The Trustees of the GEC Community Foundation, Inc. met on October 12, 2022, and awarded eleven grants totaling $6,564. All grants are funded by member donations called Operation Round Up where members voluntarily round up their utility bills each month to fund grants to eligible entities.
Education grants were awarded to Pleasant View R-VI, Trenton, $460 for classroom mats; Rissler Elementary School, Trenton, $450 for a vocabulary kit; Newtown-Harris R-III, Newtown, $593 for a new range; Princeton R-V School, Princeton, $600 for a yearbook class camera; North Mercer R-III, Mercer, $600 for science class microscopes; Gilman City R-IV, Gilman City, $800 for library books; North Harrison R-III, Eagleville, $450 for a laser rangefinder; Ridgeway R-V, Ridgeway, $321 for library books; South Harrison R-II, Bethany, $704 and $997 for classroom chapter books and scientific calculators; and Wayne Community Schools, Corydon, Iowa, $589 for science class dissection kits.
Since 2005, the GEC Community Foundation, Inc. has awarded 804 grants totaling $482,239.10 to deserving schools and community organizations. The Foundation assists qualifying schools and organizations with grants for education, health, and rural development within Grundy Electric Cooperative’s 12 county service area: Harrison, Mercer, and Grundy counties and portions of Linn, Livingston, Daviess, Gentry, Putnam, and Sullivan counties in Missouri and portions of Ringgold, Wayne, and Decatur counties in Iowa.
The Operation Round-Up Program allows GEC members and customers of the Public Water Supply District Number 1 of Grundy County to voluntarily “round up” their utility bill to the next even dollar. The PWSD Round-Up funds are disbursed solely to projects located in Grundy County. For an average of $6 per year, participating GEC members and PWSD #1 customers assist in funding local community projects.
The next grant application deadline is January 1, 2023. Qualified applicants must be a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization or other eligible entity and may apply for a grant by completing a grant application with supporting information. Grant applications are available at this link or by calling Grundy Electric Cooperative at 1-800-279-2249, extension 22.
