Operation Round Up – A Powerful Way for Us to Help Our Communities
You may have heard of Operation Round Up that’s in place at other electric cooperatives across the nation. It’s a program that was started almost 30 years ago at Palmetto Electric Cooperative in South Carolina. All co-ops adhere to the seven cooperative principles, including “Concern for Community.” The Operation Round Up program is the perfect embodiment of this core principle.
The idea and process is simple. Just round up an electric bill to the next dollar, and then use those pennies to do good work in the community. Today, hundreds of electric co-ops throughout the country employ this program to help their local organizations.
How it Works
Each month a member’s bill will be rounded up to the next dollar and that money will be used for charitable community endeavors. So, if a member’s bill is $185.43, the bill would be rounded up to $186.00 and the $0.57 would go to help local non-profit entities through the Wood County Electric Charitable Foundation. The average cooperative member would only donate about $6.00 a year, and the maximum amount a member could contribute annually would be $11.88.
Each donation is a very small amount from each member, but when added with donations from across the cooperative’s membership, the impact to our communities will be significant. And, it is very important to note, the program will be voluntary, so any member can opt out at any time.
For details on Operation Round Up please watch this short two minute video.
