Wright-Hennepin members donate $31,000 to local organizations
Rockford, Minn. (May 7, 2026) — Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WH) members who participate in Operation Round Up (ORU) donated grants totaling $31,000 in April. ORU has awarded more than $5.6 million to local organizations since it began in 1994.
WH members who participate in ORU allow their electric bills to be rounded up to the next dollar. The rounded amount is then used for donations supporting local programs. Approximately 90% of WH’s members participate in the ORU program. ORU’s board manages the donated money, which is held in a trust fund. ORU trustees evaluate funding requests on a bimonthly basis.
Watch a video demonstrating the local impact of ORU here.
The ORU trust board donated the following on behalf of WH members:
- $10,000, Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County, funds to provide low-income energy assistance.
- $10,000, Wright County Community Action, funds to provide low-income energy assistance.
- $5,000, Rivers of Hope, funds to support youth and adults suffering from domestic violence.
- $4,000, United Faith Community dba Immigrant Aid, funds to help families with emergency energy or housing needs.
- $2,000, My Brother’s Keeper, funds to purchase quilting supplies for sleeping blankets for the homeless.
Applications for the next round of funding are due June 1. Learn about the activities ORU supports and find the grant application by clicking here or emailing ORU Trust Administrator Lisa Zipp at oru@whe.org.
Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility that provides power to rural Wright County and western Hennepin County. The cooperative has been a corporate citizen to the area since 1937 and currently serves more than 61,000 electric accounts. It is headquartered in Rockford, Minn.
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