Education Improvement Program Grant Application 2025

Your school district may qualify for a grant up to $100,000 from Lake Country Power, funded through the cooperative's Education Improvement Program using "unclaimed capital." The online application period runs from September 1 - November 30. Grants will be awarded the following spring or summer.

On June 28, 2022, Lake Country Power's board of directors approved the Education Improvement Program. The program utilizes "unclaimed capital credit" funds. The State of Minnesota allows electric cooperatives, like Lake Country Power, to invest the monies locally and use toward educational purposes after several years of trying to locate former co-op members with their capital credit refunds. Funds that remain unclaimed are allowed to be used at the cooperative's discretion if it meets State criteria.

Lake Country Power is making every effort possible to keep the funds local while benefiting the communities and schools within the cooperative’s service area through the Education Improvement Program.

The Lake Country Power board of directors will choose recipients based on the following criteria:

• Application process is open to all independent school districts in the cooperative’s service territory.

• Applications must come from the school district administration for projects at any facility in their respective district.

• Repeat awards to any school will be at the discretion of the LCP board of directors.

• Applications must be submitted on the official Education Improvement Program application form.

• The following factors will be considered in the evaluation of all funding requests:

  a. Potential benefit to area school districts and the entire community.

  b. Level of community support for the project or the school district requesting the funds.

  c. Administrative and financial capability of the school district to execute the completion of the project in a reasonable and timely manner.

  d. Results that are predictable and can be evaluated.

Please review this list of qualifying schools.

Lake Country Power's board of directors will review each application and determine which projects require further consideration and may request in-person presentations as needed. Following this process, the board will discuss approving the grant distributions by majority vote.

Education Improvement Program recipients, April 24, 2025