Building Rural Jobs and Opportunities through Cooperative Business Development

Bringing CCCD’s 19 years as a cooperative development center serving rural communities, this project effectively uses cooperative strategies to improve economic conditions in rural areas through facilitating the creation and retention of jobs through the development of new cooperatives, value-added processing, the retention of rural businesses, and the preservation of rural housing. This proposal seeks funding in the amount of $220,662 and uses XXX in non-federal funds as match. CCCD is including projects from the Washington Center for Employee Ownership in the proposal. As letters document, we are also closely collaborating on a no-cost basis to create best practices and transferable strategies nationally, and in the following particular states: California, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana and Idaho. Activities and economic impacts are tied to tasks in the work plans and budget, including: Assisting farmers in cooperative aggregation, marketing, value-added processing, and operational strategies that expand opportunities, markets and value-added processing Expanding and retaining rural businesses and jobs through the development of a new worker cooperative and the transition of existing business(es) to worker ownership. Creating education and networking opportunities to promote best practices and transferable strategies by convening an agricultural cooperative conference and a multi-sectoral co-op conference. Preserve naturally occurring affordable rural housing critical to the labor force of local rural businesses through the conversion of manufactured home communities to resident ownership Responding to inquiries, delivering cooperative education and assistance, to promote best practices for using the model to address economic and service challenges in rural communities via our website, emails, and social media.