Five nonprofit organizations within the Bandera Electric Cooperative’s seven-county service territory were recently awarded BEC Foundation grants through a new contest that allowed cooperative members to decide how the $25,000 in grants were allocated. The BEC Members’ Choice Contest saw BEC members nominate 27, nonprofit organizations whose efforts bolster the community to be considered for the grants last November. The board of the BEC Foundation selected five of the nominated organizations based on their charitable giving guidelines and other criteria as finalists for the grants. BEC members then voted by email on which organization would receive the top grant of $10,000 last month. The ...