In 2020, our Freedom and Justice for All working group changed its name to the Collective Liberation working group. It also grew to include 8 members of our staff and board. As 2021 dawns, we are placing Collective Liberation at the heart of our strategic planning. Everything we do flows from and leads to collective
Written by Noemi Giszpenc, executive director (Hat tip: N.K. Jemisin) Making a special time to celebrate Black History is an unfortunate symptom of living in a white supremacist society. That said, we ♥ Black History! There is so much to learn and be inspired by–and, of course, to be aware of as we make our
Scarcely a week into 2021, we have had to witness a violent attack on lawmakers in the Capitol. CDI cherishes democracy as a fundamental life-affirming principle. There is certainly much to criticize and contest within the system, and much change to demand and work toward, but causing people to fear for their safety is a
Congratulations to the Homestead Acres Co-op, Inc., which refinanced their cooperative on December 15th. Homestead Acres has been struggling for several years to find funding for several important infrastructure projects in their community –including an urgent replacement of their existing pump station. Though the cooperative had been interested in obtaining grants for these projects, grants
Written by Noemi Giszpenc, CDI’s executive director “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public” – Cornel West We are midway between Halloween and Thanksgiving, so it seems appropriate enough to say that we can be grateful for our fears. I hope that it is also a little jarring. Fear? Really? Is
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Doug Clopp, Director of Communications Cooperative Development Institute 1-207-318-2378 dclopp@cdi.coop Join us live streaming at 1pm: Cooperative Development Institute Facebook Page USDA Announces Three New Grant Awards Totaling $624,892 for the Cooperative Development Institute, Expanding Opportunity for Community Impact in Maine & Throughout Northeast LEWISTON, ME—October 22, 2020—The United States Department
Do you want to help workers build wealth through ownership and gain a sense of hope and control over their future? Do you want to help farmers, fishermen and other food producers build a sustainable, resilient, locally controlled food system? Do you want to help preserve and grow jobs, businesses, and quality food systems throughout
Picture an ideal world, functioning sublimely well. A problem arises–how does it get handled? Someone has an idea–what happens to it? There is a dispute between two people–how does it get resolved? Hopefully, your answer isn’t, “In an ideal world, I decide and people do things my way.” For one thing, that would be exhausting
Written By Noemi Giszpenc, CDI’s executive director There are a lot of different ways that oppression can look and show up in the world. This past Spring and Summer, the news has brought us face-to-face with pretty much all of them, from systemic and historic injustice priming communities of color to be most impacted by
Written by Eric Fleischmann With a horribly mismanaged epidemic, economic downturn, more and more cases of police brutality against POC, and a coming election that has left many young people disillusioned, this is quite a time to come of age as a politically minded young adult in the United States. Frankly, the whole thing is
