Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation makes record donations to Tennessee 4-H and FFA

Dec 14, 2022


Tennessee 4-H and FFA were recipients of record-breaking donations at Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s annual meeting on Nov. 28 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville.

A total of $90,988 was raised to be split evenly between the two groups through the newly formed Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation Auction Barn.

The auction was held virtually two weeks before the annual meeting and supplemented by a live auction led by Joe Hawkins, an area finance manager for Co-op Financial Solutions, during the Sunday session of TFC’s annual meeting. Premium items such as the Tennessee State Fair prize-winning ham, a one-of-a-kind commemorative Case knife, and a drone were auctioned off as annual meeting attendees bid in support of the youth agricultural organizations.

“I am so proud of what we raised this year in support of Tennessee 4-H and FFA,” says Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation Executive Director Dawn Eaton. “We are just getting started with the foundation and I can’t wait to see the impact we have across the state.”

The mission of the newly formed Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation is to support future generations of agricultural leaders, serve local communities, and support faith-based initiatives. The nonprofit will facilitate and grow the cooperative’s philanthropic activities and those of the member Co-ops.
 
The foundation will help TFC to be more effective and strategically support causes that are important to the future of agriculture. The foundation is governed by a board of directors made up of members of the TFC executive team, member Co-op managers, and a member of the TFC board of directors. 

If you are interested in donating an item to next year’s Co-op Auction Barn, contact Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation Director Dawn Eaton at deaton@ourcoop.com.

In addition to the money raised in the auction, the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation also presented a check for $54,970 to the state’s 4-H and FFA programs from the sales of Co-op’s 2022 commemorative 4-H and FFA knife.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Co.,” says Eaton. “This program has been supporting Tennessee 4-H and FFA since 2001 and we are excited to continue the momentum of raising funds for the agricultural youth programs.”

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