October is Co-op Month! Round Up at the register to support the Littleton Food Co-op Community Fund, which uses the power of cooperation for a positive local impact.
Our Community Fund is part of a cooperative endowment made up of many different cooperatives in our region. By pooling our resources, the Fund is able to provide financial aid for the development of new and growing cooperatives.
And that’s not all! The interest we earn each year from our part of the Fund is distributed annually to a local non-profit, spreading the impact even further. That’s the power of Cooperation!
How can you help? Like we said earlier, go right ahead and Round Up at the register this October to make small change contributions…. and we know how that really adds up!
How We Help Local Organizations
The Co-op helps local organizations raise funds and awareness in a number of ways:
- Round-Up: Customers paying with a credit or debit card may round up their purchases and the balance goes directly to the Partner of the Month.
- Donation collection boxes with partner branding are placed at each register.
- Messaging about our partners is included in our weekly e-newsletter, social media posts, on our website, and in our weekly newspaper ads.
- Posters and flyers are displayed on our Community Board and around the store.
- Opportunities to meet our members, including info tables, grocery bagging, and other events.
Meet the 2022 Partners of the Month!
Our Members chose the following organizations to be our 2022 Partners of the Month:
January – North Country Beekeepers Association
February – Mt. Eustis Ski Hill
March – Women’s Entrepreneurial Network (WREN) & NH Farm to School
April – Littleton Area Senior Center
May – Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country
June – Second Chance Animal Rescue
July – Boys & Girls Club of the North Country
August – Above the Notch Humane Society
September – The Colonial Theatre
October – Littleton Co-op Community Fund
November – Local Food Pantries
December – The Bancroft House
How Our Partners Are Chosen
Each year during the Summer we accept applications from local organizations, and our Members select the final Partners by popular vote. Voting is held online and we have paper ballots available as well. Only full or partial Members may vote by casting a ballot, and one vote is allowed per Membership.
The organization with the most votes gets first choice for their preferred month. Then the next organizations choose their preferred month, in the order of votes earned. We divide the organizations into categories each year so that there is a diverse variety of groups being supported; if any categories are not represented we choose the organization with the most votes within a category and add it to the final list.
We reserve months to raise funding for the Littleton Cooperative Community Fund as well as area food pantries. In the event of an emergency situation that needs funding, we will contact the Partner for the month to see if they are willing to forfeit Round-Up earnings for three days.
Please note that organizations may not be a Partner of the Month for more than 2 consecutive years, but are welcome to apply in the third year.
If you have questions about our Partner of the Month Program or would like to apply, please contact our Community Outreach Coordinator, Becky Colpitts, at bcolpitts@littletoncoop.org
Apply to Become a 2023 Partner
The deadline to apply for our 2023 Partner of the Month Program is August 15, 2022. If you’re interested in finding out more about our program or would like to become a Partner, please e-mail bcolpitts@littletoncoop.org.
Qualifications
Partners must be:
- Locally focused
- Socially and environmentally responsible
- Non political & secular
- Located within 30 miles of Littleton
- Be a 501(c)(3) non-profit, or under the umbrella of an established 501(c)(3) organization in the area
- Have a tax identification number
- The mission of the organization should align with the Co-op’s mission & vision
- Have a plan for using any funds raised if selected
Please note that organizations may not be a Partner of the Month for more than 2 consecutive years, but are welcome to apply again after that.
How Partners Are Selected
Each year our Members choose 8-10 organizations for our Partner program via popular vote. We want our Members to make an informed choice and also learn about the great work being done in our community, so we put together lots of promotional materials about the candidates, post flyers in the store, share posts and videos on social media, include information on our website and in our e-newsletter, and we also offer the opportunity to set up a table during our Partner of the Month Fair.
