Columbia Cares

Our Mission

To help create strong and sustainable communities where our employees and customers live and work.

How we give back

We’re focused on strengthening the communities where we live and work. Through contributions and employee volunteerism, we strive to make a difference and improve quality of life for our families, friends and neighbors.

Columbia invests in Ohio and the 1.5 million customers we serve. Our vision is to impact and contribute to life-changing organizations — programs that keep us safe, provide food and shelter to those in need, promote economic growth and workforce development, and support energy education. We share in the goal of seeing sustainable growth in our communities and pride ourselves on being good ambassadors.

Columbia in Your Community

Veterans Stand Down – 30th Anniversary

Columbia team members connect with area veterans at the Central Ohio Veterans Stand Down event, serving meals and providing new clothing items to attendees.

Student Success Store

Company leaders join the Columbus Crew and Student Success Stores to celebrate the grand opening of the newest Student Success Store at West High School. The store provides students with basic needs items free of charge.

Sunburst Snacks

Lorain employees connect with the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio for their Sunburst Snacks pop-up shop. We always welcome the opportunity to reconnect with DSANEO, an organization that provides support, education and advocacy for individuals with Down syndrome and their families.

View more community events

Conference

Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association and Officer Development Conference
Public Awareness and Technical Training team members strengthen relationships with first responders from across the state and brainstorm ways to effectively serve our communities.

Mid-Ohio Market

Columbia volunteers work with our partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective at their Mid-Ohio Market event. During the event, team members have the opportunity to donate personal hygiene items and canned goods. They also help register and check out market shoppers and help them pack their items.

Springfield Soup

Columbia volunteers serve more than 300 meals to area community members at the Springfield Soup Kitchen. Volunteers also help clean the facility to ensure it’s ready to go for the next round of food service.

Playhouse Project

Columbia Gas team members support Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity at the Playhouse Project Blitz Build event in Toledo. Proceeds from the event benefit families in Lucas County in need of affordable housing.

Licking Park District

Columbia Gas, through the NiSource Charitable Foundation, supports Licking County and their GRIT Freedom Chairs. The chairs enable people with lower body challenges to hike trails and participate in Licking County programs no matter the terrain.

Hilliard Safety Town

Columbia team members read Digger Dog storybooks to Hilliard children during the city’s Safety Town event. The book helps teach kids what to do if they smell natural gas (tell a trusted adult!).

Project Playhouse

Columbia Gas team members join Habitat for Humanity’s Playhouse Project Blitz Build. The teams work together to build customized playhouses to give children a safe place to play at no cost to them.

Canal Winchester Human Services

Volunteers stop by Canal Winchester Human Services to help them support clients and prepare for spring. Columbia employees help mulch ground beds and sort and count donations for the organization’s food pantry.

Asbury Elementary School Career Day

Asbury Elementary School Career Day Employees participate in the Asbury Elementary School Career Day event to share what a career at Columbia Gas might look like. Students learn the ins and outs of a natural gas meter, participate in an excavator activity and walk away with cool hard hats as souvenirs.

KickButt Columbus
Columbia team members join Keep Columbus Beautiful’s KickButt Columbus event, removing trash from the city’s exit and entry ramps.

Break a Bat, Plant a Tree
Toledo employees partner with the city of Toledo and the Toledo Mud Hens for the annual Break a Bat, Plant a Tree initiative. Twenty-nine trees were planted for the 29 bats broken by the Mud Hens at home games during the 2024-25 season.

Sound the Alarm
Columbia volunteers join American Red Cross staff to install 144 smoke alarms in 63 central Ohio households during the annual Sound the Alarm event.

Polaris Career Center
Columbia employees talk to Senior HVAC and Construction program students from the Polaris Career Center, sharing information about Columbia Gas career opportunities available to those with HVAC and construction backgrounds.

STEAM with Girl Scouts
The NiSource Charitable Foundation along with Columbia Gas of Ohio hosts its inaugural Introduce a Girl to STEAM event.

Safety Demo
Columbia team members offer a controlled gas safety demonstration and share STEM and gas safety education materials with students at the Olentangy Orange Middle School Science and Technology Career Day.

Columbia Cares Grant

What we fund

Columbia Cares provides grants to 501(c)3 organizations located within our service territory. We give preference to organizations that align with one or more of our four impact areas, has high potential for employee engagement or where an employee is a board member.

We don’t provide funding in these areas:

Organizations that are not 501(c)3 charities
Organizations outside of our service territory
Individual primary or secondary schools (K-12)
Non-academic school activities, like proms, choirs or graduations
Social clubs, including sororities or fraternities
Individuals for any purpose
Athletes, teams or sporting events
Fashion shows, animal shows, pageants or talent competitions
Religious or sectarian organizations, unless engaged in a significant project benefiting the entire community
Organizations that discriminate against any person or group for any reason
Political candidates, committees or organizations
Publications, displays, advertising, audio or video productions

Columbia Cares limits the amount of capital campaigns and annual events/fundraisers we support each year. These types of requests will be handled on a case by case basis. To be considered, organizations must provide assistance within our service territory, align with one or more of our four impact areas and have a Columbia Gas employee serving on their board.

Watch this video to see how Columbia Cares

View Transcript

Voiceover: In Ohio, we stand together. Neighbor to neighbor, heart to heart. Columbia Gas of Ohio fuels the communities of our great state. From the foothills of Appalachia, to the close knit communities of our cities, to the wide expanses of buckeye country, we are as diverse as our landscape. Columbia Cares. We bring food to the hungry, we ensure the safety of those we love, and we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their potential. We do all this not because it's the right thing to do, though it is. We do it because we believe that nobody wins unless all of us win. One company, keeping you warm and safe, bringing energy and hope into your world. That's who we are. That's Columbia Gas of Ohio.

Columbia Cares Grant Applications

Please submit your organization's completed W-9 form and non-discrimination policy with your application.

Submit a Columbia Cares Application

For more information on Columbia Cares or other grant funding, contact us at COH_Community_Engagement@nisource.com.

When the Columbia Cares Grant funds:

We accept one application per group per our fiscal year (January 1-December 31). There are four annual deadlines for grant applications.

March 31 (at 11:59 pm EST): All applications received between January 1 – March 31 will receive a response by the end of May.
June 30 (at 11:59 pm EST): All applications received between April 1 – June 30 will receive a response by the end of August.
September 30* (at 11:59 pm EST): All applications received between July 1 – September 30 will receive a response by the end of November.
December 31 (at 11:59 pm EST): All applications received between October 1 – December 31 will receive a response by the end of March.

Emergency Information

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Serving our communities