Through the contributions of Lake Country Power’s participating members, the Operation Round Up Electric Trust Board recently approved $66,943 in assistance to local community programs during its quarterly meeting.
The cooperative’s Trust Board reviewed and considered 40 grant applications and distributed funds to 30 projects and programs this past quarter.
All funds generated through Operation Round Up are set aside in a trust fund. A voluntary Trust Board of nine co-op members administers the trust. Of the funds collected through the program, 100% is distributed to charitable organizations through an application and selection process. The Trust Board uses special guidelines and policies when choosing recipients. Since the program’s inception, more than $3.6 million in contributions have been given.
Most recent recipients include:
• Hope Evangelical Church: $4,000 toward their affordable meals program.
• St. Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad: $1,652 toward Lighting the Way, Portable Scene Illumination Upgrade
• Tower-Soudan Historical Society: $3,100 toward Passenger Coach 81 Interior Painting Project
• Well Being Development, Northern Lights Clubhouse: $1,824 toward Northern Lights Clubhouse; supporting community members living with mental and behavioral health challenges by offering structured opportunities to develop skills, pursue interests and engage with other community members.
Operation Round Up is a charitable program unique to electric co-ops, which is designed to provide financial assistance to worthwhile activities and community projects by “rounding up” members’ electric bills to the nearest dollar. The average donation of each participating Lake Country Power member is less than $6 annually.
Among Lake Country Power’s 44,000 members, 70% of all active electric accounts participate in the program through voluntary contributions. Interested members can opt into the Operation Round Up program by calling the cooperative at 800-421-9959.
The electronic application process is available at www.lakecountrypower. coop (My Cooperative > Community > Operation Round Up). The next application deadline is May 15.
Lake Country Power, www.lakecountrypower. coop, is a Touchstone Energy cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The rural electric cooperative provides services to more than 44,000 members and has offices located in Cohasset, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.
