Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Welcome to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electra Cooperative. The Buzz is a monthly message to our community celebrating what it means to be a member owner of your local electric cooperative, Boone Electric Cooperative, your co op, our community.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Buzz.
[00:00:28] Speaker A: Zach.
[00:00:28] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Zach Smith, communications specialist at Boone Electric Cooperative. On today's episode, we have sadly reached the end of our journey through the seven cooperative principles with principle number seven, concern for community.
One of the many ways in which Boone Electric and its members live out that principle is through the Boone Electric Community Trust. But you don't have to take my word for it, because joining us today is the president of the Boone Electric Community Trust Board, Kelly Sharp. Kelly, welcome to the program.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Hi, Zach, how are you today?
[00:00:56] Speaker C: I'm doing well, thank you. If you're game for this, I want to kind of work backwards for just a minute because I think it paints a bigger picture of the scope of what the Trust is and who it reaches. So before we get into what the trust is and who makes it up, how it operates, can you tell us some of the different types of groups or things that the Trust has helped fund here in the community?
[00:01:18] Speaker A: So I've been with the Trust as either a reader or a trustee for more than 10 years now.
And over those 10 years, I've seen the Trust help fund schools that are improving their athletic facilities, their playgrounds.
We have funded a wonderful program called Shoes from the Heart, where there's a man that takes in donations and he buys shoes and then donates them to schools in the cooperative area.
We have worked with Roachport doing improvements on their historical, the historical cemeteries, the historical museum, things like that.
We offer scholarships to students, so that's always fun to be able to present those scholarships out. It's just a wide variety. Voluntary action center, Ronald McDonald House Veterans Home, welcome home.
All of those places have all been touched by the Trust since I've been a member.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: In the electric cooperative world, we frequently use that phrase. Our mission, you know, is to improve the quality of life for our members. And I can't think of a better example of how we do that. And it even goes beyond that definition because a lot of the folks who at the end of that line, so to speak, in this scenario, they may not even be members of the cooperative itself, but they live here in our community, the greater community of middle Missouri. So there are part of that larger community that we do serve. So they benefit from things that the Trust is able to help fund, even though they're not directly a Boone Electric member in some cases.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Correct.
One of the examples, one that's been helped by the trust is an organization that helps foster kids once they age out of the system.
They are helping Randolph County, Audrain County, Boone county, all of the foster kids in the cooperative area. So while the organization itself is not a member of Boone Electric, everybody that they are providing services for is touched by that Boone Electric community.
[00:03:50] Speaker C: It's quite an amazing thing. I mean, from from where you and the other board members sit when you're reviewing these applications, discussing the funding requests and opportunities every other month when you hold your board meetings, what is that need? Like you mentioned, some of those different groups that receive funding from the trust and apply for funding from the trust, have you seen it grow over the last 10 years in your time on the board?
[00:04:12] Speaker A: We've definitely grown in the variety of requests that we've gotten over the last 10 years. At the beginning, it was a lot of the same types.
For example, the schools, the community service programs, the, the after school programs, things like that were what we were seeing.
[00:04:32] Speaker C: The majority of the trust began in 1997, correct?
[00:04:37] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: And I don't have the numbers right in front of me, but I want to say that the total amount the trust has awarded since 1997 is more than $4 million, maybe even closer to 5 at this point.
I think one of the big distinctions about the Trust compared to some of the other programs that Boone Electric Cooperative directly provides is that the Trust is first of all totally volunteer. Board, correct?
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:05:00] Speaker C: I mean, you're here wearing your president of the board hat right now, but you and the other board members come from a variety of professional careers, personal experiences with nonprofits, I assume.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Correct. Part of our board members are working adults still. They're still out there in the community every day working a 9 to 5 job and then doing this as what we like to say, our side gig.
But then we also have a few of our trustees that are retired. They still want to be active in their community.
So this is a good way for them to volunteer their services and still be an active member of society.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: It's not a bad side gig. You're giving out money to help the community.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I tell you, I do a lot of work with not for Profits. And I'm unfortunately or fortunately a member of several of the boards of those not for Profits. This has to be my favorite one because the trust group gets along so well and we really just have so much fun reading through the applications and talking about them and making the decisions that need to be made.
[00:06:13] Speaker C: That's one of the things I've noticed when the board meets, as we talked about before, you all have a variety of different experiences, but you all have some knowledge of what it's like to sit around that table at those specific nonprofits. So you know the challenges, you know the needs, you know the other, you know, funding sources, you know the likelihood of how they're going to make some of these projects or these, these goals and objectives that they have in mind happen. And that really informs the decisions that go on around that table.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: It does. Yesterday's meeting we had a large discussion because we had several groups that do receive federal funding and state funding as part of their nonprofit status. But both of those funding sources are unsure right now because of the current environment.
And so they have been told they have to meet very specific guidelines and regulations in order to get this money and they can only spend it on these certain items. And whereas the trust, whatever it is they need, we hope that we can fulfill that need. We're not going to put conditions on it. If you ask us for something and we approve it, then you take the money and you buy what you need. And we're not going to make you put prove through jumping through a bunch of hoops to be able to get that check from us.
[00:07:46] Speaker C: The trust guidelines are more on the front end as far as what kinds of things the trust funds or doesn't fund.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Correct? Correct.
[00:07:54] Speaker C: And so what's an example? You gave some great ones of playground equipment and concrete, literally sometimes things like that that the trust funds. What are some of the things that the trust doesn't fund?
[00:08:06] Speaker A: So let me put the caveat that exclude Covid years, we just want to exclude 2020 and 2021.
One of the things that the trust tries to avoid funding is day to day expenses.
We're not here to help you stay afloat by paying your rent and that kind of thing.
We're here to if you have a facility and you can meet the rent, but you can't improve it because you're meeting your rent, you're paying your insurance, you're paying for all your bills and you're paying your employees, but you really need to buy some new computers, we're happy to help with the new computers. We're not going to help you with the day to day operating of said facility.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: Another example that kind of immediately comes to mind when you say that the trust helped a group within the last year or so, if my memory's on the right timeline with some CPR And AED training kits for an organization. So things like that that they are using or I think also within that time frame, we might have helped the senior center with some weatherization stuff.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:09:24] Speaker C: Those types of projects, as opposed to like administrative costs, what people would think.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Of, I guess the senior center is a prime example.
They get funding that helps offset the cost of employees and transportation cost and things like that, but they do not receive funding that helps with that weatherization that they needed because they're in a building that's aging and in order to lower their electric bill, they wanted to weatherize. They had someone come in and do a study and it said they really needed to change one of their doors.
So they came to us for that because it was something they were needing to get done.
They didn't have a year to wait.
And with us having our meetings every other month, it allows them the opportunity to get the funding a little bit sooner. Sure. For those needs up front.
[00:10:25] Speaker C: Sure. And not that it always has to be energy efficiency related, but yes. We were just talking about that for members themselves at their home not that long ago on the podcast. So good to know that we're. We're doing that for organizations in the community as well, wherever we can. You mentioned being a reader. Tell me what a reader does, kind of, if you don't mind. Also, I want to walk through that process, really, of what it's like when a application for funding comes in and you all review it and discuss it and actually award it.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: A reader will assist the trustee by reading just the one, one or two applications and then giving their thoughts, their opinions, asking questions. This is somebody who's not engrossed in the trust every day or even just at the meetings and involved in all of the applications.
And they bring a different perspective.
We do pick those readers from a specific region.
As I said, we meet six times a year.
So the applications come in for our May meeting in April.
They're gathered in March, they're due by April 1st.
And then on April 1st, the president gets all the applications and I assign them out to the trustees based on the committee that they're on. We have rural development, economic development, youth development, different categories. And then I assign them to each of those that trustee and their readers will receive the copies of only of the applications assigned to their committee.
The trustee will follow up with the group if necessary, asking questions.
Sometimes there's something written on an application that, for example, we had a nurse that is on the trustee is one of our trustees, and she was not comfortable understanding A group's financial statement.
So she called the group and said, hey, could you give me a little clarification? So the CFO of that group got on the phone with her and walked her through it and explained it to her just so that she had a better understanding of what she was looking at. We do that in the month of April and we're ready in May to talk about it. And in the middle of April, all of the applications are then sent to the entirety of the trust so that each trustee can review all the applications and come to the meeting with an informed opinion as to whether to support the funding also or not.
Typically we do take the trustee's opinion that was assigned that specific application.
[00:13:25] Speaker C: They're using the reader's opinions as like you said, that extra perspective, that outside perspective. And they're also kind of vetting out those requests and then essentially vouching or not vouching for them. When you guys have that meeting every other month to discuss the funding. As far as the readers go, how does one become a reader? Are you sought out for by a committee member specifically, or so I actually.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: For myself, I was sought out by a committee member.
He knew of some of the other not for profits that I was involved with, and he brought me on board as a reader.
Then when his time was up as a trustee, the person that took his place as a trustee, he spoke to me and was like, hey, you want to be a reader for me now? And I said, sure. And so I stayed with him when his time came up. So I guess it has been 15 years that I've now, oh, okay. Between reading, because I did six years for each of those and then I've been a trustee when that position came up.
[00:14:34] Speaker C: That's a great point worth mentioning because you as a trust, as a trustee, a member of that board, are not elected by the members like the Boone Electric Cooperative board members are. Instead, you are appointed to the trust by the board members. And because of that is you have that you mentioned before the term, I guess you'd call it three years, is that right?
[00:14:59] Speaker A: It can be six.
[00:15:00] Speaker C: Six.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: You can have two terms as a trustee.
[00:15:03] Speaker C: Two terms of three.
[00:15:04] Speaker A: One of the newly elected board members used to farm with my father in law, so knew of me, did not know me personally and he met with me and was like, yep, I thank your trustee material. And he put my name forward as a recommendation and the board of directors chose me to be a trustee.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: So is it's not a requirement that you be a reader beforehand? No, but it's obviously very helpful because then you know the whole process.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: Correct. Very well.
[00:15:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:15:36] Speaker A: And we also, a lot of our trustees, a former trustee, he stepped down as a trustee. We when his term was up because he was moving.
He has now moved back to the area and he has stepped in as a reader.
[00:15:53] Speaker C: Wonderful.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Because he just enjoyed the process.
And that is my plan also when my second term is up, is to step back down and be a reader for whoever takes my place.
[00:16:09] Speaker C: But we haven't yet talked about where the money comes from.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: This is my favorite part.
And I bring this up.
I sound like a commercial for the trust whenever I give out scholarships because I always add my little think about this people on your electric bill where it says, would you like to round up? And Maybe it's only 16 cents that you're rounding up.
You're not going to miss that 16 cents. But that 16 cents joined with every other cooperative member. 16 cents goes into a pot and that pot just keeps collecting. And that is the money that comes to the trust. Yes. The 16 cents isn't the only place when you're a member of the cooperative, you get your credits.
[00:17:07] Speaker C: Capital credits.
[00:17:08] Speaker A: Capital credits every year.
But some of those members you move and you're no longer a member.
Some of them are college kids that don't leave a forwarding, don't think about their capital credits that they earned while they were with Boone Electric 20 years.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Ago or whatever the case. Right.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: So those unclaimed credits go. Go into a pot and there's rules applied to it. It has to sit for a certain number of years. I believe they have to sit and wait and make sure they're truly unclaimed. And then once they really are written off as unclaimed, then they go into this fund and that fund is used to fund the trust. And then last but but not least, our favorite form of funding is just donations.
Anybody at any time can make a donation to the trust.
We do have individuals. When they pass away, they can leave a sum of money to be donated to the trust because they want to do they want to help those not for profits in the area. And that is a great way to do it if you want to make your money be spread over multiple, not for profits, not just one place, the unclaimed credits.
[00:18:33] Speaker C: And we do try to find those folks. We print the list in rural Missouri every year and then we also add it online. And if you've ever seen that and wondered what is this for? That's what that is, is us trying to find the folks we don't have a forwarding address for a way to get in contact with and return their patronage capital to them. But after that certain amount of time has passed, that money then goes on to serve the trust. And then like you mentioned, through Operation Roundup, where people round up their bill, it's never going to be more than 99 cents.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:19:05] Speaker C: In a given month. And I think the average is right at $6 per member who participates in it. It's a totally optional, voluntary thing. But yeah, the cumulative effect of all those pennies going into the bank really gives you all a lot of power to help a lot of different groups that clearly need it. Especially like we mentioned these days, with a lot of other sources of funding that are now uncertain, the importance is greater than ever, probably.
[00:19:31] Speaker A: Exactly. That's. That's one of the things. And it's so easy to do that Operation Roundup. And when you stop and just think about the math, if $6 from you, think of how many's out in Boone county that are members.
Don't think about big amounts. Big amounts we don't need.
We would love to have some, but those small amounts help too. Just promising that change every month really does make a difference.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: And that's the main thing that you all deal with on a regular basis as board members. But again, as of the recording of this episode in May, you all are getting ready for one of your other primary functions with graduation. And those are the Bob Alderson scholarships, correct?
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:20:23] Speaker C: Tell me a little bit about that.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: So Bob Alderson was the CEO of Boone Electric. That is who the scholarships are named after. We do 13 scholarships. It's very easy for the kids to sign up for that. And I don't, I don't think we get enough attention at some of the schools because we do do it for Columbia.
And I don't think some of the Columbia kids understand that we're doing it for the cooperative area, not just cooperative members.
[00:21:00] Speaker C: Yes, that's definitely a community wide education piece that we can do more to, to let people know about because we have a lot of applicants. There is an application process, I should say it's not just names drawn out of a hat, but there, and there are quite a few applicants, especially at the rural schools. But yeah, there's nothing wrong with more competition for those things. It just strengthens the purpose of the scholarship overall.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:21:26] Speaker C: Well, Kelly, thank you for making time to come by and talk about the trust today. For the people who know about it, apply to it, receive funding for it, the Trust is an incredible resource, and while we're never short of applications for grants, you know we encourage anybody who meets those guidelines and criteria to apply. You can find out more about that at boonelectric Co Op Community Trust. Kelly, thank you for joining us today.
[00:21:49] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:21:50] Speaker C: And thank you all for joining us as well. Be sure to come back next month, and until then, we'll see you somewhere down the line.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: Thank you for tuning in to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electric Cooperative. To subscribe or for more information, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram X and LinkedIn. And of course, you can always visit us 247 at Boonelectric Co op. Boone Electric Cooperative, your co op, Our community.
