Founded on clean, renewable hydropower more than 120 years ago, Avista’s vision of environmental stewardship has always shaped our operations. While our philanthropy in this area is a smaller portion of our giving, our stewardship of the environment in which we operate is substantial and funded through our utility operations and compliance measures of the federal licenses for our hydroelectric projects on the Clark Fork and Spokane rivers in Montana, Idaho and Washington. The need for a greener and sustainable future guides us in our philanthropy – ensuring that the resources are accessible and protected for generations to come.

Caring for the River 

The river runs through it…right through the middle of downtown Spokane, Washington. And it is that river and its legendary falls that are the foundation of Avista’s utility operations. Partnering with Friends of the Falls, a non-profit river stewardship group, Avista employees and 800 energetic community volunteers completed the annual Spokane River clean-up in September 2010. The donation from Avista offsets the costs of safety equipment for the volunteers – gloves, garbage bags and even a reusable knapsack to carry personal items during the day-long event. The trash and debris picked up runs the gamut from the typical (pop cans, bed frames and glass bottles) to the unexpected (the grill from a Chevy S-10). The hard work paid off –more than 6 tons of trash was picked up from the river banks and just over 2 tons of trash found its way to the recycler. And more than that: we are helping to restore the health of local water resources.

Representative grants