For the cost of a combo meal at your favorite fast food joint, you could provide a local youth basketball team with new uniforms or give a graduating senior a much needed scholarship. Or maybe you could supply your local firefighter new breathing equipment.

All it takes is a little rounding up on your next electric bill.

While it may seem like small change, Meeker Cooperative Light and Power Association’s Operation Round Up program is paying big dividends. Since 1999, the grant program has given away thousands of dollars to local community organizations by simply rounding up a homeowner’s monthly bills to the nearest dollar and using the extra change for grants.

In fact, the organization reached a milestone in 2007, giving away more than $250,000 in grants since the program began.

“It’s a nice milestone,” said Kristin Dolan, Meeker Cooperative financial manager. “I think it’s a way for our members to provide a benefit to the local community where they live and work in a very low monetary way.”

Nearly 70 percent of Meeker Cooperative’s members participate in the Round Up, donating approximately 50 cents a month or $6 a year, Dolan said.

“It’s usually a small amount each month, but when you add all the other people’s amounts to it, it becomes a huge amount and can help a lot of people,” said Betty Vossen, a member of the Meeker Cooperative Electric Trust Board, which administers the grants.

In addition to cooperative members rounding up their monthly bills, Meeker Cooperative employees also can round down their paychecks. Dolan said close to 90 percent of employees participate in the program, contributing an average of $12 a year.

Read more in the Dec. 6 Independent Review.