Here’s how Operation Round Up (ORU) works:
If your bill is $75.72, we round it up to $76.00 — with the extra 28¢ going directly to the Operation Round Up® Trust Fund. When combined with the spare change from thousands of generous MVEC members, those pennies add up to a big impact in our local communities.
Since 1995, MVEC’s Operation Round Up has distributed more than $2.6 million to support local fire departments, women’s shelters, youth programs, social services, food shelves, and many other worthwhile causes.
Request ORU funding
Money contributed to Operation Round Up (ORU) is administered by a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation called the Minnesota Valley Electric Trust. The Trust is separate from MVEC and governed by a nine-person, volunteer Board of Directors.
Contributions are generally not made for:
- lobbying, political and religious organizations
- veteran, fraternal, and labor organizations
- fundraising dinners or raffles
- national fund drives
- general operating funds
See the 4th Quarter recipients of $40,892
| Organization | Purpose of Funds | Amount Distributed |
|---|---|---|
| Belle Plaine Backpack Program | Backpack program | $500 |
| Belle Plaine Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Belle Plaine Historical Society | Forever storage plan | $1,299 |
| Bountiful Basket Food Shelf-Chaska | Food | $500 |
| BrainPower in a BackPack-Burnsville | Backpack program | $500 |
| Can Do Canines | Service dog training | $5,000 |
| Central Elementary School | Food | $500 |
| Central High School | Post-prom safe party | $250 |
| Chaska Historical Society | Museum in a Box program | 1,000 |
| Choose Not to Use | Vape detectors for Scott Co schools | $2,000 |
| City of Montgomery | Music in the Park program | $1,000 |
| Cologne Fire Department | Thermal imaging camera | $500 |
| Elko New Market Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Every Meal | Food | $500 |
| Green Isle Lions | Community Connect Meal | $500 |
| Jeffers Pond Elementary-Prior Lake | Communications panel | $2,000 |
| Jordan Area Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Lakeville Robotics | New parts | $1,500 |
| Le Center Area Fire Commission | Equipment upgrade | $1,000 |
| Le Center Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Le Sueur County Fair Association | Sidewalk project | $2,000 |
| Le Sueur Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Lonsdale Area Food Shelf | Food | $500 |
| Meals on Wheels NW Dakota Co | Food | $500 |
| Montgomery Community Club | Downtown holiday lighting | $500 |
| Patrons of Arts & Activities-Savage | Replace worn-out drill presses | $2,500 |
| Pro-Act, Inc.-Shakopee | Water filling station | $930 |
| Rice County Historical Society | Alexander Faribault house furnace | $4,000 |
| Rotary Club of Le Sueur | Backpack program | $500 |
| Scott Co Historical Society | Security system | $1,000 |
| Shakopee Rotary Club | Books for all Shakopee 1st graders | $2,475 |
| Sibley County Foodshare | Food | $500 |
| Sibley East Student Council | Field trip transportation | $1,400 |
| Sibley East Visual Arts Team | Field trip transportation | $288 |
| Treasures In Town – Le Sueur | Project Connect | $500 |
| Tri-City United | Post-prom safe party | $250 |
| Total Quarter 4 Distributions: $40,892.00 |
Deadlines to apply are 4 p.m. on the last day of January, April, July, and October.
Trustee Board Members
- Connie Meeker of Green Isle
- Diana Brenke of Belle Plaine
- Dwayne Glenn of Lakeville
- Jamie Paget of Savage
- Jeanne Zwart of Elysian
- Jill Sims of Savage
- John Miller of Henderson
- Mary Krentz of Henderson
- Mike Stapf of Prior Lake
ORU Board seeking trustee in District 1
MVEC’s Operation Round Up program has an opening for a member trustee in District 1, which covers Credit River, New Market, Savage and Spring Lake townships. Trustees meet quarterly — February, May, August, and November — to review requests and grant awards. Trustees are responsible for reviewing assigned grant applications before each meeting. Preference given to those who reply by April 15, 2026.
MVEC Trust Board (ORU) Director Profile
Examples of ORU grant recipients
