$10 million of patronage capital returned to members

When member-owner cooperatives have positive financial results, they return cash to their members. When Great River Energy’s financial position is strong, it issues payments to the 28 cooperatives that own its company.

For the second time in its history, Great River Energy retired patronage capital through cash payments to its 28 member-owner cooperatives. In all, more than $10 million was distributed to the membership.

“Now that we have met our equity goals, we are proud to return patronage capital to our membership,” said Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michelle Strobel. “It’s one of the benefits of being a Great River Energy member-owner.”

Returning patronage capital is a part of the cooperative principle known as “members’ economic participation.”

Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. Cooperatives allocate surpluses for a variety of reasons, including periodic cash returns.