Cooperatives

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS

Arrizmendi Association of Cooperatives
www.arizmendi.coop
Located in California, the Arrizmendi Association of Cooperatives consists of six bakery worker cooperatives bakeries and a development and support collective that provides financial, legal, organizational, and educational support to the members of the Association and coordinates the development of new cooperatives. The Association also provides significant worker cooperative resources on its website, including several listserves that enable networking opportunities for those involved in the cooperative movement.

California Center for Cooperative Development
www.cccd.coop
Highlighting how cooperatives can address the social and economic needs of California's communities - specifically helping low income and moderate income people and neighborhoods - the California Center for Cooperative Development provides cooperatives and those interested in starting cooperatives with start up, management, and other technical assistance. Although only founded in 2007, many of the staff bring years of experience from the University of California at Davis Center for Cooperatives, which closed it doors in 2004.

CDS Consulting Group
www.cdsconsulting.coop
The CDS Consulting Group Co-op is a network of independent consulting professionals who specialize in food cooperatives. CDS provides consulting, training, and development services by pooling the unique skills and resources of each of its experts. The Consulting Group offers advice to help food cooperatives improve their leadership and performance, grow and expand their companies and membership, and better serve their communities. CDS developed its own model for food cooperative development, Four Cornerstones in 3 Stages: vision, talent, capital, and systems in stages of organization, planning, and implementation.

Cooperative Capital Fund of New England
www.coopcapital.coop
Launched in 2007, the Cooperative Capital Fund of New England (CCF) is a socially responsible investment fund that invests in cooperative businesses in the form of "patient capital," or equity-like financing. CCF assists the parts of New England cooperative industry that are established in areas of high need but limited financial resources, providing capital that acts like equity without requiring co-ops to give up control over their own management and destiny, as traditional venture capital might.

Cooperative Development Institute
www.cdi.coop
Serving communities throughout the New York and the New England region, the non-profit Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) provides cooperative business education, training, and technical assistance to all types of cooperative enterprises, from agriculture, to credit unions and worker-owned cooperatives. CDI is also involved in many different discipline areas, from new cooperative business start-ups and cooperative banking, to leadership development and education.

Cooperative Development Services
www.cdsus.coop
A non-profit organization founded in 1985, Cooperative Development Services has provided consulting services for over 500 cooperatives in a number of sectors, including food co-ops, senior housing co-ops, forestry co-ops, and value-added agriculture.

Cooperative Network
www.cooperativenetwork.coop
Committed to building Wisconsin's and Minnesota's cooperative businesses, the Cooperative Network serves more than 600 member-cooperatives, owned by more than 6.3 million residents in those states. The largest statewide association of its kind, the Network provides government relations, education, marketing, and technical services for a wide variety of cooperatives including farm supply, health, dairy marketing, consumer, financial, livestock marketing, telecommunications, electric, housing, insurance, worker-owned cooperatives, and more.

Credit Union National Association
www.cuna.coop
Credit Union National Association is the national trade association of credit unions. In cooperation with state credit union leagues, CUNA provides research, advocacy, education, and business development services to member credit unions.

Federation of Southern Cooperatives
www.federation.coop
Founded in 1967, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives has provided self-help economic opportunities for many low-income communities across the South. A primary objective of the Federation is the retention of black owned land and the use of cooperatives for land-based economic development.

Local Enterprise Assistance Fund
www.leaffund.org
The Local Enterprise Fund (LEAF) is a non-profit community development financial institution established in 1983. LEAF provides low cost financing to cooperatives and community-owned businesses nationwide. LEAF tailors its financing to the specific needs of cooperatives and provides financing for working capital needs, purchase of fixed assets, business expansion, and development of new business lines. The ICA Group (www.ica-group.org), LEAF's sister organization, provides technical assistance in the planning, development, and management of cooperatives and other social purpose ventures.

National Association of Federal Credit Unions
www.nafcunet.org
Founded in 1967, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions is a trade association that represents the interests of federal credit unions before the federal government and the public.

National Association of Housing Cooperatives
www.coophousing.org
The National Association of Housing Cooperatives is a nonprofit national federation of housing cooperatives, mutual housing associations, member associations, other resident-owned or controlled housing organizations, professionals, and individuals interested in promoting the interests of cooperative housing communities.

National Cooperative Bank
www.ncb.coop
The National Cooperative Bank provides financial services to cooperative organizations and other community development groups. Services offered include real estate, small business, and commercial lending programs as well as a variety of community development services.

National Cooperative Business Association
www.ncba.coop
The National Cooperative Business Association is a trade association that represents cooperatives in a wide variety of fields, including agricultural cooperatives, credit unions, food co-ops, purchasing co-ops, worker co-ops, and others.

National Renewable Cooperative Organization
www.renewable.coop
Formed so that its members could have a resource that promoted and facilitated the development of renewable energy resources, the nonprofit National Renewable Cooperative Organization (NRCO) is, to date, comprised of 24 members across 20 states. Governed by its members and continually open to new members, NRCO provides an opportunity for member utilities to work together to benefit from various expertise and best practices across the nation.

National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association
www.nreca.coop/Pages/default.aspx
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is a national trade association of 900 member cooperatives that serve 37 million people in 47 states. The association represents members in regulatory hearings, as well as providing research, training, education, and advocacy services.

National Cooperative Grocers Association
www.ncga.coop
The National Cooperative Grocers' Association is the largest trade association of retail food cooperatives with 94 member co-ops with 400,000 member-owners in 31 states. Founded in 1999, the association aims to develop joint purchasing, marketing, and other mutual support activities.

National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
www.ntca.org
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association is a national trade association representing more than 550 local telecommunications companies throughout rural America, including both cooperatives and small, independently owned companies.

Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NOBAWC)
www.nobawc.org
The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives is dedicated to building workplace democracy in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The group provides support for its worker cooperative members as well as assistance with the development of new worker cooperatives.

North American Students of Cooperation
www.nasco.coop
Founded in 1968, the North American Students of Cooperation is a trade association of U.S. and Canadian-based campus and community cooperatives, providing education, training, and technical assistance to member cooperatives.

Northwest Cooperative Development Center
www.nwcdc.coop
The Northwest Cooperative Development Center is a nonprofit organization devoted to assisting new and existing cooperative businesses, from daycare centers to credit unions. The group's mission is to foster community economic development, primarily through the cooperative business model. It provides a range of business planning and cooperative education services.

Ourbiz
www.ourbiz.biz
This website, founded in May 2005 by the Southern Appalachian Center for Cooperative Ownership (SACCO) provides a national worker cooperative forum for information sharing and discussion.

ROC USA
www.rocusa.org
Following in the footsteps of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, ROC USA aims to develop a national network of technical assistance providers to enable mobile home residents to purchase land through cooperatives, creating resident-owned communities. Residents assisted by ROC USA are thus able to build wealth through collective ownership of the manufactured housing park's land. As of April 2009, in New Hampshire where the model was first developed, 92 member cooperatives controlled 20 percent of that state's total manufactured housing market.

U.S. Federation of Democratic Workplaces and Worker Cooperatives
www.usworkercoop.org
The U.S. Federation of Democratic Workplaces is a newly formed (May 2004) national trade association of worker cooperatives and other employee-owned, democratically run workplaces. The federation aims to provide education, training, and technical assistance to its members.

*NEW*
USA International Year of Cooperatives
www.usa2012.coop
The United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives because of the role of the cooperative business model in achieving economic viability while also contributing to social and community benefits. The key strategic priorities of the Cooperative Steering Committee are to help build and sustain the cooperative movement, help achieve enabling legislation and policies, increase access to capital, and improve education about cooperatives. Visit the site to see how you can be part of expanding the movement.