2024 Community Fund Recipient: Winona Volunteer Services – $1,000.00
  • The fund’s advisory committee and board have chosen the Winona Farmers Market as the recipient for 2025

Since 2018, Bluff Country Co-op has partnered with the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF) to offer our owners and shoppers a tax-deductible way to give back to the community. TPCF launched in 1964 to serve educational and development needs of cooperatives. In 1995, TPCF formed the Cooperative Community Fund, offering a place for cooperative members throughout the United States to “Give Where They Live.”

Here’s how it works:

BCC is one of more than 40 co-ops who have a permanent endowment fund with TPCF. We donate to the fund using a combination of abandoned equity, donated patronage dividends, and roundup at the register proceeds. BCC members and Winona community members can also give tax-deductible donations directly to BCC’s fund. (Bonus: Often TPCF will find an organization to match our donation!)

TPCF then pools our donation with the donations of other co-ops’ endowment funds to invest in cooperative projects throughout the country. The interest that our fund earns on these cooperative investments is dispersed back to us annually, and we donate that interest to a local non-profit of our choosing. BCC received its first fund interest payment in May 2019, and continues to receive a fund interest payment annually in May.

Past Recipients

Still looking for more information?

A professionally managed endowment fund into which BCC friends and owners can make tax-deductible donations that will benefit cooperatives nationwide as well as local non-profits.

The short answer is that the Community Fund helps us further Cooperative Principe #6: Cooperation Among Cooperatives and Cooperative Principle #7: Concern for Community.

The longer answer is that in 2011 a group of BCC owners and board members began asking how BCC could help address inequities and disparities in our community. From these discussions, the Social Equity Committee formed.

The Social Equity Committee first researched the possibility of creating a non-profit branch of the Co-op; however it was determined that a better way for us to achieve our goal would be to create a community foundation. In researching various community foundations, the Committee determined that the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation best met our goals, ends, and cooperative principles.

You can donate in-person at any cash register. We accept cash or check (checks should be written out to: TPCF/BCCCF).

Yes. When you donate you will receive a receipt, which can be used for tax purposes.

When you make a donation at the register, you will be given a receipt, which can be used for tax purposes.

Contact the store at info@bluff.coop or 507-452-1815 and we can issue you a new one.

Your money will be sent to the Twin Pines Community Fund, where it will be pooled with donations from over 40 other co-ops. That pool of money is professionally managed and used to fund cooperative projects throughout the country. The interest on the portion of money Bluff Country Co-op puts in is returned to us annually, and we donate that interest to a local non-profit.

Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF) was founded in 1964 to serve the educational and development needs of cooperatives. Since 1964 TPCF has administered over $2.5 million in grants that facilitate the development of many types of cooperatives, including food coops, credit unions, cable television cooperatives, health cooperatives and housing cooperatives. Special attention is given to the educational and development needs of food cooperatives. To learn more, visit: community.coop

We do! The Bluff Country Co-op Community Fund is administered by a local committee made up of Bluff Country Co-op board members, staff, and owners. This committee chooses which organizations will receive donations. Eligible organizations are 501(c)(3) and do work that falls under one or more of the following categories:

  • Environment
  • Community
  • Food and Hunger
  • Cooperatives

If you’re interested in joining this committee, please contact info@bluff.coop.

If your organization is a registered 501(c)(3) and does work that can be categorized as environment, community, food and hunger, or cooperative, please contact info@bluff.coop