Cooperative Development Foundation

03/10/2021

A leader in the Rural Electric Management Development Council, Barbara Deverick made lasting contributions to cooperative management, development and planning. From her home base at the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation in North Carolina, she provided leadership for local, national and international cooperative organizations.

Barbara was the 5th woman inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame and the first from the rural electric sector. #WomensHistoryMonth #coops4women

03/08/2021

Ever wonder about the history behind National Co-op Month? The 4th woman inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame, Beryle E. Stanton, guided Co-op Month from its inception in 1964 to prominence as a national event. She served as the national coordinator for National Co-op Month because she truly believed in the concept of a nationally celebrated observance that allowed U.S. cooperatives of all types to join hands and observe their commonality as people's institutions.

Beryle began her professional career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1938. Later, she became editor of a monthly magazine called News for Farmer Cooperatives and continued in that role until her retirement.

This #internationalwomensday we thank Beryle and the women before and after her who have made and continue to make indelible impact in the co-op community. #coops4women #WomensHistoryMonth

03/05/2021

In 1985, Florence Parker became the third woman inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. The author of The First 125 Years: A History of Distributive and Service Cooperation, Florence was also the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics first full-time cooperative specialist. There she developed a reporting system for cooperative statistics.

She never missed a Cooperative League Congress from 1920 to 1956, and she wrote two books based on her observations. Never idle in retirement, Florence continued her active concern for consumer co-ops and co-op development until her last days. #WomensHistoryMonth #coops4women

03/04/2021

There's only one month left to form a team and register for the Co-op 5k! This is your co-op's chance to out run, out spirit and out fundraise our reigning champs. Learn more at cdf.coop/co-op-5k.

03/03/2021

In 1983, Louise McCarren Herring became the second woman inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame four years after Mary Arnold.

Louise was a true cooperative pioneer having personally organized over 500 credit unions in Ohio. She is known to the U.S. credit union movement as the “Mother of Credit Unions” and was the founder and first managing director of the Ohio Credit Union League.

In August of 1934, Louise went on a trip of a lifetime to serve as a delegate to a conference in Estes Park, CO where the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) was incorporated. Later, Louise would represent Ohio on the new CUNA board of directors. #WomensHistoryMonth #coops4women

03/02/2021

That's a wrap for the 5th Annual National Home Care Cooperative Conference. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their experiences last week. Raffle winners and home care co-ops that completed the benchmarking survey will be receiving packages soon. Save the date for the next conference on February 23 - 25, 2022. See you in Virginia!

03/01/2021

This #WomensHistoryMonth we're celebrating #sheros that have been inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame.

Prior to the 1950s, few women had attained executive leadership positions in cooperatives. One who did was Mary E. Arnold, founder and general manager of Consumers Cooperative Services in New York City. She was a driving force in the organization of Eastern Cooperatives, and was a director of this regional cooperative on two occasions. The cooperatives Arnold helped organize ranged from housing and food enterprises to fishing cooperatives and credit unions.

Inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 1976, Mary Arnold was a part of the first class of Hall of Fame inductees and the very first woman inducted.

02/26/2021

Do you have a competitive side? The time to beat at this year's Co-op 5k is 18 minutes and 25 seconds belonging to our reigning champ from team CoBank: Growing Rural America. Register today at cdf.coop/co-op-5k.

02/25/2021

As director of the CLUSA India office, Cooperative Hall of Famer Dr. Allie Felder Jr. helped strengthen and develop countless co-ops and programs involving supervised credit, hybrid seed production and distribution, co-op education, milk marketing, and oil-seed processing. He recruited NRECA to help start 5 rural electric co-ops electrifying thousands of Indian Villages. Felder also secured soybean oil for the National Dairy Development Board of India to establish the oilseeds growers co-op project and developed a dairy co-op to provide low-cost, high quality milk to populated areas. He helped the National Cooperative Union of India develop new training methods and materials. In honor of this work, the Prime Minister of India recognized Felder with a certificate of honor from the National Cooperative Union of India.

The continued success of the Indian cooperative movement is a testament to Allie's historic, foundational work. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/24/2021

Food cooperative general managers looking to up their game can now apply for a grant for leadership coaching services thanks to a program established by friends and colleagues of Cooperative Hall of Fame member Bill Gessner. The annual “Bill Gessner GM Coaching Award” celebrates the life and career of Bill Gessner, who worked with more than 300 co-ops over 25 years as both a consultant and mentor.

02/23/2021

BriarPatch Food Co-op blew the competition away at last year's Co-op 5k with their team spirit. This year is your co-op's chance to out spirit them. Any takers? Register at cdf.coop/co-op-5k.

02/22/2021

Cooperative Hall of Famer, Father Albert J. McKnight, a Catholic priest, organized and led a peaceful economic revolution among low-income families in the rural South by promoting the power of cooperatives.

In May 1968, Ebony Magazine published "The Quiet Revolution of a Parish Priest" that captures the dedication and urgency of Father McKnight's work to create an inclusive economy through cooperative development:

"As his co-op task force eagerly recruits farmers in hundreds of communities, and as the products from successful co-ops move toward big city markets, Father McKnight looms as one of the most important leaders of the South - Not only in the realm of economics, but also as a political force. While he has captivated his farming flock with financial projects, he also has inspired them to seek other means of helping themselves - primarily by using the ballot. The results of his urging has been scores of (African Americans) running for office for the first time and a new thrust toward organizing voter leagues and voter registration campaigns. This, too, is part of his greater objective, for the quiet cleric insists: 'There is a close connection between economic control and political participation, for those who control the financial processes of a region also control the politics. The poor in acquiring economic prestige, acquire a greater voice in politics and a freer rein to exercise their civil rights."

The Ebony Magazine article on Dr. McKnight reminds us of the economic hardships and overt racism faced by rural southern Blacks. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/19/2021

Food + Justice = Democracy: LaDonna Redmond at TEDxManhattan 2013

When LaDonna Sanders-Redmond’s son developed food allergies at a young age, organically grown food wasn’t available in her neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. This set her on a path to become an avid food activist. Watch her TEDx talk, Food + Justice = Democracy at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydZfSuz-Hu8 #BlackHistoryMonth

LaDonna Redmond is the founder and executive director of The Campaign for Food Justice Now. Previously, she was part of the Institute for Agriculture and Tr...

02/19/2021

Deserving caregivers will have an opportunity to win raffle items next week at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference. Thank you Pachamama Coffee for your commitment to supporting frontline workers! Caregivers should make sure to register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/19/2021

Posted @withregram • @federationofsoutherncoop We want you to Join us this month in highlighting black families and leaders, their legacy, contributions, and historical moments in cooperative economics history! We have a few highlight events to close out this year's black history month.

Our Bridging Art & Farming Digital Exhibition is Opening! We are sharing beautiful photos from our archival collections, celebrating Five Decades of Black Family Farmers, Landowners, and Cooperatives! This exhibit will expand over many years to come.

We are excited to feature a collection of one of our cooperatives, #FreedomQuiltingBee Legacy, as they quilted their way to economic empowerment!

#TheMillennialExchangeSeries Webinars are back! Hear from some of the first Federation families to live on our land in Epes, AL and their journeys to save black land and economic freedom!
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#FreedomQuiltingBee legacy was featured on @goodmorningamerica yesterday. This is a rich history of economic empowerment! link in bio to check it out!
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Links in bio!

02/19/2021

Learn how to turn prospects into clients, clients into happy clients, and happy clients into 5 star reviews with Colleen at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference on February 25. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/18/2021

We're gearing up for next week's National Home Care Cooperative Conference. Thank you to Cabot Creamery Co-operative for providing gift boxes filled with the world's best cheddar to raffle off to deserving caregivers!

02/18/2021

Evan and Miriam will be sharing five key metrics that will help any home care agency to operate more efficiently and achieve long-term growth at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/17/2021

Last year, LaDonna Sanders Redmond and Columinate offered the Abolitionists Challenge as a movement for cooperators interested in understanding how they can commit to eliminating white supremacy in cooperative spaces and in the broader community. A second session of the challenge is underway and builds on the foundational elements learned in 2020. Join the challenge today by registering at https://columinate.coop/events/abolitionists/. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/17/2021

CDF is gearing up for the Home Care Conference next week and we spent the morning putting together gift boxes to raffle off to very deserving caregivers. Co-ops that completed the 2020 Home Care Benchmarking survey will also be receiving care packages from us. A huge thank you to Equal Exchange for making this possible!

02/17/2021

Launched in 2015 by the New Mexico Caregivers Coalition (NMCC), Heart is Home Home Care Cooperative reached financial sustainability in Spring 2020 and transitioned to independence in the summer. Join Sabrina and Dana as they tell their story of incubation to independence at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference on February 24. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/16/2021

An intercultural development consultant with Columinate, LaDonna Sanders Redmond is a powerful voice in the co-op community who carries a message of justice and inclusion worldwide. She is an award-winning speaker, innovator and activist who has worked on several public health issues throughout her career including substance abuse, violence and food justice. Listen to Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg as LaDonna talks about the role of co-ops in the food system and ways that art can address injustice faced in the food system. foodtank.com/news/2020/05/ladonna-sanders-redmond-on-the-importance-of-co-ops/
Follow along this week to learn more about her. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/16/2021

These CROPP Cooperative runners kicked off Co-op Month 2020 by participating in the Co-op 5k. Where will you be running your Co-op 5k this year? Registration is now open for the 2021 virtual Co-op 5k. Register at cdf.coop/co-op-5k.

02/16/2021

Specific challenges and opportunities face immigrants who are creating democratic social enterprises in the home care industry. Join us for a panel discussion that will tackle home care cooperatives for immigrants and how understanding this trend in the cooperative movement is important. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/15/2021

The ICA Group

Today we celebrate the resilient caregivers at Home Care Associates in Philadelphia. Over the past year, this remarkable team of caregivers has moved through the challenges of the pandemic with compassion and care. Providing care to others is a choice. And caregivers who continue to choose care work every day, during the most difficult times, are nothing short of remarkable. HCA has 6 caregivers who have been with the co-op for 20+ years, 18 caregivers who have provided care for 10-19 years, and 26 caregivers who have supported HCA for 5-9 years. Thanks HCA, for reminding us that we are always stronger together.

02/12/2021

No longer a co-op, the ownership of Dunbar apartments changed hands multiple times in the last 100 years. In the 1970s, Dunbar apartments became a New York City landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more about Dunbar apartments, the first large co-op aimed at providing affordable housing for African Americans, by reading Affordable Housing in New York. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/12/2021

Cooperative developer and Hall of Fame member Melbah Smith says resilient cooperatives require “like- minded people, having the same needs and same concerns, and going in the same direction.” Join Melbah at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference as she focuses on how cooperatives can maintain that shared vision as they adjust to changing members and business climates. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/11/2021

Registration is now open for this year's virtual Co-op 5k! This is a weeklong event from April 25 - May 1. This is your co-op's chance to out run, out spirit and out fundraise last year's winners, CoBank, BriarPatch Food Co-op and National Cooperative Bank. Register today at cdf.coop/co-op-5k.

02/11/2021

In 1931 the Dunbar Housewives' League was established and by the late 1930s became a powerful tenant's league. The League sponsored Harlem's Own Co-operative Inc., a consumer co-op for at-cost sale of dairy. Harry F.V. Edward, general manager at Harlem's Own Co-operative, invited W.E.B. DuBois to join the co-op and benefit from its services. Read that letter from 1937 at https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b082-i266. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/11/2021

The home care industry faces a growing caregiver shortage. Because many caregivers are 49 or over, agencies are working to attract and keep millennial caregivers. Join Nora as she speaks about her experience as a millennial caregiver at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/10/2021

W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Bojangles (Bill Robinson), Noah D. Thompson, and A. Philip Randolph were among the notable Black tenants that resided at Dunbar apartments. Retail tenants of Dunbar included a Madam C.J. Walker salon and the Dunbar National Bank that was set up by Rockefeller to serve and employ African Americans. However, like many co-ops during the Great Depression, Dunbar apartments didn't survive. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/10/2021

Learn how to build your brand story, win more customers and recruit more caregivers, without falling into the pit of wasted time and money. David Mills and Amy Alexander from Story Collaborative will cover what you should and should not be posting and how to use social media ads wisely at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference on February 25. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.

02/09/2021

Tenants at the Dunbar apartments were required to pay a down payment of $50 per room and $14.50 per month per room to cover taxes, maintenance, and utilities. In spite of concerns that management from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who funded the Dunbar apartments, was autocratic, Dunbar was an important center of Black life that attracted many well-known tenants during a time when racial discrimination in housing provided African Americans with few options for good quality housing. #BlackHistoryMonth

02/09/2021

Home care worker cooperative members have been battered by the relentless onslaught of an ongoing global pandemic and political turmoil that has wreaked havoc on every part of our lives, most especially our own health and wellbeing. With a decolonizing lens and holistic framework, join as at the National Home Care Cooperative Conference on February 23 as we reflect on the importance and impacts of caring for ourselves. Register today at cdf.coop/registration-scholarships.