Cooperative Development Foundation

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Cooperative Development Foundation CDF envisions a future where all people in our nation can address their needs, pursue their aspirations, build shared wealth, and thrive in community.

CDF builds the capacity of the cooperative business community. While CDF engages in educational programming and public outreach activities, a substantial amount of its work involves management of grant and loan funds. The following list describes the nature of that grant and loan activity, as well as some of the other program initiatives in which CDF engages on a regular basis:
Scholarships for co-op staff and board of directors training (The Howard Bowers Fund for the food cooperative community);
Pre-development financing from a revolving loan fund for affordable senior housing cooperative projects, in both urban and rural settings ( The Jacob Kaplan Fund);
Gap financing from a revolving loan fund for acquisition of, or repair of student housing cooperatives (the Kagawa Funds);
Grant awards for feasibility studies and technical assistance for innovative cooperative development initiatives that address the needs of seniors in rural America (The MSC Fund);
Recognition of outstanding cooperative leaders through the Cooperative Hall of Fame (www.heroes.coop );
Educational programming that both enables networking among co-op development practitioners and raises awareness about cooperatives in the public policy arena (in 2005, a Forum on Cooperative Solutions for Seniors; in 2006 and 2007, an online auction profiling the work of the U.S. art and craft cooperative community);
Served as a fiscal agent for organizations engaged in cooperative development such as: Central American coffee cooperative, Cooperation Works!, and the network of U.S. cooperative development centers interested in agriculture;
Management of United Co-op Appeal, a workplace giving program that annually raises unrestricted funds for more than a dozen organizations engaged in domestic and international cooperative development;
In response to recent natural disasters, CDF also raised close to $200,000 for economic recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the South Asian Tsunami. In both cases, the funds are being used for economic and community recovery, repairs to cooperative businesses, cooperative education, and the creation of new cooperative businesses as part of the total recovery from these disasters.

CLS fellows wrapped up October Week by exploring cooperation in action in Greenbelt, MD where they explored how differen...
10/09/2026

CLS fellows wrapped up October Week by exploring cooperation in action in Greenbelt, MD where they explored how different types of co-ops contribute to a thriving local community.

Our first stop was the , a community-owned cooperative tool library that helps residents access shared resources, learn new skills, and connect with their neighbors. Next, we visited the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket & Pharmacy, a consumer-owned business serving the community's grocery and pharmacy needs. We finished the day at the , a worker-owned newspaper that helps keep the community informed and connected.

Greenbelt was a reminder that co-ops are stronger when they work together and thriving co-op economies depend on relationships that extend across sectors. Thank you to the co-ops for welcoming us today!

Last night, the co-op community joined the Cooperative Development Foundation in celebrating excellence, resilience, lea...
10/09/2026

Last night, the co-op community joined the Cooperative Development Foundation in celebrating excellence, resilience, leadership, and heart as the next class of heroes were inducted into the Co-op Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to Fannie Lou Hamer, Margaret Bau, Crystal Long, Kevin Still, and Mike Toelle. Welcome to the Cooperative Hall of Fame!

Not pictured: Fannie Lou Hamer, Founder of Freedom Farm Cooperative and Unsung Hero

We are excited to convene a stellar group of people this morning – including researchers from across academia and indust...
10/08/2026

We are excited to convene a stellar group of people this morning – including researchers from across academia and industry-based research, co-op developers, co-op leaders, and practitioners – to explore how to improve feedback loops between research and practice as we seek to improve cooperative business practice and impact.

CLS joined cooperators from across the country (and internationally) for two days of learning and conversations at the C...
10/08/2026

CLS joined cooperators from across the country (and internationally) for two days of learning and conversations at the Co-op IMPACT Conference.

In the afternoon, several fellows participated in Hike the Hill, heading to Capitol Hill for an opportunity to engage with policymakers and bring the cooperative perspective into conversations with elected officials and their staff.

We wrapped up the day over dinner, where fellows had a chance to connect with fellow cooperators from across sectors in a more informal setting—sharing experiences, exchanging ideas, and building relationships across the cooperative community. Thanks to our partners from , , , ICA Group, and for joining us tonight!

CLS spent the day at National Cooperative Bank for an executive short course led by the International Centre for Co-oper...
10/07/2026

CLS spent the day at National Cooperative Bank for an executive short course led by the International Centre for Co-operative Management. Through instruction, discussion, and interactive group work, fellows learned from ICCM faculty while bringing their own experiences and perspectives from across cooperative sectors into the conversation.

The learning continued into the evening with a visit to the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Cooperative, giving fellows another opportunity to experience DC’s cooperative community firsthand and learn about the cooperative model in practice.

A big thank you to ICCM at Saint Mary’s University for sharing your expertise, National Cooperative Bank for hosting us, Rochdale Capital for the morning refreshments, and the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Cooperative for welcoming our fellows!

Next up: The Co-op IMPACT Conference hosted by U.S. Co-ops. If you’re in DC this week, keep an eye out for our CLS fellows and alumni. Say hello, ask about their work, and help them continue building connections across the cooperative community.

We kicked off the final in-person gathering of the 2026 Cooperative Leaders & Scholars Fellowship by putting the spotlig...
10/06/2026

We kicked off the final in-person gathering of the 2026 Cooperative Leaders & Scholars Fellowship by putting the spotlight on our fellows and their capstone projects!

This afternoon, fellows shared projects exploring the cooperative identity and membership, cooperative development and financing, community ownership, public policy, and ways to build stronger cooperative ecosystems. The presentations gave the cohort a chance to learn from one another, ask questions, and see the many ways they’re putting lessons from CLS into practice.

A big thank you to National Farmers Union for welcoming CLS and providing a space for us to gather, share ideas, and kick off an exciting week in DC!

And if you’re in DC this week for the Co-op IMPACT Conference and Cooperative Hall of Fame, keep an eye out for our CLS fellows! Say hello, ask them about their capstone projects, and help them continue building connections across the cooperative community.

📣 More time to nominate a cooperative hero!CDF has extended the deadline for nominations to the 2027 Cooperative Hall of...
09/29/2026

📣 More time to nominate a cooperative hero!

CDF has extended the deadline for nominations to the 2027 Cooperative Hall of Fame to November 13 at 5 pm ET.

Who has inspired you through their leadership and commitment to cooperatives?

The Cooperative Hall of Fame honors extraordinary individuals who have strengthened cooperatives, championed shared ownership, expanded opportunity and inclusion, and helped develop the next generation of cooperative leaders.

Take advantage of the extended deadline to help us recognize the people whose contributions have made a lasting impact on the cooperative business community.

🏆 Nominate a cooperative hero by November 13 at 5 pm ET: heroes.coop/nominations

Fannie Lou Hamer is remembered around the world as a civil rights icon. She should also be remembered as a cooperative v...
09/24/2026

Fannie Lou Hamer is remembered around the world as a civil rights icon. She should also be remembered as a cooperative visionary.

Freedom Farm demonstrated that cooperation could be a strategy for fighting hunger, creating jobs, expanding homeownership, educating young people, and building community power. Her influence continues today. Dr. Monica White describes contemporary Black cooperators as "harvesting seeds of resistance" planted by Mrs. Hamer and Freedom Farm decades earlier. Cooperation Jackson also explicitly draws inspiration from her work and has carried the Freedom Farm name forward.

Mrs. Hamer connected political democracy with economic democracy. She connected land with power. And she believed deeply in the ability of everyday people to collectively create solutions for themselves.

For her vision, courage, innovation, leadership, and determination, Fannie Lou Hamer will be honored with induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Join us in Washington, DC on October 8 as we celebrate Mrs. Hamer and her contributions to the cooperative business community. Her life reminds us that cooperation can do more than build businesses. It can build freedom.

📸Library of Congress

Building Freedom Farm Cooperative was never easy. Fannie Lou Hamer was creating a large agricultural cooperative in one ...
09/22/2026

Building Freedom Farm Cooperative was never easy. Fannie Lou Hamer was creating a large agricultural cooperative in one of America's poorest counties without the government support routinely available to white farmers. The cooperative carried significant debt, and successive droughts and floods destroyed cash crops needed to make payments.

At the same time, Mrs. Hamer's health was deteriorating after decades of hard labor, organizing, travel, fundraising, and lasting injuries from the violence she had endured.
Freedom Farm ultimately did not survive long after her death in 1977. But longevity alone doesn't measure its impact.

The cooperative fed families, created jobs, helped people secure homes, supported education, and placed land under collective control.

Against extraordinary odds, Mrs. Hamer dared to imagine a cooperative big enough to address the interconnected challenges facing an entire community—and then set about building it.

📸Library of Congress

Fannie Lou Hamer didn't see her cooperative work as separate from her civil rights work. It was another chapter of the s...
09/17/2026

Fannie Lou Hamer didn't see her cooperative work as separate from her civil rights work. It was another chapter of the same struggle.

After years of fighting for voting rights, she had seen how economic dependence could undermine political freedom. What did the right to vote mean if exercising it could cost someone their job, home, or ability to feed their family?

Freedom Farm Cooperative offered another form of power: collective ownership. Mrs. Hamer traveled the country raising money for Freedom Farm and speaking about cooperatives as a strategy for rural development and self-determination. Through her words and her work, she introduced countless people in the Civil Rights Movement to the possibilities of cooperative ownership.

Her story reminds us that the cooperative and civil rights movements are deeply connected—both asking fundamental questions about who gets to own, who gets to decide, and who gets the opportunity to thrive.

📸Library of Congress

Address

1725 EYE Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20006

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12023835440

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