Gratitude Attitude of
Cooperative members round up their electric bills to change lives and impact community vitality through Operation Round Up© grants
ORU By Hayley Leatherwood T
hree photo albums and a change of clothes—that’s all Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) member Stacy Braswell had to her name after a wildfi re engulfed her home last August.
“You’re driving out of your driveway and you look back and it’s all gone,” Braswell says. “It’s like not seeing your shadow.”
Braswell’s residence was one of hundreds of homes destroyed in the Man- nford, Okla., area. She says IEC is instrumental in helping the area continue to heal and rebuild.
“People ask me, ‘You lost everything, how are you still smiling?’ And I say,
‘Why wouldn’t I be when I have the love and support of everyone around me? You have to count your blessings, not your losses.’”
Braswell is a longtime giver to her community. She has contributed to
IEC’s “Operation Round Up” program since the program began in 1994. In this program, members from various electric co-ops across the nation volun- tarily commit to “round up” monthly electric bills and donate the change to their local cooperative’s not-for-profi t foundation, like the IEC Foundation, Inc. (IECF).
For example, if a participating member’s electrical bill was $61.50, that member would donate the remaining 50 cents to the cooperative’s founda- tion fund. A separate, volunteer board often governs the foundation and distributes the funds via grants to individuals, families and not-for-profi t service organizations.
Braswell says she never thought she would be a recipient. After the wild-
fi res, she received one of 88 $250 Wal-Mart gift cards IECF issued to disaster victims in its service territory.
“It’s humbling to be in that position and be that somebody needing help,” Braswell says. “I want people to know how easy this program is. It’s so easy to do the little things, and when everyone joins together it makes such a dif- ference.”
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WWW.OK-LIVING.COOP
Zola Boyd receives a meal from Meals on Wheels Norman, Inc., a group receiving an Oklahoma Electric Cooperative Operation Round Up grant. Photo by Hayley Leatherwood
Changing Times For IEC, there are two different machines at work. Cooperative members
fi rst choose to round up their electric bill and give the remainder to the foundation. The cooperative is the core, but the foundation facilitates the funding opportunities.
Through the Operation Round Up program, civic organizations like fi re departments, school programs and booster programs receive a hand up from the eight-member foundation board.
“We try to fund as many of those organizational grants as possible,” Clara Eulert, IEC Operation Round Up coordinator says. “Because our members live in rural areas, they don’t have huge corporations to go to like they would in an urban area.”
The average contribution per meter is about $6 annually. Currently, about one-third of the co-op’s meters are participating. The fund averages $2,800.00 each month, however, Eulert says the number of contributing meters continues to fall.
“We aren’t sure why contributor participants are declining. We are address- ing this through program education and inquiry,” Eulert says. “We know our members share our ‘Concern for Community,’ which is core principle No. 7 of an electric cooperative.”
Eulert says if the co-op’s membership is intending to address another emergency like the wildfi res, those funds need to be replenished so the foun- dation can continue to provide community grants simultaneously.
Eulert emphasizes disaster relief is a special circumstance. IECF grants are often not instant assistance. The board adheres to an in-depth process—with an application and interview—that secures qualifi ed applicants the opportu- nity to seek funds.
“Operation Round Up is a team effort of working together for the greater good—that’s what co-ops did from the very beginning,” Eulert says.
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