Our Community Investment program supports long-term, strategic involvement in the communities where we operate. We form partnerships with organizations to make meaningful change through donations, sponsorships and volunteering in the areas of health and safety, community development, education and environment.

Additionally, Plains’ Create a Real Effect (CARE) program supports nonprofits close to the hearts of our employees through donation matching and volunteer opportunities. Through the program, employees can donate to registered charities of their choice, and Plains proudly matches overall contributions.

Plains also offers employees volunteer opportunities during work hours to support organizations in their local communities. Employees have donated their time to organizations ranging from Habitat for Humanity, Trout Unlimited Canada, Ronald McDonald House, United Way and grassroots volunteering with local communities through natural disaster relief efforts, river clean-ups and building campgrounds and parks, just to name a few.


Our community investment focus areas include:

Health & Safety: We are committed to safe and responsible operations and advancing organizations that promote healthy living and well-being for all ages.

Education: Plains is a performance-driven organization that believes education funding is a building block for the success of future generations.

Environment: As part of Plains’ commitment to environmental stewardship, we support organizations that protect and conserve the environment near our asset footprint.

Community Development: We prize an entrepreneurial spirit and invest in communities’ economic development by supporting business skill development, training and other community services.

In 2023, Plains and its joint ventures/subsidiaries invested over $3.5 million in cash and in-kind donations toward projects and initiatives addressing local needs in the communities across our operating areas.

Permian Strategic Partnership: Plains is a member of the Permian Strategic Partnership, which brings together New Mexico and Texas residents, local leaders and member energy companies to strengthen and improve the quality of life for Permian Basin residents through development of superior schools, safer roads, quality healthcare, affordable housing and a trained workforce.

Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service: Over the past six years, Plains has donated $350,000 towards Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service's (STARS) mission-related operations and their Medical Mobile Education and Outreach Training programs. STARS reaches many of the communities across our western Canadian operations and our funding helps provide the critical, time-sensitive care that thousands of Canadians have required.

Classroom Champions: Since 2017, Plains has been a proud funder for Classroom Champions. The organization supports student social and emotional learning (SEL) and academic achievement through a K-8 curriculum and mentorship program with world-class athlete mentors. Students learn skills such as goal setting and perseverance to help them succeed in and out of the classroom.

Bayou Land Conservancy: Plains has made over $125,000 in donations and supplied volunteers in support of Bayou Land Conservancy’s (BLC's) conservation efforts of a 117 acre ecologically diverse, forested land along Spring Creek, north of Houston. Plains' donation will help protect vital wetlands and forested habitat, as well as provide a place for the BLC to teach students about land conservation on the preserve.

 

Supporting First Responders

The Plains First Responder Grant Program funds the resource and training needs of nonprofit emergency response and public safety organizations in the communities where Plains operates. We supply funds for improvements that will have a lasting, measurable impact, and a direct benefit to the safety or preparedness of response organizations. The grant program is one way for Plains to further empower the men and women who risk their lives daily for their communities.

As of December 2023, Plains and its subsidiaries have provided more than $3.8 million in grants to first responders in close proximity to our pipelines and facilities. The Plains First Responder Grant Program application and giving guidelines are available here.

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Supporting Elementary Schools

The Plains Educational Grant Program for Elementary Schools provides free copies of a story coloring book titled “Be Kid Smart on Pipeline Safety” by author Donna Hyde to schools located near our pipelines and facilities in The United States. The story follows neighbors, Ross and Honor, as they learn about pipeline rights-of-way, pipeline markers and the importance of calling 811 before digging. Participating teachers or schools that read the story and educate their students on the benefits of calling 811 before digging are eligible to apply for an educational grant that can be used to acquire educational materials, supplies, or classroom improvements. The Plains Educational Grant Program for Elementary Schools application and giving guidelines are available here. 

Volunteering

In addition to our corporate donations, we make local charitable contributions and participate in volunteer opportunities in the communities where we operate across the U.S. and Canada.

Inn From the Cold, which provides families with housing and transitional programs, benefitted from a visit by a dozen Calgary employees. Team members baked holiday cookies for residents, followed by help cleaning and organizing their kitchen.

In May 2023, Plains employees from Calgary and Houston volunteered to stabilize and restore a critical bull trout habitat, which is a threatened species in Cabin Creek, Alberta.