2007 Recipients

March: Food Net

April: Friends of Wilderness Park

May: Matt Talbot Kitchen

June: Voices of Hope

July: Nebraskans for Peace

August: Prairie Hill Learning Center

September: Friendship Home

October: Pioneers Park Nature Center

November: Food Bank of Lincoln

December: The Gathering Place

Give Where You Live:Open Harvest Community Fund

By Jean Helms, general manager and Jackie Barnhardt, (Outreach and Membership Director 1999-2011)

Beginning in 2007, Open Harvestwill be raising money each month forlocal non-profit organizations.The GiveWhere You Live Campaign is a nationaleffort to support food cooperativesacross the U.S. in building local CooperativeCommunity Funds (CCF).

Sponsored by the Twin Pines CooperativeFoundation (TPCF), each fundwill serve as a means for co-op membersand shoppers to make donationsto an endowment that donates to localnon-profit organizations.

Open Harvest was awarded a$5,000 matching grant from TPCF tostart our Community Cooperative Fundand enhance our current giving. Donationsto the funds will be collected at theregister. At the end of each month, 75%of the money raised will go to one localorganization and 25% will go towardsbuilding the CCF.

The interest earned by each Fundwill be given to local groups working onissues relating to sustainable agricultureand organic food, hunger and socialissues, environmental protection andcooperatives.

Many cooperatives around theworld make a strong contribution totheir community through this typeof giving. 'Concern for Community'is our 7th Cooperative Principle.The Give Where You Live Campaignrepresents each co-op's special effortto give back to those deserving--andhard working--groups that build community.

What is the CooperativeCommunity Fund?

The CCF is an endowment fundwhich will be used in future yearsto continue our giving even in leantimes. Each year, the interest is donatedto local nonprofits and cooperativesin the community.

In the long term, an endowmentfund is the most member-driven, taxbeneficial, and permanently sustainabletype of fund. Through this fund, wewould be able to build on our missionby giving even more to environmental,food and hunger, cooperative, and othercommunity related organizations. Wewant to educate our members about thisprogram and get your feedback.

Now that we have initiated groundworkand planning, we want our member-owners input. If you would like moreinformation about the CCF, go to www.community.coop or ask for info in thestore. Your comments can be sent toharvest@openharvest.coop.

The list on the ballot wascreated from past organizations to whichOpen Harvest has made donations andsuggestions from member-owners. Weonly included organizations which arelocal and non-profit.