FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – A $1.1 million dividend from Fort Community Credit Union will not only be shared by members, but also by a number of organizations in the surrounding community. Members of the $105 million credit union will receive their portion of $538,000 and $602,500 will be distributed as community grants, according to Richard Austin, Fort Community CU's chairman. Much of the grants will go towards refurbishing areas at local schools, classroom equipment purchases, park playgrounds, library, museum and hospital building funds and a host of cultural projects and other activities. In all, grants will be awarded to 24 projects ranging from $2,860 to $100,000. “This dividend will improve the quality of life for all of us,” Austin said. “The profits we generate benefit the whole community, not just our members. So when we say, `We are people helping people and neighbors helping neighbors,' we mean it.” Austin said the credit union solicited the local communities on the projects they thought they needed funding for but the selection process was difficult. “There were a lot of worthy projects out there that we couldn't support,” Austin said. “But what we did select was chosen because we figured it was very deserving of fund placement.”