those organizations to offer essential services during emergencies without disruption.
Questions & Answers
In May 2026, Henry L. Hillman Foundation launched the Powered & Prepared Initiative seeking proposals from nonprofit and municipal organizations for backup power solutions that allow those organizations to offer essential services during emergencies without disruption. Up to 15 Awardees will receive $300,000 (USD) each.
Please contact us with any initiative-related questions, requests for help with accessibility and special accommodations, and for technical support.
Once you have registered and throughout the initiative, we will send important notifications to the email address associated with your account, as well as the primary and secondary contacts listed on your registration form. There are three important steps you can take to make sure these messages are received promptly:
- Add our email address to your contacts.
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- Update your registration form right away if one of your contacts changes. If you need to make a contact change after the application window has closed, please email us, and we will assist you.
There is no checklist of “essential services” though helping to support basic needs like food, safety, shelter, and heating/cooling may come to mind. The Impactful criterion of the Initiative’s scoring rubric asks whether the applicant’s proposal addresses an urgent problem worth solving and whether it will have transformative impact: either in breadth of beneficiaries, geography, or intensity of impact on a smaller but particularly vulnerable group. A strong proposal will clearly articulate who loses out when the power goes down and why that matters in an emergency context. Section D of the Application asks participants to fully explain the specific problem they intend to solve, including the regional or community needs their project will address.
The Powered & Prepared Initiative requires each applicant to identify a Lead Organization who will assume responsibility for the receipt and management of any award.
The following organizations are eligible to apply as a Lead Organization:
- An entity based in and serving communities within the United States and/or U.S. territories under section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) that has received a tax determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).
- A local government agency, including a tribal government or tribal-owned enterprise, based in and serving communities within the United States and/or U.S. territories.
In addition, the Lead Organization must serve and benefit communities located in at least one of the following ten counties in southwestern Pennsylvania:
- Allegheny
- Armstrong
- Beaver
- Butler
- Fayette
- Greene
- Indiana
- Lawrence
- Washington
- Westmoreland
Please also note that the Lead Organization must own the building and/or property where the project will be located. Documentation to confirm building and/or property ownership may be collected from Participants that are selected to participate in later stages of the Initiative.
Review the Rules for a complete set of eligibility requirements.
The following are not eligible to apply as a Lead Organization for the Powered & Prepared Initiative:
- Individuals
- Teams of individuals
- Entities based outside of the United States or U.S. territories
- For-profit companies
- Individuals that include employees of Initiative Sponsor, Carrot, and any of their subsidiaries and affiliates, and immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, are not eligible to participate.
- State or federal government agencies, including United Nations agencies, inter-governmental bodies, and regional cooperation agencies.
- Education entities such as schools, colleges, junior colleges, or universities.
- A for-profit corporation organized under the laws of a State (or territory) in the United States.
- A benefit corporation, flexible purpose entity, or similar "hybrid" entity organized under the laws of a State (or territory) in the United States.
- A limited liability company or partnership organized under the laws of a State (or territory) in the United States.
- Fiscally-sponsored organizations.
While this list of organization types are not eligible to apply as Lead Organization, they may serve as partners on an application.
Review the Rules for a complete set of eligibility requirements.
