Leads National Grid Foundation to New Heights Ed White

After a total of 28 years at National Grid with the last six years at National Grid Foundation, Ed White had decided leave and pursue other professional endeavors effective June 30, 2023.

In a letter to partner organizations, Board Chair Eileen Cohen said, “We are grateful to Ed for his leadership, dedication, and extraordinary accomplishments while leading the Foundation. Ed has been a passionate advocate for the Foundation, the many organizations it supports, and has expanded its reach while deepening the connection to our grant recipients.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work” and “Living the dream” are two expressions Ed had said often.

His belief in those statements resonated with the Foundation team. Ed’s leadership and genuinely positive outlook on life flowed into his work that made his staff, coworkers and others feel at ease and optimistic.

In June 2017, he joined the Foundation as Executive Director. One year later, he took the lead of Social Impact, formerly Corporate Giving, as Vice President. Prior to joining both groups, he worked for the company in several compacities: Vice President/US Program Lead for The Shaping Our Future Strategic Review and Vice President of New Energy Solutions.

At the Foundation, Ed’s responsibilities included managing the annual gifting and operating budgets, developing, and implementing grant-making criteria while supervising the staff to create compelling grant proposals. Most importantly, he was a coach, mentor, advisor and friend who helped the Foundation team grow.

During his six-year tenure, the Foundation added new partner organizations, updated its website, and created a quarterly newsletter and annual report.

He brought to light that the Foundation’s giving is great as it helps many of our neighbors who are in need. The true sense of giving selflessly is to be there when disaster strikes, or a pandemic occurs but especially to be that constant source of support. Under his lead, the Foundation provided millions of dollars in grants to assist nonprofits during the Covid-19 pandemic, times of food insecurity and when Mother Nature lets everyone know who is in charge when she dumped nearly 100 inches of snow in Buffalo, NY.

Ed shared that the Foundation’s work creates an immeasurable impact on the non-profits and the communities served. He helped National Grid Foundation, and its staff move forward.

The Foundation's Board of Directors, in conjunction with National Grid, has launched a search for a new Executive Director. The Board is confident that as the Foundation begins the next chapter in its 25-year history, the new leader will bring a robust commitment to serving the communities that we support, along with ideas that will make our impact even greater. In the future, National Grid Foundation will announce its next Executive Director. ❧