PRECorp Foundation, Basin Electric give to local seniors

With a dramatic increase in its annual holiday giving program, the Powder River Energy (PRECorp) Foundation recently teamed up with Basin Electric to donate a total of $10,000 to Sundance Senior Center, and Crook County Senior Services.

"The Foundation's mission is to demonstrate our commitment to our senior citizens organizations in Crook County by helping improve their quality of service to their community," said Foundation Executive Director Jeff Bumgarner. "Because people in our communities continue to experience challenges, as well as the charities that bring relief, our Foundation Board approved up to $10,000 in its support this holiday season."

The first $5000 grant will go directly toward the Sundance Senior Center for needed repairs and upgrades to its kitchen equipment.

The Foundation later donated $2500 that was matched by Basin Electric for a total of $5000 for Crook County Senior Services meals programs in Sundance and Hulett. This is in response to meeting the diverse nutritional needs of seniors and rising costs of meals this holiday season.

CCSS Director Jenna Ellsbury stated, "This will help with the increased cost of groceries due to inflation, assist with the purchasing of nutritional drinks for our seniors who are unable to eat solid foods, and it covered the suggested donation cost for our Thanksgiving lunch."

Crook County Senior Services serves roughly 1100 meals a month county-wide. They offer a full dietitian-approved meal for all of Crook County's seniors.

The donation is possible through fundraisers, members donating their capital credits and PRECorp's Operation RoundUp® program. Operation RoundUp® program gathers voluntary contributions from participating co-op members by "rounding up" their monthly bill to the next dollar, resulting in an average donation of 50 cents a month.

These donations are then transferred to the Powder River Energy Foundation, which is governed by the independent, voluntary Board of Directors who represent each county in the PRECorp service area.

One hundred percent of Operation RoundUp® program funds go directly to the organizations and all administrative overhead to the Foundation is donated through its relationship with PRECorp. Additionally, since the Powder River Energy Foundation is a 501 (c) (3), donations may be tax deductible, including event sponsorships and capital credit donations.

For more information on the Powder River Energy Foundation or to sign up for the Operation RoundUp® program, PRECorp members can call a Member Service Representative at 1-800-442-3630, check the Operation RoundUp® program box on your monthly billing statement, or go to the Powder River Energy Foundation website at http://www.precorpfoundation.org.

Since its formation in 2007, the Powder River Energy Foundation has help drive over $1.5 million in benefits to charitable organizations across PRECorp's five-county service territory. To ensure the funding requests are addressed in a timely manner, and meet the criteria of a charitable donation applications are reviewed by the Foundation's Board of Directors at their monthly meetings.

Basin Electric is Powder River Energy Corporation's wholesale power supplier with generation facilities in Wyoming, North Dakota and other midwestern states. Since Basin is also a cooperative, giving to the communities it serves is part of its mission. Basin frequently matches donations from PRECorp to increase the impact for local non-profit organizations.