Minnkota and CoBank show concern for community

Minnkota and CoBank celebrated a decade of jointly supporting nonprofits and community organizations in 2022 with another bountiful year of giving.

CoBank’s Sharing Success program matches charitable donations up to $10,000 made by the cooperative to local and rural community organizations. As CoBank borrowers, Minnkota and Square Butte Electric Cooperative, which is owned by the same 11 cooperatives that own Minnkota, were each able to distribute an additional $20,000 in Co Bank matching funds across the region.

“This program is a really nice way to leverage additional contributions to several key organizations in our communities,” said Stacey Dahl, Minnkota’s senior manager of external affairs.

Minnkota’s donations included $3,000 to the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC), $3,500 to the Altru Health Foundation, $2,500 to Farm Rescue and $1,000 to the Greater Grand Forks Women’s Leadership Cooperative Fund (GGFWLC).

Minnkota is very mindful of the organizations that have broad-reaching impacts to its community. CVIC is a service organization that operates throughout the Greater Grand Forks region and works to prevent and educate the community on domestic violence.

“The impact of Minnkota and CoBank’s recent and past gifts are incredibly meaningful to our mission to end violence in two generations,” said Kara Fosse, CVIC senior director of development. “With a focus on safety, healing, prevention and education, your support enables entire families to transform their lives from a place of fear to empowering freedom.”

With a membership strongly rooted in agriculture, Minnkota provided support to Farm Rescue each year as part of the Sharing Success program.

“Year after year, Minnkota and CoBank have offered their generosity in support of our mission, and we have been honored to help an increasing number of rural families as a result,” said Dan Erdmann, program manager of Farm Rescue. “As our service footprint continues to grow, every donated dollar makes a difference for farm families in crisis throughout the region.”

Altru Health Foundation supports a large number of patients within Minnkota’s service territory. The Sharing Success donation directly supported three different areas within the foundation, including a program that offers transportation assistance to cancer patients from across the region.

“Thank you so very much to Minnkota Power Cooperative and CoBank for your generous support of Altru and the patients and families we are privileged to serve,” said Brittany Caillier, Altru Health Foundation’s director of philanthropy.

The mission of the Greater Grand Forks Women’s Leadership Cooperative is to empower female leadership within the community.

"Minnkota has been a strong supporter of the women of our organization since the beginning," said Caitlin Gillespie, immediate past president of GGFWLC. "That support has continued to grow in several ways, with this generous donation being the latest. We're grateful to have Minnkota as a community partner."

Square Butte Electric Cooperative, the owner of Unit 2 at the Milton R. Young Station near Center, N.D., contributed $10,000 to the Oliver County Rural Fire Department. The department will also be able to purchase a water tank to update our grass fire truck and update the safety equipment needed for the department’s volunteers.

“Without donations like the ones from Minnkota and CoBank, the doors of this volunteer department would have to close—leaving access to emergency services to the community over 45 minutes away,” said Mindy Rude, secretary and treasurer of the fire department’s board of directors.

CoBank’s Sharing Success program was established in 2012 and has allowed participants like Minnkota to contribute over $66 million to local organizations. To learn more about the Sharing Success program, visit CoBank.com/citizenship.

Main image: Stacey Dahl, Minnkota senior manager of external affairs (far right), presents CVIC board members with a Sharing Success donation. (Left to right) Coiya Tompkins, president and CEO; Jodi Sorum, board chair; Emberly Lietz, director of development; and Kara Fosse, senior director of development.

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