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To kick off National Cooperative Month, Pioneer Utility Resources is living the shared cooperative principle of Commitment to Community by investing in four community groups to support co-op families after loss, help international energy development, improve life in rural America and fight human trafficking.
The donations — matched dollar-for-dollar through CoBank’s Sharing Success program — total $15,182 in support of community and international development.
“We are thrilled to partner with CoBank to extend our reach and deepen our impact in the communities we serve,” Pioneer CEO Michael Shepard said. “Through these donations, we hope to foster positive change and support the amazing work being done by these organizations locally and internationally.”
Pioneer, a leading communications cooperative for utilities and broadband providers, announced the charitable donation commitment of $7,591 to four organizations in October. Each contribution was matched dollar-for-dollar by CoBank’s Sharing Success program.
“Sharing Success allows CoBank to double our customers’ impact,” Tom Halverson, president and chief executive officer of CoBank, said. “It’s a collaboration that gets right to the heart of CoBank’s mission and embodies the cooperative spirit. It’s a privilege to partner with our customers in this way.”
The funds will support these community initiatives:
$4,000 to Cooperative Family Fund
Supporting the children of electric cooperative employees when they experience the loss of a parent. cooperativefamilyfund.com
$4,000 to Oregon Empowers through NRECA International
Bringing electricity and empowerment to rural communities globally. oregonempowers.com
$4,000 to the Foundation for Rural Services Community Grant Program
Annual grants are awarded each fall to schools, fire departments, libraries, veterans’ groups, art cooperatives and other community organizations to enhance the quality of life in rural America. www.frs.org/programs/grant-program
$3,182 to the Guardian Group’s Project 1591
Supporting the fight against human trafficking and aid vulnerable populations. The program is expanding through Operation IFAST, a partnership with NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association and rural broadband providers across the nation. Learn more at project1591.us.
CoBank’s Sharing Success program, matching up to $5 million in cooperative customer community donations annually, amplifies the impact of individual contributions, helping drive positive change for rural and underserved communities. Since 2012, CoBank has helped members invest nearly $86 million into rural America. This partnership underscores the shared commitment of Pioneer and CoBank to giving back and building a brighter future for rural communities.
These grants were approved before Hurricane Helene hit. Pioneer staff are working on additional donations for areas impacted by the storm. Learn more about how Pioneer puts cooperative principles into practice at pioneer.coop/principles.
About CoBank
CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy. The bank delivers loans, leases and other financial services to agribusiness, rural infrastructure and Farm Credit customers in all 50 states. Through its Sharing Success program, CoBank partners with its customers to match charitable donations, amplifying the impact on communities across the United States. Learn more at cobank.com.
About Pioneer Utility Resources
Pioneer is a not-for-profit communications and marketing cooperative based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Formed in 1956, it provides agency-style communications services to consumer-owned utilities and affiliated organizations in 46 states. Marquee products and services include 11 consumer magazine brands reaching more than 1.3 million U.S. utility households. The cooperative also provides broadband marketing, social media engagement, responsive website design and hosting, podcast production and custom communications services. Pioneer is built to share member stories.
Pioneer also owns Efficiency Services Group, which specializes in energy-efficiency program support and installation services primarily in the West, and NewsData, which publishes industry-leading, independent newsletters covering the utility sector in California and the Pacific Northwest. Pioneer is also the largest shareholder in General Pacific, a Fairview, Oregon-based electric supply company. Learn more at pioneer.coop.
To draft this post, we put a list of donation amounts and organizations into ChatGPT. Using that outline, we added quotes, details on the mission of each organization and edited some of the repeated text. AI likes saying the same thing over and over. Our team of human editors then reviewed and edited the suggested post. Thinking about how AI can help you tell stories more efficiently? Learn what your peers think.