CoBank’s 2020 Sharing Success Program Generates a Record $10.2 Million in Charitable Contributions Across Rural America

DENVER (November 05, 2020) — CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, today announced that its 2020 Sharing Success program generated a record $10.2 million in contributions to charitable organizations across rural America, including $1.4 million to nonprofits responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank’s board of directors allocated just over $5 million in funds for the program this year, which was used to match an additional $5 million in contributions made by eligible customers to nonprofit groups in their communities. The matching fund, which usually totals $4 million annually, was increased by $1 million in anticipation of increased need due to the pandemic. Funds were distributed to more than 1,330 different organizations around the country, including:

• $2.5 million to human services organizations, including local chapters of the United Way and Salvation Army;
• $1.5 million to local food banks and hunger relief programs;
• $1.0 million to programs supporting agriculture, including youth programs like 4-H and FFA;
• $900,000 for local schools and educational programs;
• $770,000 to emergency services organizations including volunteer fire and ambulance services;
• $3.6 million to a wide variety other charitable causes.

“We are incredibly proud that our customers leveraged the entire amount allocated by our board for Sharing Success this year in order to bolster their own community giving,” said Thomas Halverson, CoBank’s president and chief executive officer. “During this time of unprecedented challenges and uncertainty, corporate philanthropy has never been more important. Our customers have stepped up time and time again to improve the quality of life in our nation’s rural communities and we remain grateful that they allow CoBank to be a part of those efforts.”

Launched in 2012, Sharing Success provides dollar-for-dollar matches of donations by eligible CoBank customers to the causes and organizations they care about most. Since then, CoBank and its customers have together contributed nearly $56 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States.

About CoBank

CoBank is a $148 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 70,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.

CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.