Operation Round-Up FAQs
Operation Round Up is a voluntary program where participating members’ bills are rounded up, and the extra cents flow into a charitable fund to assist local causes. For example, a member whose electric bill is $167.46 will be rounded up to $168.00 and the extra 54¢ will be donated to the fund.
The average participating member will donate $6.00/year with a maximum donation of $11.88/year.
The program is intended to benefit people and organizations within the Central Electric service area.
The money is granted based upon applications from worthy projects and organizations within our local service territory. The funding will be focused to the following categories:
Community Service
Economic Development
Education and Youth
Environment
Emergency Energy Assistance
Disaster Relief
A nine-member, volunteer Board of Trustees will review the applications and decide how to distribute the funds. Members of the Board of Trustees were selected by the director from the respective county.
| Julie Dykstra | Aurora County | Chair |
| Clarissa Glaus | Brule County | |
| Yvette Isburg | Buffalo County | |
| Steve Weisz | Davison County | |
| LeAnn Moe | Hanson County | |
| Amber Kolousek | Jerauld County | Secretary |
| Tami Moore | Miner County | Treasurer |
| Dawna VanOverschelde | Sanborn County | |
| Merl Bechen | Director At Large |
No. Neither Central Electric Cooperative nor the board of trustees gain compensation from this program. Members of the board of trustees are paid mileage for meetings and Central Electric covers all other administrative expenses.
Non-profit organizations, local clubs and community groups within the Central Electric service area may apply. Applicants are not required to be members of Central Electric Cooperative and projects outside Central Electric's boundaries are considered if they largely benefit residents from our service area.
Applications are available at the top of this web page or by contacting our office at 800-477-2892.
Applications are due by May 1 and November 1 each year. Applications can be mailed or turned in at the Central Electric Betts Road Service Center. The Board of Trustees reviews applications in June and December. Applicants are notified of their application status by mail within 60 days of the deadline.
Applications are judged based upon 1) potential benefit to the residents and community; 2) level of community support for the project or organization; 3) capability of the applicant to deliver a quality service or program; and 4) final results that can be envisioned and evaluated.
For more information, view the guidelines attached to each application.
Projects should be completed within 12 months following the application. Requests for funding for projects that have already been completed will be given less priority.
Yes; donations will be published in the Cooperative Connections newsletter or can be viewed on our Recipients Page.
Only one account per member will be rounded up.
Members are automatically enrolled unless they choose to out.
Anyone wishing not to participate may notify us by
1) Calling our office at 800-477-2892,
2) Email cec@centralec.coop
3) or Contact us
On your monthly bill, you will see "Operation Round Up" and how many cents were rounded up, located directly below the KWH charges and tax. You can also log in to your SmartHub account for donation totals.