CDF’s multi-pronged efforts support
co-op mission in America and abroad
By Steven Thomas, Executive Director
Cooperative Development Foundation
he Cooperative Development Foundation —
the nation’s oldest cooperative charity —
may not be a household name, but it has
made a major impact on economic
development through cooperatives for almost
65 years. This work was initially done under the umbrella of
the Freedom Fund (beginning in 1944), then the Fund for
International Cooperative Development (1947), the
Cooperative League Fund (1969), and, ultimately, the
Cooperative Development Foundation (1988).
Starting with the founding of CARE after World War II,
CDF began by helping European farmers recover from the
destruction of the war by providing “seed” funds to help
them form cooperatives — giving them the scale to reach
markets across Europe’s war-devastated infrastructure. CDF
retained an international focus until the 1980s, when it began
fundraising and forming programs to assist domestic
cooperatives, particularly in rural areas.
Family of funds
Through a combination of bequests, donations and fund
additions, CDF now has 11 funds that seek to resolve
different problems through the development of different
types of cooperatives. These include the following:
- The Bowers Fund, which assists cooperative grocers, is one
of CDF’s most active funds. Its mission — to promote
consumer-owned food cooperatives in the United States —
is served through
grants for education
and training of
grocery cooperative
staff and board
members.
- The MSC Fund,
CDF’s largest fund,
was established in
2004. Formerly the
Mutual Service
Fund of the MSI
Insurance Foundation, it has been in operation for more
than 30 years and has awarded more than $1 million in
grants to the cooperative community. In 2005, the fund’s
trustees decided that it would focus on projects and
organizations that find and/or replicate cooperative
solutions for issues facing seniors in rural areas.
- The NCBA Fund supports the National Cooperative
Business Association’s cooperative development projects
and programs in the United States and overseas.
- The Sollars Fund strengthens the cooperative form of
business through interaction between U.S. and overseas
cooperatives. The fund provides grants to cover overseas
travel expenses of U.S. cooperative leaders, enabling them
to visit counterparts to exchange information, strengthen
trade and provide technical assistance
- The Shirley K. Sullivan Education Fund was established in
1998 by the Cooperative Communicators Association
(CCA) to give its members scholarships for training. The
fund offers educational grants to cooperative
communications professionals, enabling them to attend
professional development seminars or classes, including
National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) and
Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL)
programs and CCA’s annual co-op communications
institute.
- CDF also has three revolving loan funds for cooperative
housing: one for senior cooperative housing, a second for
limited equity cooperatives and a third for student housing
cooperatives. These funds make pre-development and
bridge loans, leveraging substantial additional capital for
the creation, renovation and expansion of housing co-ops.
- The CDF Fund is a “special opportunity fund,” used to
make grants or loans to potentially significant cooperative
projects that don’t fall within the scope of CDF’s other
funds.
What is the impact of these funds? Together, they create
opportunities for seniors and working families to own quality
homes; for students to obtain affordable housing and take
responsibility for running it; for people to obtain healthy
food; for farmers and others in developing countries to obtain
good prices for their goods at market; and for cooperative
leaders to learn to better serve their co-op and its members.
Programs for cooperative
awareness and fundraising
In addition to its family of funds, CDF also operates
several programs designed to promote cooperatives and raise
funds for cooperative development.
Foremost of these efforts is the Cooperative Hall of Fame,
which honors individuals whose contributions to cooperative
business have been genuinely heroic. Inductees are limited to
a group carefully
selected to
preserve the
nature of this
special
recognition
Each year
a select few men
and women are
honored because
of their heroic
contributions to
the enhancement
of cooperative
enterprise and to
the advancement
of the principles
of cooperation.
Nominations are received annually and reviewed by two
committees, each composed of current leaders from the
various sectors of the U.S. cooperative movement. More
information on the Cooperative Hall of Fame can be found
at www.heroes.coop.
The 5k Race for Cooperative Development is a certified
run/walk for all ages. The race calls attention each October
to Cooperative Month, an annual celebration of the impact of
cooperatives on the United States and its communities. It is
also a fundraiser for CDF. The race normally attracts several
hundred runners, including teams from more than a dozen
cooperative organizations. More information can be found at:
www.cdf.coop/5kRace.
The online Co-op Art and Crafts Auction is a fun way to
profile the art and craft co-op community as an example of a
cooperative business and to help art and craft co-ops gain
visibility and new markets for their work. Visitors to the
auction website and catalog learn about the basics of a
cooperative business, as well as specifics about the artists and
the art and craft co-ops that participate in the auction.
The funds CDF raises from this auction will build more
programs in support of art and craft co-ops as the auction
progresses. More information can be found at:
http://www.cdf.coop/node/7.
The United Co-op Appeal (UCA) is an annual workplacegiving
program that is managed by the CDF. UCA supports
16 nonprofit organizations that use the cooperative enterprise
model to bring self-sufficiency and economic development to
individuals and communities through the United States and
around the world. Since it began 15 years ago, UCA has
raised more than $1 million to support cooperative
development projects.
Cooperative future
Part of CDF’s history has been a tradition of rapid
response to help cooperatives in need in disaster zones, from
postwar Europe in 1944, to New York City after the 9-11
terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and
Mississippi in 2005, to the present day. Most recently, CDF
distributed $25,000 from its Katrina Recovery Fund to the
Federation of Southern Cooperatives to help establish fishing
cooperatives in areas damaged by Katrina.
With emergency cooperative relief sure to be a part of
CDF’s role in the future, CDF is working to create a
systematic approach to emergency relief, with a dedicated
fund that will allow for more rapid response to disasters.
CDF’s longstanding role as a supporter of cooperative
housing will also play a clear role in the future; plans are in
place for a streamlining of process that will increase the
effectiveness of CDF’s efforts there.
Ultimately, however, CDF’s model can be adapted to meet
any future cooperative needs just as it has in the past. This
flexibility of execution and timeliness of mission will drive the
changes CDF makes to prepare cooperatives for the 21st
century.
