Tideland is one of more than 300 electric cooperatives in the nation that sponsor an Operation Round Up program. The one thing each co-ops’ Operation Round Up program has in common is that they leverage local donations to help local people with no administrative costs or overhead. Volunteer boards determine the parameters for giving and in Tideland’s case the decision was made to fund two programs: individual energy assistance grants through our Silver Lining program and college scholarships for local high school seniors.
However, one way Tideland differs from most co-ops is that we utilize an opt-in method for member enrollment rather than the more popular opt-out method. As a result, our Operation Round Up funding lags considerably behind the vast majority of co-ops nationally.
I firmly believe that if you take a moment to learn about the program and evaluate our program’s success that you will want to join your fellow members in donating to the program through the voluntarily enrollment of your electric account. Energy assistance grant funding details can be found on page F.
Operation Round Up donations average $6 annually and can never exceed $1 in a single month. Your December electric bill will document total giving for the calendar year.
If you are so moved, you can also opt to give more via fixed monthly giving. We refer to that as Operation Round Up Plus.
In either scenario, you can trust Tideland to be a good steward of any amount donated to the fund. You can also feel good about your donation knowing it stays local and helps those truly in need.
I hope you will consider enrolling today.
Do unto others
For more than 30 years, Tideland members have self-funded Operation Roundup, which provides energy assistance grants to members in need. Donations are voluntary and can be provided any number of ways:
- Members can opt to have their monthly electric bill rounded up to the next whole dollar amount (Example: actual bill of $98.45 is rounded up to $99.00)
- Members can ask that a specific dollar amount be added to their monthly bill. We refer to this as Operation RoundUp Plus.
- Members make a one-time donation payable to “Tideland Electric Care Trust”
We are committed to being good stewards of member donated funds. Here is a look at our two most recent years of assistance to individual members:
- Average Grant Amount
2022: $79.15 2021: $85.09 - Average Number of Grants Provided
2022: 26 per month 2021: 31 per month
To become an Operation RoundUp contributor, check the sign-up box on the return stub of your electric bill when making payment, call us at 252.943.3046, or enroll via the member portal.
