CooperationWorks!

CooperationWorks! is a network of organizations promoting rural development through the formation of cooperatives in the United States. CooperationWorks! is organized as a cooperative of 21 member development centers. The co-op facilitates the coordination of cooperative development efforts and provides business expertise to its member organizations.

CooperationWorks! is partnered with the National Cooperative Business Association and the Cooperative Development Foundation.

History

Legislation was signed into law in 1990 authorizing grants to establish a network of rural cooperative development centers throughout the United States. The development centers worked together on an informal basis for nine years. The Madison Principles, a set of standards for cooperative development, were developed in 1995 in Madison, Wisconsin. In February 1999, representatives from nine cooperative development centers on the U.S. met in Denver to found CooperationWorks!

In September 2009, the USDA awarded $2.9 million in grants to 15 members of CooperationWorks! to create jobs and foster economic development in rural communities.

Members

Arkansas Rural Enterprise Center

California Center for Cooperative Development

Common Enterprise Development Corporation

Cooperative Development Institute

Cooperative Development Services

Democracy Collaborative

Food Cooperative Initiative

Fund for Democratic Communities

Indiana Cooperative Development Center

Iowa Alliance for Cooperative Business Development

Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development

Keystone Development Center

Latino Economic Development Center

Mississippi Center for Cooperative Development

Montana Cooperative Development Center

North American Students of Cooperation

National Cooperative Development Association

National Network of Forest Practitioners

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center

North Dakota Rural Electric and Telecommunications Development Center

Northwest Cooperative Development Center

Ohio Cooperative Development Center

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative and Economic Development Center

South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center

References

External links

Official website

Agricultural cooperatives in the United States

Agricultural organizations based in the United States