Operation Round Up Community Grant Program

Geographic Scope: CHELCO service area (Walton, North Okaloosa, Bluewater Bay, East Santa Rosa, West Holmes, and other CHELCO coverage areas)

Focus Areas:

• Arts & Culture
• Civic
• Education
• Environment
• Health & Safety
• Human Service
• Recreation

Program Description:
Operation Round Up (ORU) is a voluntary member-funded program where participating CHELCO members round up their monthly electric bills, donating the difference to the ORU fund. CHELCO uses 100% of donations for grants and does not impose any overhead or administrative costs.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Organization must have IRS 501(c)(3) exempt status or charitable designation
• Currently registered with the Internal Revenue Service
• Serve CHELCO service area
• Must provide detailed program information, budget, and outcomes measurement

Award Details:

• Award amount: Not specified on website
• Funding source: 100% member-donated funds
• Distribution: Every penny donated goes back to community

Background: Member-funded charitable program supporting local nonprofits and community organizations

Application Process

1. Complete Online Application Form: Available on Operation Round Up Grant Application page (https://chelco.com/operation-round-grant-application)
2. Provide Organization Information:
- Legal organization name
- 501(c)(3) status confirmation
- Contact person name, title, phone, email
- Physical and mailing address
- Website (if available)
- Service areas (select: Walton, North Okaloosa, Bluewater Bay, East Santa Rosa, West Holmes)

3. Submit Required Documentation:
- IRS 501(c)(3) exemption letter (PDF, DOC, DOCX)
- Program Budget: Detailed line-item expenses (PDF, XLS, XLSX formats)
- W9 form (upon award if first CHELCO donation)
- Additional supporting documents (optional)

4. Provide Program Details:
- Program Description: Comprehensive overview of project/program
- Program Budget: Total budget/fundraising goal for program
- Geographic Service Areas: Identify counties/areas served
- Client Data: Provide statistics showing number of clients/individuals who may benefit by county
- Goals & Objectives: Clear description of program/event goals
- Fund Use Explanation: Detail how grant funds will be used
- Outcomes Measurement: Explain how effectiveness will be measured

5. Answer Application Questions:
- Amount requested
- Have funds been raised for this objective to date? (Yes/No)
- Is grant time-sensitive? (provide date if yes)
- What other fundraising avenues are being pursued?

Required Materials Checklist

• IRS 501(c)(3) or charitable designation letter
• W9 (upon grant award only, if first CHELCO donation)
• Program description
• Projected budget for program
• Statistics by county of individuals served
• Program goals and objectives
• Explanation of fund use
• Description of effectiveness measurement
• Any additional supporting information

File Upload Specifications

• Maximum file size: 20 MB per upload
• Allowed formats: TXT, PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, ODP, XLS, XLSX, ODS
• One file per upload field