One day I was on an after-work excursion to our local Kmart in Whiteville. I was waiting in line at the checkout, observing a teacher as she counted out the supplies she needed for a class project. In conversation, I learned she was using her own money to pay for them. She was upbeat and very willing to do so, because she wanted her students to have fun and learn at the same time. But she also shared that buying supplies for nontraditional projects was the norm for teachers. And thus was born the Bright Ideas education grant program; we would award grants to K–12 teachers to pay for these projects instead.

Nearly $16 million in grants, supporting more than 14,700 projects and benefiting close to four million students

We presented this idea to our school superintendents, and were given the okay to share it with principals and teachers. The excitement was high! Here was our opportunity to enhance the learning possibilities of our children while engaging BEMC, teachers, students, parents and the community. We saw this program not only as an opportunity, but also as our responsibility as a driving force in our communities.

The first year was a test run with five teachers winning grants for exceptional projects that were beyond the norm and that benefited students. North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives noted the program’s success, and quickly adopted it, developing a statewide program for all North Carolina co-ops that brings learning to life in classrooms across the state and supports projects that may otherwise not be funded.

Fast forward 30 years and Bright Ideas has become the flagship community program across the statewide network of cooperatives. To date, North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives have collectively awarded nearly $16 million in grants, supporting more than 14,700 projects and benefiting close to four million students statewide. Grants are available to K–12 educators in all 100 North Carolina counties, and funding is awarded for projects across a variety of curriculum areas including art, history, math, reading, science, technology and more.

The cooperative difference benefits our members and service territories in so many ways, not the least of which is the way we work together to make the places we live better. One idea can be spread very quickly by those who have our members’ best interests in mind.