The Positive Change program raises money for local non-profit organizations working to better our community. We believe in the power of change and the power of community – Positive Change combines these two beliefs into one powerful program. The Positive Change program is one of the many ways the Co-op fulfills the seventh cooperative principle: Concern for Community.
Next time you check out, say “I’d like to round-up for Positive Change,” and we’ll round-up the total of your purchase to the nearest dollar, or you can donate any desired amount. Each month, the selected non-profit organization receives 100% of the donated funds, plus an additional mini grant from the Co-op (currently $400 each month). In celebration of National Co-op Month, MFC reserves the month of October each year to fundraise for a program, fund, or organization to be determined at the discretion of MFC's Outreach Committee. Annually, the Board of Directors selects one Positive Change recipient to receive an additional grant from our Cooperative Community Fund. Thank you for contributing to positive change and making a difference in our community!
Bee Regenerative
Round up this November to support the bees! Bee Regenerative is a grassroots female-led nonprofit whose mission is centered on bee habitat conservation through research, regeneration, art, & education.
Bee Regenerative is a “Bee Girl” co-brand. While founder, Sarah Red-Laird (aka Bee Girl), is still the lead worker bee, this work has expanded out of the hive and into a field full of a number of worker bees supporting the mission and vision. Bee Regenerative staff and contractors work shoulder-to-shoulder with ranchers and wine makers, universities, government entities, policy makers, and partner nonprofits to understand and address issues in agriculture that affect bees, and to create collaborative win-win solutions for bees and producers. Bee Regenerative's fieldwork takes them outside of the Rogue Valley, but their HQ has been here since 2011, and the majority of their community and educational events remain rooted here in Southern Oregon.
Bee Regenerative works with agricultural producers to plant and preserve flowers for bees on thousands of acres across the West. Bee Regenerative is working on conservation, research, education, and art projects from the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon, through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Northern Prairie, and into the Great Plains. Though their roots are in beekeeping, their current work has also led them into regenerative agriculture, native bee conservation, and wildlife coexistence.
Bee Regenerative conducts research and collects data on floral communities, bee species abundance and diversity, floral community change over time, bee community change over time, soil health, land use and stockmanship practices. They educate community stakeholders like farmers, ranchers, vineyard managers, policy makers, kids, and the general public on their discoveries through one-on-one kitchen table meetings, one-on-one and small group pasture, vineyard, and farm walks, large public speaking and educational events, and digital media. Education creates opportunities for stakeholders to make different choices, invest in new ideas, and try new approaches towards their individual impact on climate change, ecosystem services, and carbon sequestration.
Funds will be used to support ongoing programs, including: Bison & Bee Habitat Project, Coexistence & Bee Habitat Regeneration in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Bee Friendly Vineyards, Bee Habitat in Cyanotype, Bee Hopeful, and Bee Girl Honey.
The Bee Girl Organization
Round up this April to help conserve the bees! The Bee Girl Organization (BGO) aims to conserve our bees by regenerating bee habitat and inviting people to fully understand the importance of bees to our food system and wild landscapes.
The Bee Girl Organization’s mission is to educate and inspire communities to conserve bees, their flowers, and our countryside. The key to bee survival is nutritionally dense floral landscapes created with regenerative methods. Regenerative agriculture reduces and eliminates the need for pesticides and creates healthy soil for a diversity of flowers to thrive in.
Funds will be used to support ongoing work. BGO’s method to ensure bee health through propagating a diversity of specific bee-friendly flowers is embedded in the regenerative agriculture movement through their “Regenerative Bee Pasture” project. BGO will continue to listen to the bees through the data they gather that points toward improved seed mixes and farming techniques and they will continue to listen to what the farming and ranching community needs and what they are excited to give, to create healthier spaces for our bees, people, and planet.
The Bee Girl Organization
Round up to help save the bees this May! Your donation will support the Bee Girl Organization’s Regenerative Bee Pasture project which is developing a path toward healthier soils, increased pollinator diversity, and more nutrient rich food.
The Bee Girl Organization (BGO) mission is to educate and inspire communities to conserve bees, their flowers, and our countryside. The BGO aims to conserve our bees by educating people, especially kids, on bees’ importance through our programs focused on community classes and events.
The BGO is excited to use the Positive Change funds to specifically support their Regenerative Bee Pasture project through the purchase of tools and seeds. The United States has more acres in pasture than any other land use so determining best management practices that regenerate soil, pollinators and healthy food has far-reaching benefits for a broad range of stakeholders. BGO is already hard at work with local and regional collaborators on this project and are excited to have Diamond Bar Beef testing the outcome of their systems, techniques and tools on part of their grass-fed herd. Through partnership with regional labs including OSU’s Honey Bee Lab, Eastern Washington University’s microbiology lab, and Washington State University’s Bread Lab, they are collecting solid data showing the link between pasture and soil diversity and health. The Positive Change funding received in 2020 contributed to the strong foundation BGO laid for the Regenerative Bee Pasture project, as well as their ability to remain nimble during the pandemic as they transitioned their education and fundraising efforts to online platforms.
We turn spare change into Positive Change for local non-profits.
The Positive Change program is for organizations seeking direct financial support. Positive Change recipients for 2025 were selected by our owners in the 2024 Annual Election, and the application period for the 2026 program concluded on January 31st. If your organization would like to be notified when the 2027 application is made available in autumn of 2025, please let us know.
If you are seeking a food or gift card donation, please complete our Donation Request Form.
Spare change really adds up.
A few cents here and there add up to big impacts for our local non-profits.