Annual Report - CoBank

CorporateCitizenshipAT COBANKSupport for United WayCoBank has a longstanding workplace giving program that enablesits employees to designate a portion of each paycheck for theUnited Way, which provides funding to a wide variety of memberagencies around the country. CoBank also supports UnitedWay with corporate contributions; it has committed more than$3.3 million to United Way over the past five years.Other Charitable StrategicPartnershipsIn addition to United Way, CoBank has established formal strategicpartnerships with a number of other nonprofit organizationsdedicated to helping people in need, including Food Bank of theRockies, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Komen for the Cure. The bankbacks these organizations with significant corporate contributionseach year, and its executives provide further support by serving onthe charities’ boards of directors.Board- andAssociate-Directed GivingEach year, members of the CoBank board of directors are ableto direct $10,000 in contributions from the bank to nonprofitorganizations they select. Our board includes farmers, ranchers,cooperative executives and others from across the country, soit’s a great way for the bank to identify and support high-qualityorganizations doing good work in a wide array of rural communities.In addition, each CoBank associate is able to direct a $300contribution from the bank every year to a nonprofit organizationof his or her choosing.Contributions made by CoBank through its board- and associatedirectedgiving program totaled over $384,000 in 2011 to morethan 400 organizations.Support forHigher EducationIn addition, the bank has provided support for a number ofuniversity programs focused on cooperatives and cooperativedevelopment. Such programs include the Graduate Institute ofCooperative Leadership at the University of Missouri, the ArthurCapper Cooperative Center at Kansas State University, andthe Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives at North DakotaState University.Young, Beginning& Small FarmersCoBank partners with Farm Credit East and Yankee Farm Credit inFarmStart, a program that enables beginning farmers to get theirbusinesses off the ground through working capital investments ofup to $50,000. The investment functions the same as an operatingline of credit and is intended to overcome the timing mismatch thatmakes it difficult for startup farming operations to generate workingcapital. Since inception, a total of $3.5 million has been investedthrough the program in 80 individual businesses, including dairyproducers, greenhouse operators, and fruit and vegetable growers.Special ContributionsEvery year, CoBank considers special, one-time contributions tohelp people and fill unmet needs. While the bank cannot grant everyrequest, it makes an effort to support organizations and causesthat are important to our customers, employees and partners andaligned with our mission of service to rural America.In 2011, these special contributions took many forms. For example,the bank contributed $100,000 in partnership with Farm Credit Eastto assist farmers and other rural residents impacted by HurricaneIrene and Hurricane Lee. It partnered with Farm Credit Bank ofTexas to jointly contribute $35,000 to assist the Texas Departmentof Agriculture’s STAR Fund, which helps ranchers rebuild fencesdestroyed by wildfires that plagued much of the state duringthe year. Another $10,000 was contributed to the American RedCross in Minot, North Dakota, to help that community rebuild fromdevastating floods early in the year.CoBank funds scholarships for students around the countrypursuing studies in finance, agribusiness and related disciplines.Universities involved in the program include leading educationalinstitutions in California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota,Missouri, Nebraska, New York and North Dakota.CoBank employeesjoin thousands of otherpeople in the annualKomen Race for theCure event in Denverto raise funds forbreast cancer treatmentand research.