Securing funds for a hospital or giving money to a family who lost a home to flames may seem fitting efforts for a church or some nonprofit agency. But do you expect this from a power company? For hundreds of rural communities, the resounding answer is “Yes.”

Electric cooperatives deliver much more than safe, reliable and affordable electricity. Cooperatives push past the traditional role of a utility and take on roles as active partners in local communities, rebuilding lives and spreading opportunities. Concern for Community — a core cooperative business principle — weaves a common thread among electric cooperatives and sets them apart from other types of power suppliers.

Case in point: Highline Electric Association in northeastern Colorado has supported construction of two major local infrastructure projects — the $18.5 million critical access Melissa Memorial Hospital located in the co-op’s headquarters town of Holyoke, along with the nearby Crook Firehall and Community Building. The co-op did so with $1.3 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program. REDL&G uses cooperatives as “pass-throughs” to make zero-interest loans and grants to rural businesses for expansion and job creation purposes. Since approval of the first REDL&G applications in 1989, more than $430 million has been provided to 1,400 projects nationwide, creating more than 42,000 jobs.

“We take our commitment to local communities very seriously and do what we can to ensure their continued growth and vitality,” explains Mark Farnsworth, Highline Electric general manager.
The Melissa Memorial Hospital, which put various specialty clinics under one roof, offers residents much greater convenience. The Crook Firehall and Community Building allowed the Crook Fire Protection District to combine its fire station with a much-in-demand recreation facility and meeting center.

Co-op community focus takes many dynamic forms, from economic development initiatives to giving students a chance to succeed.

But electric co-ops don’t act alone. The generosity of members — those who receive electricity from the co-op —remains key. A growing number of co-op consumers contribute each month into various “helping hand” programs, including Operation Round Up®, where consumers agree to round up their monthly electric bills to the next whole dollar amount.

The extra pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters then flow into a fund managed by individual electric cooperatives that assists worthy community organizations as well as fellow members who fall on hard times. Some 250 local electric co-ops nationwide currently run Operation Round Up programs, which have raised more than $100 million since 1989.

Through Operation Round Up and other initiatives that follow a similar model, a monthly electric bill of $82.73 is rounded up to a flat $83, with the additional 27 cents going into the fund. On average, a co-op member donates roughly $6 each year. Cooperatives generally appoint a board of volunteer members or community advocates to allocate the money to groups or individuals in the co-op’s service area.

Sherrill C. Oram-Smith, chair of the Operation Round Up board of Mountain View Electric Association based in Limon, has been amazed by the program’s ability to raise money for local programs.

“Our MVEA Round Up members have been able to make a difference for many individuals families and organizations right here in our Mountain View area,” Oram-Smith said. “We have given away over a million dollars by collecting just a few cents each month from the Round Up participants. The great success of this program is a tribute to the generosity of our members.”
“We are a not-for-profit organization and we exist for one reason and one reason only—to meet the needs of our members,” asserts Jim Herron, Mountain View Electric general manager. “Our Operation Round Up program meets the needs of our members in very real ways on a continual basis. We could not be more proud of the program’s success. The overwhelming success of this program speaks volumes about the generosity of the members living on our lines.”

Empire Electric Association also responds to community needs creatively. The Cortez-based distribution co-op helps men and women — often single parents — gain the training and education necessary to find jobs and advance life skills.

“In today’s economy, many adults are looking for work or switching careers and require more education or training to move ahead,” comments Neal Stephens, general manager. “We are here to help.”

The cooperative awards up to six adult scholarships each year to members who are pursuing education after being out of school for a while. These scholarships are in addition to 25 traditional scholarships awarded to area high school seniors.

Both programs are funded through unclaimed capital credits — margins credited each year to cooperative members based on their electric use. Capital credits, also called equity capital or patronage capital, are used by the cooperative for a period of time, then returned to individual members.

However, sometimes members move without providing a forwarding address, leaving their capital credits behind. Empire Electric scholarship grants offer a creative way to transform these funds into opportunities.

“The scholarship program lets us return unpaid patronage capital to the community, helping members receive a better education—often during a time of great need,” Stephens relates.
Most of Colorado’s other 21 electric co-ops offer similar scholarship programs using their unclaimed capital credits. Thousands of students across the state have been able to further their education through this assistance from the local electric cooperative.

Powering communities with services other than electricity provides one more way consumer-owned electric co-ops improve the quality of life in the communities they serve.

John Bruce is a freelance writer based in South Carolina. He writes for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Virginia-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.