he Clay Electric Foundation approved 10 grant applications totaling $80,700 in July, sending money to food pantries, youth sports fields, an affordable housing project and a hearing aid program across six North Central Florida counties.
The foundation distributes money raised through Operation Round Up, in which participating Clay Electric Cooperative members have their monthly bills rounded up to the next dollar. The most any member can give in a year is $11.88, but with roughly 83 percent of the cooperative’s members enrolled, the program collects on the order of $75,000 to $80,000 a month. Through the end of 2024 the foundation reported awarding about $7.32 million to nearly 340 organizations.
The largest awards in the July round were $15,000 each. One went to Clay County Habitat for Humanity for Harbor Ridge, a 28-home development taking shape at 3 West 1st St. in Green Cove Springs. The other went to the Baker County Education Foundation, the Macclenny-based nonprofit that channels money into local public schools, for a summer STEM camp serving third through fifth graders.
Three groups received $10,000: the all-volunteer Keystone Heights Sports Association, founded in 1986, which will light two fields at Little Rain Lake Park; the Ten-24 Foundation in Palatka, which helps Putnam County law enforcement employees and agencies in crisis; and Lend an Ear Outreach, which refurbishes donated hearing aids and places them with Northeast Florida residents who cannot afford them.
The remaining grants ranged from $1,000 to $9,000 and covered hunger relief, eviction prevention, dance camp scholarships and environmental education.
July 2026 grants
— Baker County Education Foundation (Baker County) — $15,000, summer STEM camp for grades 3-5
— Clay County Habitat for Humanity (Clay County) — $15,000, Harbor Ridge development in Green Cove Springs
— Keystone Heights Sports Association (Clay County) — $10,000, lighting for two athletic fields
— Ten-24 Foundation (Putnam County) — $10,000, crisis assistance for law enforcement employees and agencies
— Lend an Ear Outreach (Bradford County) — $10,000, hearing aids for qualified recipients
— Hunger Fight (Clay County) — $9,000, children’s backpack food program and age-appropriate books
— St. Catherine’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul (Clay County) — $7,500, eviction prevention program
— Rakad Dance Camp (Clay County) — $1,700, scholarships for the Green Cove Springs summer camp
— Alachua Conservation Trust (Alachua County) — $1,500, Creekside Environmental Ed for Kids program
— Frazier Outreach Foundation (Levy County) — $1,000, food distribution program
