News Round Up

Housing Co-op Manual: Home Base: The Playbook for Cooperative Development is designed to help organizers, practitioners, policy makers, and communities use shared equity models to help solve affordable housing needs. Originally issued by National Cooperative Bank (NCB) and Capital Impact Partners (CIP) in 2006, CDF updated the manual for re-release in partnership with NCB and CIP and with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Home Base is a step-by-step manual, complete with template forms and worksheets, on how to establish a housing co-op. Additional resources related to permanently affordable, shared equity housing models can be found here.

Co-op Governance Training: With support from CDF’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives has announced an online cooperative director training: Board Ready: A Training Series for New Co-op Directors. This online, 5-part series is designed for newly elected directors and directors who have not received formal cooperative board training. The course will be delivered in September and October and scholarship applications are open until July 17, 2026.

Co-op Hall of Fame Nominations: Now is the time to think about celebrating the cooperative heroes who have influenced you by nominating them for induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2027 (due September 11, 2026). We invite you to think about who has inspired you—by bringing new people into the cooperative business community, expanding what’s seen as possible, serving as a champion for co-ops, or scaling what works—and consider acknowledging their leadership with a nomination to the Cooperative Hall of Fame. You can also honor selected heroes and spread their inspiring stories through your attendance at, or sponsorship of, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this year on October 8, 2026.  

In May, we reflected on the cooperative identity – the Values and Principles that bind so many people working in and for co-op businesses across regions and industries. The diversity and versatility of the co-op model is a strength, but it also can make it challenging for people to recognize co-ops for how they’re unique and what they offer to communities seeking to meet their needs and aspirations. Across all types of co-ops, large and small, these businesses center people in their business practice. As we prepare to celebrate the International Day of Co-operatives on July 4, 2026, what does the co-op identity mean to you?

In June, we explored our interest in what it takes to build vibrant and interconnected cooperative economies at the local, state, or regional level.  Reflecting on the Cooperative Leaders and Scholars visits to New York City and the Hudson Valley – as well as what we’re learning in other parts of the country – we share some early elements that promote cooperative ecosystems, including: policy, access to capital, education and technical assistance, backbone organizations, good data, and leadership pipelines. We invite input on where cooperative economies are thriving and what you are learning in your state or community.

This spring, we extended support to four cooperative development centers – Co-op Hudson Valley, the Nebraska Center for Cooperative Development, Trillium Cooperative, and the US Federation of Worker Co-ops – to provide technical assistance and business support to rural cooperatives through CDF’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant.

Through our Cooperative Development Fund, we also funded six organizations to advance cooperative solutions related to affordable housing, good jobs, and access to healthy food: 

• Democracy at Work Institute - Will strengthen the Workers to Owners network by improving training, data systems, and resource-sharing for organizations helping businesses transition to worker ownership.
• Elevate Cooperative/ICA Group – Will provide scholarships for caregivers to attend the National Home Care Cooperative Conference, expanding access to training, leadership development, and peer learning.
• FIDECOOP - Will assess compliance challenges facing Puerto Rico’s cooperatives and develop open-source tools to help co-ops remain compliant and sustainable.
• Food Co-op Initiative - Will support a new model that helps communities open cooperatively owned grocery stores faster and with lower startup costs, improving access to healthy food.
• National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) - Will expand its Learning Hub in Guatemala, providing training, tools, and partnerships that strengthen the cooperative ecosystem.
• UHAB - Will support a national coalition working to expand permanently affordable cooperative homeownership through greater access to housing finance resources.

We’re proud to support organizations creating lasting impact and building a stronger cooperative business community.

Reach out to any member of the CDF team to share your news and ideas, ask questions, or explore ways to partner.

Or connect with us on the road this next quarter.

• In July, we’ll attend the 2^nd Annual Minnesota Cooperative Summit in Duluth, MN and the 75^th ACE Institute in Minneapolis, MN;
• In August, we’ll visit Alabama for the Federation of Southern Cooperative's 59th Annual Meeting;
• And in September, we’ll head to Boston for the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives bi-annual Worker Co-op Conference.

Looking ahead to October, we encourage you to:

• Take advantage of early bird registration for the NCBA’s annual IMPACT Conference October 7-8 in Washington, DC
• Reserve your seat for CDF’s Hall of Fame on October 8 in Washington, DC
• Register for the National Home Care Cooperative Conference, which for the first time will be held in Tacoma, WA (October 19-21)
• Register for the International Masterclass for Transformative Cooperative Leadership hosted by the International Centre for Co-operative Management at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (October 26 – 30)

CDF is here to build the capacity of the cooperative business community. We look forward to partnering with you. For regular updates on CDF grant opportunities and other news, follow us on social media.