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Specific needs earn Operation Round Up grants

Some people enjoy spending money. Not the five

Along with Wes Engbrecht (left), director of communications and public relations for Capital Electric, the following members met Feb. 7 at headquarters to discuss Operation Round Up applications and determine grant worthiness: Pat Ryberg, Phil McKenzie, Ed McCarty and June Brown (Missing is Gordon Felchle).

June Brown, Ed McCarty, Phil McKenzie and Pat Ryberg met Feb. 7 to award the latest round of grants for Operation Round Up. Gordon Felchle was unable to attend.

Ryberg, the most recent member to serve as a director for the Charitable Trust, was nominated at the Member Advisory Committee meeting Jan. 29. She will fill the position vacated by Quirina Schmidt, who fulfilled her service of two consecutive three-year terms.

The Feb. 7 meeting was Ryberg’s first opportunity to review applications and help choose which organizations or individuals in and around the co-op’s service area should receive a grant for charitable, educational or scientific purposes.

“I thought it was very interesting to see where the grant requests came from,” she says. “After having gone through the process of awarding grants, I do think it’s a worthy program to continue.”

Ryberg suggested some guidelines for future grant applications. She said the Charitable Trust tended to award requests that had a one-time or specific need, such as an emergency, or a need that could not easily find funding elsewhere.

How does Operation Round Up work?

The Charitable Trust collects funds for Operation Round Up, which is a voluntary program set up for co-op consumers. Participants agree to have their monthly electric billings “rounded up” to the nearest dollar each month. Those pennies are then placed in the Capital Electric Charitable Trust to be awarded to various groups and organizations.

Almost 5,000 electric customers of Capital Electric Cooperative participate in Operation Round Up, generating close to $2,500 a month in funds for the trust. Since its inception in August 1997, more than 30million pennies have been donated to various organizations and individuals.

The directors of the Charitable Trust awarded 10 new grants totaling $11,000 to the following recipients:
• N.D. Association for the Disabled: To help fund a program;
• Ruth Meiers Hospitality House: To help fund Joanne’s Healthcare Center;
• MVFA/4H Youth Rodeo: To help purchase a scoreboard;
• The Banquet: To help pay for the cost of running its weekly community dinner;
• Community Action Program: To help with the “Backpacks for Kids” program
• Junior Achievement: To help purchase classroom materials for elementary students;
• Sheridan County Senior Center: To help renovate their building;
• Youth Enrichment Specialties: To help with program expenses;
• Burleigh County Horse Judging Team: To help with judging costs;
• Riverside Elementary: To help purchase playground equipment.

Wes Engbrecht, director of communications and public relations for the co-op, says any person in the counties of Burleigh and Sheridan may submit an application to receive an Operation Round Up grant. The next application deadline will be July 31.

To download an application, click here or stop by co-op headquarters at 4111 State St. N. in Bismarck or call (701) 223-1513 for more information.