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RMFU Cooperative Development Center highlights importance of cooperativesColorado The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative Development Center is taking the occasion of National Cooperative Month, which is celebrated in October, to remind producers and consumers of the important role played by cooperatives in today's economy. There are more than 45,000 cooperative locations throughout the United States. Cooperatives provide more than 1.1 million jobs across the nation. According USDA Rural Development, co-ops had total sales of $146 billion in 2007, beating the previous record of 1996 by $20 billion. Co-ops can be found all over the economic map. Some recognized brands--Land O'Lakes, Ace Hardware, REI, Cenex, Sun-Maid Raisins, Ocean Spray, Sunkist and Blue Diamond Almonds--are cooperative businesses. Credit unions are cooperative banks with 86 million members and $668 billion in assets. There are more than 7,000 housing co-ops in the U.S., serving more than a million families. Rural electric associations are co-ops serving 37 million Americans; Colorado's Tri-State G&T Association is one of the five largest electric cooperatives. "Cooperatives are owned by members and committed to local communities. Service to and concern for community is a fundamental cooperative principle," said Ben Rainbolt, director of the RMFU Cooperative Development Center. "Cooperatives operate in nearly every industry, including agriculture, food retailing, consumer product retailing, childcare, energy, utilities, financial services, and health care," he added. The RMFU Cooperative Development Center was established in 1995 to help farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and other groups wishing to form cooperatives. "Over the years, the CDC has funded and helped organize a wide variety of cooperative endeavors, from farmers markets and groceries to producer co-ops that allow small business owners to compete with mega-corporations for volume discounts." The USDA Rural Development's Rural Cooperative Development Grant program and Rural Business Enterprise Grant program are major factors in the center's ability to assist with diverse cooperative projects and start-ups. In 2007, these programs provided $283,000 to the center for groups wishing to establish cooperatives, and in 2008 the USDA grants amounted to $272,000. The grant money is awarded on a competitive basis to help foster rural cooperative development and is part of an on-going relationship between RMFU and USDA. RMFU's Cooperative Development Center is one of two dozen entities receiving the maximum RCDG award, around $200,000, for 2008 and 2009. "The partnership between RMFU and USDA is very important, because it enables the RMFU Cooperative Development Center to offer expertise, legal assistance, and grants to those groups with viable business plans for cooperative structures," Jeff Moser, National Farmers Union director of economic and cooperative development, said. "Rural America continues to be challenged economically, and this relationship is a good way to offer an opportunity for rural communities to help themselves." "Successful cooperatives operate like traditional businesses. They are accountable to a board of directors, they must operate profitably, and they hire and compensate people based on their skills and training," said Rainbolt, "However, cooperative businesses differ from the corporate structure in that every member has a say, through his or her vote, in how the cooperative should operate. Every member also has a share in the profits. In 2007, the average return to a co-op member was about $200, more than paying for membership fees. And co-ops are creating jobs, income and opportunities in their communities every day." 10/20/08 Date: 10/15/08
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