Cooperative Development Fund

Cooperative Development Fund is sponsored by National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International. Supports cooperative development, research, and technical assistance, including affordable housing.

NCBA CLUSA | National Cooperative Business Association You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience. Building a more inclusive economy.

Together. Join us as we advance, promote and defend the cooperative business model The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) has worked for more than 100 years to build a stronger, safer and more prosperous world. We engage, partner with and empower people to have a greater say in their futures and broader access to economic opportunities.

We achieve this vision through collaborative partnerships in development, advocacy, public awareness and thought leadership. Be part of the only cross-sector cooperative network elevating the national conversation around a trusted, proven way to do business and build communities.

On behalf of our members, NCBA CLUSA speaks with a united voice before elected officials, raising awareness of the cooperative economic impact and advocating for federal policies that benefit cooperative enterprise—like access to the critical financing and technical assistance communities need to establish and grow employee-owned businesses. Our innovative cooperative approach catalyzes economic and social development.

We empower people to build shared prosperity and well-being by prioritizing locally-led development. Building stability, resilience and opportunity in 2025 Join us in celebrating the Year of Cooperatives! With co-ops in the spotlight in the U.S. and around the world during the International Year of Cooperatives , 2025 presents a pivotal opportunity to raise public awareness of and advocacy for cooperatives.

Join us in lifting up cooperatives as people-centered businesses that build a better world—in 2025, and beyond.

Strengthening Co-op Communities Strengthening Co-op Communities Department of Treasury Finalizes Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Rollback-- New webinar: How to optimize your meetings with Members of Congress-- New webinar: How to optimize your meetings with Members of Congress-- Meet the faculty behind NCBA’s new professional development partnership with Arizona State University-- Member Spotlight: 19 the Agency brings branding and marketing expertise to solidarity economy organizations-- Member Spotlight: At National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives, elevating the co-op business model-- Meet the faculty behind NCBA’s new professional development partnership with Arizona State University-- The Daily digs into how food co-ops are navigating high food prices-- New report shows putting caregivers and clients first isn’t just good values – it’s good business-- Food co-ops lead in sales of local, organic and fair trade products-- Cooperatives are essential economic development infrastructure-- The Daily digs into how food co-ops are navigating high food prices-- Cooperative Funding and Financing-- The Difference Between Co.

, Corp. and LLC: Understanding Business Structures-- Locally-led development leads to growth for coffee and cacao industry leaders in Peru and Honduras-- Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers teach sustainable composting practices to association members in the Ecuadorian Amazon-- Homegrown Prosperity launch in Kansas moves initiative from outreach to action-- With support from the Patterson Family Foundation, NCBA CLUSA to build cooperative paths to rural prosperity-- Meet Bill Zimmerman, NCBA CLUSA’s 2024 Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer of the Year-- Empowering agricultural communities through gender and social inclusion-- Strengthening Co-op Communities An Introduction to the USDA’s Risk Management Agency-- Strengthening Co-op Communities How To Navigate the USDA National Agricultural Library-- Featured International Project Planting the seeds of self-reliance In 1994, NCBA CLUSA helped organize 450 coffee farmers into a co-op called Cooperatíva Café Timor (CCT), launching the commercial coffee industry in Timor-Leste.

More than 20 years later, coffee is now the small Southeast Asian country’s top agricultural export worth between $15-25 million annually. Today, CCT not only exports coffee, but has also added high-value spices to its lineup. The U.S. is one of Timor-Leste’s main trading partners and two customers for CCT’s coffee and spices include McCormick & Co.

for vanilla, cloves and pepper and Starbucks for Fair Trade certified coffee. Our current work in Timor-Leste goes beyond the coffee industry to support employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, meeting both the practical needs of employers and the country’s broader labor market. In partnership with the Institute of Business, we are strengthening workforce readiness and the entrepreneurial skills of Timorese young people.

Through foreign assistance, the story of Cooperativa Café Timor has shown how a business—and ultimately, a country—moves toward self-reliance and prosperity. Featured International Project Staying competitive in a changing environment NCBA CLUSA’s Café del Futuro project is providing opportunities for coffee farmers in Puerto Rico to pivot and stay competitive in a changing environment.

Café del Futuro unites a coalition of cooperatives, support organizations for small farmers, academic bodies and resilience experts working to increase the adoption of innovative coffee farming techniques.

The pilot project will incentivize 2,000 coffee growers to adopt cutting-edge practices by subsidizing coffee, shade and hardwood trees; providing cash grants and last-mile technical assistance; and access to specialty coffee markets with the intention of increasing incomes and promising durable economic and food security benefits.

Featured International Project Kenya, Guatemala, Peru and Madagascar Strengthening co-op capacity and enabling environments Through our Cooperative Development Program, NCBA CLUSA is working to strengthen co-op capacity and advance the enabling environments co-ops need to grow and thrive.

With their global membership of more than 3 million people and shared set of principles designed to support both economic and social empowerment, co-ops are a powerful force for sustainable development.

Strengthening Cooperatives a voice for cooperative business strengthening member-owned businesses and the communities they impact Raising awareness of cooperative impact NCBA CLUSA’s public awareness events amplify the success, diversity and impact of the cooperative movement. Building an ownership economy NCBA CLUSA is a collaborative partner in, advocate for and driver of an economy that works for everyone.

Providing resources for every co-op sector Research and analysis by our Cooperative Economists Council helps measure the co-op advantage. join the cooperative movement! Be part of our work to advance the shared interests of the cooperative community.

democratic, transparent & fair A cooperative, or co-op, buys and sells products or services just like any other business. The difference is a co-op is owned and governed by its members, the people who use it, rather than by stockholders. And, profits are reinvested in the co-op or distributed to its members.

co-op establishments in the U.S. Different Kinds of Co-ops Different Kinds of Co-ops co-op establishments in the U.S. Proud member of the International Cooperative Alliance More than a century of building an inclusive economy The Cooperative League of America is formally organized, the precursor organization to NCBA CLUSA .

The League forms a legal department and successfully lobbies for the passage of a cooperative federation statute in New York, then incorporates as the Cooperative League of the United States of America (CLUSA). 9 out of 10 rural homes are without electric service. President Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to electrify rural America through the use of rural electric co-ops.

CLUSA joins with other cooperative leaders to launch a public education campaign to defend the tax treatment of cooperatives in Congress. The Cooperative Development Foundation is formed, initially as the Freedom Fund of CLUSA, to help provide war relief through the development of cooperatives and other self-help initiatives in Europe. The first grant ($30,000) helps to launch Cooperative of American Remittances to Europe (CARE).

The international arm of CLUSA is launched in response to a request from the Indian Cooperative Union. Through its first overseas office in New Delhi, CLUSA helped develop and strengthen dairy, fertilizer, farm machinery and other co-ops in the country. Working in southeastern U.S., CLUSA takes on a pilot project as part of the War on Poverty that leads to the formation of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives .

The Cooperative Hall of Fame is established. Inductees receive the cooperative community’s highest honor. CLUSA changes its name to the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA).

The “CLUSA approach” to sustainable cooperative development is developed in Niger in the mid-1980s. The method is characterized by local decision-making and empowerment, and was developed by NCBA CLUSA veteran innovator Papa Sene . C ooperativa Café Timor is established with support from NCBA CLUSA.

Today, CCT offers its 22,000 member-owners access to global markets—including Starbucks—better prices and healthcare through its network of health clinics. NCBA CLUSA proposes and sponsors the . coop Top Level Domain .

Many cooperatives and similar trade groups around the world, including the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), backed the proposal. The technical infrastructure for the . coop TLD was developed by the worker cooperative Poptel in the United Kingdom and became operational on January 30, 2002.

NCBA CLUSA’s flagship Feed the Future project Yaajeende is launched in Senegal, based on a comprehensive approach built on the four pillars of food security—availability, access, utilization and governance. NCBA CLUSA leads fight to successfully restore RCDG funding for co-ops . Credit union membership in the U.S. tops 100 million in June.

NCBA CLUSA receives its first grant from the Starbucks Foundation in April to support the livelihoods of coffee farmers in Indonesia. The first meeting of the Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development is held in October, a provision NCBA CLUSA worked hard to ensure the inclusion of in the Farm Bill.

NCBA CLUSA works with legislators to create the long-awaited bipartisan Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus in December, co-chaired by Rep Ed Royce (R-CA) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI).