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We are thankful for cooperation

Happy Thanksgiving! This year we have a lot to be thankful for in regard to cooperation in the Northeast. Here are our top reasons for gratitude — what are yours? The Opportunity to Do Cooperative Development We love our work, and we love working with all of you. We get calls every week from people

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Contact Your Rep: National Cooperative Development Act

The National Cooperative Development Act has taken a big step. Congressman Fattah has written a letter to his Colleagues, asking them to become original co-sponsors of this important piece of legislation. In the letter, Congressman Fattah explains to his fellow Members of Congress some of the many benefits cooperative development has on communities: Advancing the

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United Nations launches the International Year of Cooperatives 2012

The United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives. Why? “Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.”Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General Or, as the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) puts it, it’s about human need, not human greed. The year launches

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Pamphlet: Cooperative Business Solutions for the Northeast U.S.

Cooperative Development Institute, working with Jane Livingston of Indivisible, Inc. and David Gerratt of DG Communications, has produced a beautiful 4-page pamphlet describing the benefits of cooperatives in retail food, workplaces, housing, credit, agriculture, fisheries, and shared utilities, with examples from throughout the Northeast. The pamphlets were printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper by Boston

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“Don’t Let ‘Em Go! How co-ops can keep vital businesses, services in rural communities”

In the current (Sept/Oct) issue of USDA’s Rural Cooperatives magazine, a salute to noteworthy co-ops in celebration of National (and International!) Cooperative Month includes an article by Noemi Giszpenc on converting existing businesses to co-op ownership in rural communities. The article features the Old Creamery Co-op, Crown O’Maine Organic Co-op, Turtle Ridge Cooperative, ROC USA,

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Join the Campaign for Cooperation

Exciting news in the co-op world! A bill will be introduced this Fall in the House of Representatives to fund co-op development in underserved communities. This is a wonderful opportunity to grow the cooperative economy, create quality jobs and stable businesses, and build wealth in low-income communities throughout the country – both rural and urban.

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Passion Makes Vision a Reality for Many Communities: 2011 Together on the Land Tour

Northampton, MA– The third annual Together on the Land Tour visited blighted urban properties being rehabilitated by the Holyoke Community Land Trust, a resident owned manufactured housing park in Ware, a successful co-housing development in Northampton, an organic farm in Granby tackling long-term farm affordability and green community-built housing in Amherst. What do these places

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The Campaign for Cooperation is On!

Fellow Cooperators, For nearly a year, cooperative business owners and developers have been working to develop awonderful piece of legislation that will support the growth of cooperative businesses in underserved communities throughout the country. For months, many of you have been hearing about this, but recently we’ve been particularly quiet. That’s because we’ve been hard

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