A community partnership

At the heart of any cooperative lies a passion for the community it serves and the commitment to give back in any way it can. But it’s when cooperatives work together that the greatest impact can be made.

For 12 years, Minnkota, Square Butte Electric Cooperative and CoBank have joined to make important contributions to community causes through the Sharing Success program. Through the program, CoBank provides matching donations of up to $10,000 to worthy causes. In 2024, Minnkota and its sister cooperative, Square Butte Electric Cooperative, were each able to donate an additional $20,000 in matching funds to charitable organizations within the region.

“Both CoBank and Minnkota play a vital role in serving rural communities,” said Stacey Dahl, Minnkota’s vice president of external affairs. “By putting our resources together, we can make an even greater difference.”

The largest contribution of 2024 was provided to the Center-Stanton Public School system, which has educated many of the young minds of the families who have worked at Minnkota’s Milton R. Young Station for over 50 years. With the school’s football scoreboard in a state of disrepair and a lack of funding available to fix it,

Minnkota, Square Butte Electric Cooperative and the Sharing Success program made a critical $30,000 donation, which has had an overwhelming impact on the future of the Wildcat football program.

Tracy Peterson, superintendent and athletic director at Center-Stanton Public School, was amazed at how quickly the process of obtaining the new scoreboard was once the funds were ready and available. The new scoreboard will not only add some color to the hill-top field but will also upgrade the school’s streaming technology, allowing games to be enjoyed online from anywhere in the world.

“We could not have done this ourselves, and it is great when a company like Minnkota can step in and help grow school and community pride through their donations. Words cannot express how grateful we are,” Peterson said.

Minnkota’s Sharing Success donations also included $10,000 to the Grand Forks Children’s Museum and $5,000 donations to Farm Rescue and the North Dakota Museum of Art.

The Grand Forks Children’s Museum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing hands-on, S.T.E.A.M-related activities to the youth of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota that support foundational development, social connection and awareness, and encourage children to think critically. The organization is currently raising funds to help with existing programming efforts as well as to help break ground on a much-needed building.

“Our mission is to engage minds through play,” said Maura Tanabe, Grand Forks Children’s Museum fundraising chair. “With the donations from Minnkota and CoBank, we are even closer to making the dream of a museum a reality in Grand Forks. Thank you for being a change-maker.”

Minnkota’s membership is proudly comprised of farmers, ranchers, and other rural residents. Every year since Minnkota began its partnership with the Sharing Success program, the cooperative has made a substantial donation to Farm Rescue.

“We are so grateful to Minnkota Power Cooperative,” said Tim Sullivan, Farm Rescue’s executive director and senior development officer. “The funds that
are brought in stay in this area. They go towards supporting our programs in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.”

Farm Rescue is a program dedicated to helping farming families in need. Whether it is planting, haying, harvest, or livestock care, the nonprofit has a plethora
of volunteers and corporate sponsors ready to lend a hand. This year, the organization is on pace to assist over 130 families across nine states, helping to
maintain their way of life within their communities.

“Agriculture remains the heart and soul of the Minnkota system,” said Dahl. “It’s difficult to think of a more worthy cause than to assist farmers in a time of need, especially when they have given so much to the rest of us.”

The North Dakota Museum of Art (NDMOA) is a hub on the University of North Dakota’s campus that celebrates its love of contemporary art and artists from across the world. The museum hosts regular art exhibits, children’s and adult art education programs, an annual summer concert series, and so much more for the Greater Grand Forks region and beyond. Thanks to traveling art programs like the Rural Arts program, when people can’t make it to the
museum, NDMOA brings the exhibits to them.

“Hundreds of people come together to support the museum, including volunteers, members, donors, artists, and families,” said Brian Lofthus, NDMOA marketing and membership coordinator. “Partnerships and collaborations with other local nonprofits and businesses happen on a regular basis. Being involved in the community is key.”

Since its establishment in 2012, the CoBank Sharing Success program has donated $86 million in combined funds with cooperatives across the country. To learn more about the Sharing Success program, visit CoBank.com/citizenship.

Header image: Minnkota CEO Mac McLennan (second from center right) and Senior Manager of Power Production Andy Freidt (center right) present Center-Stanton Public School with its joint Sharing Success donation. From right to left: Colton Becher, senior; Kenny Grounds, senior; Hunter Jacobson, senior; Daniel Olson, assistant football coach; Cale Ferderer, head football coach; Tracy Peterson, superintendent; Andy Freidt; Mac McLennan; Keith Leintz, athletic director; Mark Sondag, Center-Stanton elementary principal; Seth Hall, senior; Jaden Keith, senior. (Minnkota/Michael Hoeft)

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