AMARILLO – The Xcel Energy Foundation is awarding $177,300 in grant funding to nonprofit groups in Texas and New Mexico.

The grants are being made through the Arts & Culture and also the Environmental focus areas of the Xcel Energy Foundation, which grants money to nonprofit agencies working in towns and cities served by Xcel Energy.

“One of our responsibilities to our customers is to be a partner in the development of our communities,” said Riley Hill, president and CEO of Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy company. “A vibrant arts community and a healthy environment are two indicators of a successful community, and we are privileged to play a role in this success.”

These grants represent about half the funding the foundation gives in focus grants across the region. Other focus areas for the foundation are education and economic sustainability, which were completed during the first half of the year. The foundation also matches United Way contributions dollar for dollar and matches employee gifts to non-profit agencies dollar for dollar, Hill said.

Area nonprofits receiving Arts & Culture funding are:

Amarillo Museum of Art

Amarillo Botanical Gardens

Amarillo Children’s Theatre Guild, Inc.

Amarillo Little Theatre

Amarillo Symphony

Amarillo Youth Choirs

Armstrong County Museum (Claude)

Ballet Lubbock

Broadway Festivals, Inc. (Lubbock)

Carlsbad Community Concert Association

City of Levelland

CREATE a Beat (Pampa)

Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts (Amarillo)

Greater Southwest Music Festival (Amarillo)

Hale Center Beautification Association

Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico (Roswell)

Hobbs Hispano Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Lea County Commission for the Arts (Hobbs)

Lone Star Ballet (Amarillo)

Lubbock Arts Alliance

Pecos Valley Jazz & Arts Festival (Roswell)

Plainview Civic Music Association

Quay Council for Arts and Humanities (Tucumcari)

Quay County Community Foundation (Tucumcari)

Roswell Community Little Theatre

Roswell Fine Arts League/New Mexico Miniature Arts Society

Roswell Museum and Art Center Foundation

Southwest Symphony (Hobbs)

Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation (Canyon)

Tri-City Music Concert Association (Borger)

Nonprofits receiving Environmental funding are:

Amarillo Zoological Society

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Texas Panhandle

Don Harrington Discovery Center (Amarillo)

National Windmill Project (Lubbock)

New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs)

Sidney Gutierrez Middle School (Roswell)

Wildcat Bluff Nature Center (Amarillo)