DTE Energy Foundation Gives $7 Million in 2005

DETROIT, Feb. 3  /PRNewswire/ -- The DTE Energy Foundation today announced it contributed more than $7 million to Michigan non-profit organizations in 2005.  This included $158,000 in contributions the Foundation made to match the $279,000 in charitable gifts made by DTE Energy employees and retirees to victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami, and non-profit organizations serving their local communities.

"We are very proud of the important work accomplished by our Foundation in 2005 and the extraordinary generosity of our employees and retirees," said Fred Shell, vice president, corporate and governmental affairs, DTE Energy, and president of the DTE Energy Foundation.  "Even in tough economic times, we can be counted on to help those in need."

The Foundation made 368 grants in 2005 to Michigan non-profit organizations.  It awarded several significant leadership grants, including:

*  United Way of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit.  The DTE Energy Foundation's commitment of $250,000 helped create a new telephone resource center for people living in metro Detroit.  The United Way's "2-1-1" project has greatly expanded access to information and referrals for people seeking employment opportunities, job skills training, health care information and more.

*  The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn.  The Foundation awarded $500,000 to the museum to fund its "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit, which documents the struggle for freedom throughout American history.  The exhibit showcases key iconic artifacts from The Henry Ford collection, including: the bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, sparking the Civil Rights Movement; the chair in which President Abraham Lincoln sat when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth; and the camp bed used by George Washington when he toured battlefields after the Revolutionary War.  Nearly 95 percent of the artifacts featured in the exhibit have never before been displayed publicly.

*  Habitat for Humanity's Jimmy Carter Work Project, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Monroe.  With a grant for $250,000, the DTE Energy Foundation helped fund Habitat for Humanity's Jimmy Carter Work Project, a statewide "blitz" build that created 230 new homes for families in need.  More than 100 DTE employees helped build homes sponsored by the Foundation in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Monroe.

*  The Nature Conservancy, Lansing.  The DTE Energy Foundation pledged $500,000 over five years to the Conservancy's "Save the Last Great Places in Michigan" campaign to preserve key Michigan landscapes.

*  Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City.  A five-year, $265,000 grant from the Foundation to the College established the DTE Energy Freshwater Institute for Teachers, an innovative program that brings K-12 teachers together with natural resources experts to learn about water and the environment.

DTE Energy, its employees and retirees, and the Foundation contributed $356,631 to aid victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.  The Foundation matched the first $25,000 of $35,231 DTE Energy employees and retirees contributed to the American Red Cross for tsunami victims.  Later in the year employees and retirees raised $196,400 for American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts, with the first $50,000 matched by the Foundation. In addition, DTE Energy donated $50,000 to The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) to help financially strapped Hurricane Katrina victims now living in Michigan pay their heating bills.

Over the 2005 holiday season, the Foundation also matched dollar-for- dollar the $83,000 employees donated to 55 non-profit organizations that serve those in need.

The DTE Energy Foundation will announce the next recipients of its signature grant program, the Achieving Excellence Awards, in June 2006.  The program recognizes exemplary Michigan non-profit organizations with awards of up to $100,000 in three categories: leadership, collaboration and sustainability.  It is the state's largest corporate grant competition for non-profit organizations.  In light of Michigan's current economic downturn, the Foundation this year added a Special Achievement Award of up to $100,000 for the non-profit organization that has best analyzed and positioned itself to respond to resulting community needs.

The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its principal operating subsidiaries, Detroit Edison and MichCon.  The Foundation directs its contributions and involvement to support initiatives dedicated to developing the human and economic potential of the communities it serves. Grants are awarded under the foundation's "LEAD" guidelines: leadership, education, environment, achievement, development and diversity in the DTE Energy service territory, which includes southeast, western and northern Michigan. 

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