Co-op owners do! Every November an election is held to determine the 11 recipient organizations for the next year! The 11 organizations that receive the most votes will be assigned a month in the next year. October, Co-op Month is always reserved for Viroqua Food Co+op's Cooperative Community Fund which grants funds to a project or event that aligns with the co-op's mission.

An owner must nominate them! Every October the nomination period is opened. Once open, the application for nominations can be found on this webpage. Co-op owners can nominate any qualifying organization. Once nominated, qualifying organizations are reviewed to meet requirements, and then, if confirmed, added to the list.

Months are ranked by historical monthly sales totals. The organization with the most votes will be assigned to the month with the highest sales from the previous year and then the second most voted will get the next highest highest month, and so on.

Eligible organizations are:

• local 501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations

• local schools

Organizations must also be:

• non-partisan

• non-discriminatory

• secular

• align with the mission of the co-op

All nominations must be submitted by an owner. If you are an owner, you are allowed to nominate an organization! If you're not an owner you must find a co-op owner willing to nominate your organization.

1% Wednesdays are the 2nd Wednesday of every month. On these days 1% of total co-op sales goes to the Give Where You Live total for that month's recipient.