COBANK SHARING SUCCESS GRANT

One of Wharton County Electric Cooperative's most unique and exciting community programs is the CoBank Sharing Success program, a matching grant opportunity open to local nonprofit organizations. Aimed at supporting local communities and people, the grant is made possible by our board of directors, in partnership with CoBank – a national nonprofit cooperative bank owned by the rural American cooperatives it services.

“CoBank and WCEC have partnered in the Sharing Success matching grant program every year since 2012,” WCEC GM/CEO Gary Raybon says. “This grant program is a testament to CoBank and WCEC’s commitment to the communities and people that WCEC serves.”

CoBank’s Sharing Success fund matches charitable contributions made by its cooperative members, such as WCEC, to local nonprofits in their individual communities. The matching grant program is designed to celebrate the vital role that cooperatives play in individual communities across the country. CoBank states that collaborating with their customers to support worthy causes they care about is a great way for them to make a positive difference and fulfill its mission of service to rural America. Since its inception in 2012, the program has generated more than $56 million in total charitable donations, primarily in rural areas across the country. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CoBank expanded the Sharing Success program to allow for a maximum match per local cooperative to $10,000 and increasing the number of applications to four. 

In 2021, WCEC took advantage of this expansion by awarding four local non-profit organizations with CoBank Sharing Sucess grants. Wharton County S.P.O.T, Pilgrim Rest ASAP, Shall Not Hunger, and Gulf Coast CASA each received $5,000 - $2,500 from WCEC with matching funds of $2,500 from CoBank.