Avangrid Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to Monroe Community College Foundation to Support Students Facing Financial Emergencies

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Avangrid Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to Monroe Community College Foundation to Support Students Facing Financial Emergencies

Pictured L to R: Trish Nilsen, CEO of NYSEG and RG&E, Pablo Colón, Director of Corporate Citizenship and Executive Director of the Avangrid Foundation, and Dr. DeAnna Burt-Nanna, MCC President

ROCHESTER, New York - November 5, 2026 - The Avangrid Foundation, the philanthropic arm of leading energy company Avangrid Inc, member of the Iberdrola Group and parent company of Rochester Gas & Electric, today announced a $50,000 grant to the Monroe Community College Foundation to help students at Monroe Community College overcome unexpected financial challenges and continue making progress toward graduation.

The grant will support MCC Assist, an emergency microgrant program that provides eligible students with grants of up to $500 for immediate needs such as housing, food, childcare, transportation, and emergency car repairs. These expenses can mean the difference between remaining enrolled and stopping out before completing a degree.

"An unexpected expense should not become a permanent barrier to a student's education," said Pablo Colón, Executive Director of the Avangrid Foundation. "Our partnership with Monroe Community College has helped students overcome financial challenges, remain focused on their education and prepare for meaningful careers. By investing in student success, we are also helping strengthen the workforce and communities that depend on the skills and contributions of MCC graduates."

"For 13 years, the Avangrid Foundation has recognized that student success requires more than access to a classroom," said Gretchen Wood, Executive Director of the MCC Foundation and Vice President of Institutional Advancement at MCC. "Their continued generosity helps ensure that a temporary financial setback doesn't become a permanent barrier to earning a degree. We're incredibly grateful for their commitment to our students and our community."

More than half of MCC students experience some form of basic-needs insecurity, underscoring the importance of resources that help students remain enrolled when an unexpected expense arises. MCC Assist is part of the college's broader approach to student success, combining academic programs, personalized support and emergency resources that help students persist through short-term challenges. During the 2025-2026 academic year, MCC Assist awarded more than $70,000 in emergency assistance to 266 students.

The latest grant continues a 13-year partnership between the Avangrid Foundation and Monroe Community College. During that time, the Foundation has provided $650,000 in cumulative support to help MCC students overcome financial barriers and pursue their educational goals.

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About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading U.S. energy company investing in grid infrastructure and power generation projects to deliver reliable energy and meet growing electricity demand. With approximately $50 billion in assets and operations across 25 states, Avangrid is helping modernize the U.S. electric grid, improve system resiliency, and support economic growth for the customers and communities it serves.

Avangrid owns and operates seven electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid also has nearly 100 energy generation facilities across the United States and more than 11 gigawatts of installed capacity. Avangrid has more than 8,300 employees and was named among the World's Most Ethical Companies in 2026 for the eighth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the Iberdrola Group.

About Iberdrola: With a market capitalization of more than €140 billion, Iberdrola is the largest electricity company in Europe and one of the two largest in the world. The Group serves more than 100 million people around the world and has a workforce of 45,400 employees and assets of €165 billion. In 2025, Iberdrola posted a record net profit of €6.3 billion. The company contributes close to €10.4 billion in taxes in the countries where it operates and supports more than 500,000 jobs throughout its supply chain, thanks to €13.2 billion in purchases from tens of thousands of suppliers.

Since 2001, Iberdrola has invested more than €175 billion in electricity networks, renewable energy and energy storage to help create an energy model based on electrification. The company has close to 1.4 million km of electricity networks in the United States (the states of New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts), the United Kingdom (Scotland, England and Wales), Brazil (the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as Brasilia) and Spain, as well as 57,000 MW of capacity worldwide, of which more than 46,000 MW is renewable.