he Harvard Cooperative Society, also known as the Coop, recently announced that the rebate it provides to members at the end of the year rose to 7.3 percent, up almost 50 percent from the 5 percent rebate members received last year.

This total marks the highest the rebate has been in 15 years, according to Aaron D. Chadbourne ’06, a member of the Coop Board of Directors.

The Coop’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. At the end of the fiscal year, the Board of Directors sets the rebate rate based on the profits from business done with members during the previous year. The decision on the rebate percentage is made in late August or early September.

This year’s rebate increase means that the Coop had an increase in profit last fiscal year.

The fact that the Coop is selling coursepacks this fall doesn’t affect the rebate rate, but it could affect next year’s, according to the President of the Coop, Jeremiah P. Murphy ’73.

Murphy explained that the Coop is a cooperative which works for the benefit of its members.

“The rebate is on purchases that you’ve made at any Coop locations or at the Coop online during the fiscal year as long as you have a Coop number,” Murphy said.

“Personally I’m very excited about the increased rebate,” Chadbourne said. “The Coop should do more to reach out to students.”

Chadbourne added that he hopes the rebate will boost the Coop’s membership. He said that because students consider the Coop a convenient location to buy many things, a 7.3 percent rebate will ultimately put members in a better position than students who make purchases elsewhere, even if the Coop has higher prices.

While a $3.65 rebate on a $50 sweatshirt may not seem like much, purchasing books for a given semester can often cost students hundreds of dollars, increasing the rebate into the $20 range.

In addition to the rebate increase, the Coop is also giving members an opportunity to donate their rebate checks to relief efforts for the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Each year, Harvard and MIT Coop members are given the opportunity to donate their rebate checks to charitable causes. The option to donate to hurricane relief will be a new addition to these options.

Chadbourne said board members will be meeting next week to discuss the specifics of how the money will be used.

The last time the Coop made such an effort was in the 2001-2002 academic year in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, when members were given the opportunity to donate their rebate checks to the Red Cross, Murphy said.

According to Chadbourne, students were very supportive of and instrumental in the decision to allow the donation to hurricane relief.

“It’s a great idea that we’re going to be giving back to the hurricane relief effort,” he said. “There’s a lot of emotional connection to the area and the disaster.”

Murphy added that for students who are only receiving a small check, it may be more worthwhile to donate it instead of taking the time to cash it.