Washington Electric Coop Community Fund Flood Relief

The WEC Community Fund has temporarily shifted the focus of its donations. Ordinarily, the money from the Community Fund is given to non-profits that serve our members to help them in their missions, primarily providing basic needs. In light of the July flooding, we invite area non-profits who serve members in WEC’s 41 towns to submit grant requests for help with damage the non-profits themselves may have suffered. If you run an area non-profit and need some money to help with clean-up or repairs, please be in touch with us.

Given the modest size of WEC’s Community Fund, and given that we want to help as many as we can, we are limiting donations to $1,000 a piece for now. But the application process is simple – just write an email to the WEC Community Fund (wec.community.fund@wec.coop) and explain your need. Additionally, if you need volunteer help, let us know and we will work to get the word out.

Thank you for all that you do, and let us know how we can help.

Thank you for considering Washington Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (WEC) Community Fund as an avenue of financial support for community-driven needs. In conformance with the seventh Cooperative principle of “Concern for the Community”, WEC supports activities of worthwhile non-profit, charitable agencies, educational institutions, and other community organizations whose activities and services enhance the well-being of our members and the communities in which they live.

Community Fund donations are awarded quarterly upon careful consideration by the Community Fund Committee. If your request is time-sensitive, be sure to include the date by which you would prefer to receive a donation, and we will do our best to accommodate it. We request that donations are used, to the best of an organization's abilities, for the benefit of the residents of the 41 towns WEC serves (see below). For a full list of organizations WEC donated to over the last year, please see the July issue of our newsletter, Co-op Currents.

How to Request a Donation

In addition to submitting the online Community Fund Request form, please upload a cover letter on organization letterhead containing the following information:

Name and location of the organization, event, or activity
Organization’s mission and values
Why the organization is seeking the donation
Purpose of the donation
Who will benefit from the donation (may be different from primary demographic(s) served)
Further comments or information salient to the request

Name of Individual Submitting Request *

First

Last

Position *

Email *

Phone *

Organization & Request Details

Official Name of Organization, Activity, or Event *

Address *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Phone *

Website / URL

Is the organization a non-profit? *

Please describe the financial status.

Primary Area Served *

Preference to organizations in the four (4) counties WEC serves: Washington, Orange, Caledonia, & Orleans.

Primary Demographic(s) Served *

Purpose of Donation *

How will WEC be recognized? *

E.g., newsletter, website, Board meeting

Requested Amount *

Upload Cover Letter *

Click or drag a file to this area to upload.

Accepted file extensions: .pdf, .doc, or docx

To email your request, download a donation request form here (PDF) and submit a cover letter as described above. Send it to wec.community.fund@wec.coop.

To submit your request by US post, please download a grant request form to include along with your cover letter and address it to:

Categories & Eligibility

Contributions shall be made only to organizations submitting requests in writing (by US mail or email).
Support of charitable & community organizations serving significant parts of WEC’s service territory (Washington, Orange, Caledonia, and Orleans counties), through event sponsorship, advertising in their publications, or general donations.
Activities may include social services, education, arts and the environment.
Support of special projects at schools and local communities (emphasis on local activities).
Recipient organizations must either be incorporated as a non-profit or be a unit of local government or have high level of recognition and support in their communities.
Contributions will not be made to religious or political organizations or organizations primarily engaged in issues advocacy.

Reporting & Communication

As a membership organization and as a business, it is in the Cooperative’s interest to be recognized by our members and communities for such support. Accordingly, organizations receiving such support should have an appropriate means for recognizing the Cooperative.
The Cooperative shall make every effort to determine that organizations receiving support are financially viable and broadly supported in the communities they serve.
Support shall not be offered to organizations or activities whose purposes conflict with the policies and principles of the Cooperative.
Consideration shall be given to assuring that communities and activities throughout the Cooperative’s territory benefit from such support.
The General Manager will provide monthly reports to the WEC board as well as a year-end summary of contributions at the conclusion of the fiscal year.
A report shall be printed in Co-op Currents within the first six months of each year, which shall inform members about how they may contribute to the fund, and the process for requesting donations. This report shall also list the contributions made the previous year.
In addition to the above-noted report, Co-op Currents will annually profile at least one recipient organization/project.