LA GRANGE – Fayette Electric Cooperative, in partnership with CoBank, one of FEC’s lending partners, has awarded grants to four area not-for-profit organizations. These donations were made possible through CoBanks’s Sharing Success Charitable Contribution Program.
CoBank started the program in 2012 as a way to give back to co-ops and the nonprofits they support. Aimed at supporting local communities and people, the Sharing Success Grant Program matches FEC’s charitable contributions to local nonprofit organizations. Since the program’s inception, CoBank and its customers have together provided nearly $66 million in support to nonprofit organizations across the nation.
“CoBank’s customers embody the cooperative principle of concern for community,” said Thomas Halverson, CoBank’s president and chief executive officer. “Through charitable contributions and outreach they provide a helping hand to people and communities in need and support the programs and organizations that are helping rural communities to grow and thrive.”
“Sharing Success has been an important part of our citizenship program for ten years,”
continued Halverson. “We are privileged to partner with our customers in their charitable efforts and look forward to the next decade of Sharing Success.”
The four nonprofit organizations chosen to receive funds from the 2022 grant program include: And Then a New Day, the Alliance for College and Career Student Success, the Heritage Museum of Weimar, Inc., and the Schulenburg Area Food Pantry. Each organization will receive $2,500 from Fayette Electric Cooperative and a matching grant from CoBank of $2,500 for a total of $5,000 each.
And Then a New Day’s mission is to help young adults with learning challenges find a meaningful purpose in life while discovering their happy. They also seek to educate the community about the potential these young adults have when provided with equal opportunities. Funds from this grant will go toward improvements to the And Then I Recycle Program. This recycling program currently serves over 20 individuals across three different counties with plans to expand to serve over 50 more. This is the only recycling pick-up program in the Schulenburg and Weimar area.
The Alliance for College and Career Student Success (ACCSS) is a partnership between five rural, public school districts and the Blinn College District. ACCSS, along with their partners, works to share resources to provide dual credit opportunities and career pathways for students in their region. They also work collaboratively to provide academic and career resources, guidance and support necessary for students to complete a post-secondary or workforce career credential. Funds from the Sharing Success Grant program will be used for scholarships for high school students for tuition to be applied to dual credit classes that they are taking through Blinn College. These five partners include: Fayetteville ISD, Flatonia ISD, Schulenburg ISD, Weimar ISD and Columbus ISD. The ACCSS program is housed at the Blinn College Schulenburg Campus.
The Heritage Museum of Weimar, Inc. has served the Colorado, Fayette and Lavaca counties for over 30 years. Their mission is to preserve and display Weimar’s history to visitors traveling between Houston and San Antonio and let them know about places to visit like the painted churches, the museums in surrounding towns, as well as other things like parks, golf courses and places to stay. The Heritage Museum of Weimar plans to use the funds they received from this grant to repair the museum’s awnings on the east and south sides of the building.
The Schulenburg Area Food Pantry’s mission is to provide supplementary food, grocery and household products to qualifying families in the Schulenburg area. It was established in 1996 and serves on average 131 low-income families every month. Funds received from the Sharing Success Grant program will go to the purchase of an automated external defibrillator as well as the purchase of a new refrigerator.
“The seventh cooperative principle, concern for community, is one of the reasons we do what we do. While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development and improvement of the quality of life in the communities in which they serve. These four non-profits are an asset to our communities and it is only right that we reward them for their efforts,” said FEC General Manager Gary Don Nietsche.
About Fayette Electric Cooperative
Organized in 1937, Fayette Electric Cooperative provides reliable, cost-effective service to over 10,000 member’s residences, farms, ranches and businesses in portions of Fayette, Bastrop, Lee, Washington, Austin, Colorado and Lavaca counties. FEC owns and operates over 2,971 miles of line and serves over 15,658 meters.
About CoBank
CoBank is a $170 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 76,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.
