Riverland Energy is pleased to provide financial support to community programs through Community Cares. Funding for the program is donated by member-owners of Riverland Energy Cooperative, who round their monthly electric bill up to the next even dollar amount. The monies are combined and grants are awarded annually by a committee of Riverland Energy Cooperative members.
How does it work?
Simply put, Community Cares gathers contributions from co-op members by rounding up their monthly electric bill to the next highest dollar. For example, if your July bill is $78.33, Riverland would round it up to $79.The additional 67¢ would go to the Community Cares fund.
How much to members contribute?
Monthly contributions per member average 50 cents, for a yearly average donation of $6 per member, but could potentially be up to $.99 a month, averaging to $12 a year.
What will the money be used for?
Community Cares funds are used for local projects such as firefighting equipment for volunteer fire departments, life-saving equipment for ambulance or rescue squads, hospice programs, youth programs, food shelves and health services. Donations are not limited to these categories. However, Community Cares funds may not be used for political purposes or to pay electric bills.
How do co-op members participate in Community Cares?
The program is voluntary, so if you’d like to opt in, fill out the form and mail to us at P.O. Box 277, Arcadia, WI 54612, or E-mail to balesch@riverlandenergy.com. Or fill out the online form.
All contributions are tax deductible.
Who administers the fund?
Riverland Energy Cooperative has a Community Cares board of directors to evaluate requests for Community Cares funds and determine how the money will be distributed. The board is made up of four Riverland Energy Cooperative board members and three Riverland staff.
More about Community Cares
Electric cooperatives across the United States have been offering a program called Operation Round-up since 1989 to help co-op members reach out to worthy causes in their community and work together to help others. Riverland began this program in 2011, calling it Riverland Community Cares.
Grant Application
Deadlines for submitting applications for funds are: February 20, 2021 and August 20, 2021. Decisions regarding application grants are made within approximately one month after the respective deadline.
Money contributed to Community Cares is administered by a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation called the Riverland Community Cares Foundation. The Trust is a separate organization from Riverland Energy and is governed by a Board of Directors.
Contributions will generally be made to 501(c)3 organizations whose activities benefit members of the Riverland Energy service area.
Contributions are generally not made for:
- lobbying, political and religious organizations
- veteran, fraternal and labor organizations
- fundraising dinners or raffles
- national fund drives