One might think the penny has lost its power in today’s economy. Yet, we have found that a few pennies can make a real impact on education.
Operation Round Up provides educational classroom grants for teachers at schools located within the Cullman Electric Cooperative Service area. Funds are generated from members rounding up their monthly power bills.
Cullman Electric Cooperative brought the program to our members in 1993. Since then, members have given over $6 million to educational projects. Participating members allow us to round up their power bills to the next whole dollar. Doing this, they donate an average of 50 cents per month to the Operation Round Up trust fund. That doesn’t seem like a lot of money initially, but it adds up fast when thousands of people join the effort.
For more about Operation Round-Up and how it applies to the bill, contact our Member Services Department at 256-737-3200.
Click here for the Operation Round-Up Frequently Asked Questions for teachers and administrators.
Submission Cutoff Dates for the 2025-2026 school year:
The website will reopen on Monday, July 28, 2025 for new grant submissions.
|
Grant Cycle |
Site Open to Apply |
Teacher Deadline |
Board Meeting Dates |
Meeting Month |
Invoice Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
7/28/25 |
8/28/25 |
9/11/25 |
September |
12/1/25 |
|
2 |
9/15/25 |
10/02/25 |
10/16/25 |
October |
12/15/25 |
|
3** |
10/20/25 |
12/28/25 |
1/08/26 |
January |
3/9/26 |
|
4 |
1/12/26 |
2/26/26 |
03/12/26 |
March |
5/11/26 |
|
5 |
3/16/26 |
3/26/26 |
4/9/26 |
April |
6/8/26 |
|
|
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|
|
|
Cite Closed until 2026-2027 school year |
|
**The third grant cycle is a special month where you can request furniture for your classroom in addition to normal grant requests.**
NOTE: Invoices are due 60 days after receiving notification of grant approval, typically the day after the ORU board meeting. If an invoice is not received by the deadline, the grant will be voided.
ATTENTION TEACHERS:
NEW: Operation Round Up Frequently Asked Questions for teachers and administrators.
September Grant Invoice Submission
Approved September grants have a grant number starting with 09.
October Grant Invoice Submission
Approved October grants have a grant number starting with 10.
January Grant Invoice Submission
Approved January grants have a grant number starting with 01.
March Grant Invoice Submission
Approved March grants have a grant number starting with 03.
April Grant Invoice Submission
Approved April grants have a grant number starting with 04.