Allied Network

We envision a democratically-owned and just food economy, but we know we can’t get there alone. The movement for economic democracy and food justice needs young, committed people, and young, committed people need the wisdom and guidance of our elders who are doing this work rooted in community. As a national organization, CoFED has had the privilege to connect with activist and cooperative developers from cities and towns across the country.

The following is just a sampling from different regions in the country where you may be able to volunteer, find expertise, and build community-power with! We hope to connect you to empowering work happening in your region. Contact us to find the right connection for you.

PACIFIC WEST COAST

Northwest Cooperative Development Center Olympia, Washington. Founded by cooperatives in 1979, the Center has grown into the Northwest’s leading provider of services for co-op business development in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Prospera Oakland, California. Prospera partners with low-income Latina women to build co-ops.

Mandela Foods Cooperative Oakland, California. A worker-owned grocery store in West Oakland.

Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) Oakland, California. Provides legal education, research, advice, and advocacy for just and resilient economies.

California Center for Cooperative Development Davis, California. Provides education, technical assistance, and specialized events for the development of cooperatives in California.

Lompoc Co-op Development Project Lompoc, California. Develops worker-owned cooperative businesses that create sustainable jobs and promote life-changing opportunities for unemployed and under-employed residents in Lompoc.

L.A. Coop Lab Los Angeles, California. The goal of the Los Angeles Co-Op Lab is to create a collaborative space where residents who are interested in learning about and starting a worker-owned business will have the opportunity to create, experiment with, and test ideas.

SOUTHWEST

Del Norte Credit Union Espanola, New Mexico. A not-for-profit financial cooperative, completely owned by their members, and dedicated to improving lives.

La Montanita Food Coop Albuquerque, New Mexico. Grocery cooperative serving 17,000 families, owning six stores!

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative + Economic Development Center Denver, Colorado. Builds a more just, healthy, thriving and inclusive economy through cooperative enterprises in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.

MIDWEST

Food Coop Initiative Minneapolis, Minnesota. FCI aims to increase the number, success and sustainability of new food cooperatives delivering access to healthy food.

Co-op Partners Warehouse Minneapolis, Minnesota. Co-op Partners is a certified organic wholesale distributor servicing retail stores, restaurants, educational institutions, and buying clubs in the Upper Midwest.

Wisconsin Farmers Union Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Committed to enhancing the quality of life for family farmers, rural communities, and all people through educational opportunities, cooperative endeavors, and civic engagement.

University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives Madison, Wisconsin. Increase understanding and encourage critical thinking about cooperatives by fostering scholarship and mutual learning among academics, the cooperative community, policy makers and the public.

Indiana Cooperative Development Center Indianapolis, Indiana. A nonprofit located in Indianapolis, our knowledgeable staff has aided the development and launch of cooperatives of all kinds.

Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative Cincinnati, Ohio. CUCI emerged from the historic partnership between Mondragon, the world’s most successful network of worker-cooperatives, and the United Steelworkers in October of 2009.

SOUTHEAST

Cooperation Texas Austin, Texas. Founded in October 2009 in response to growing economic inequality, Cooperation Texas is a worker cooperative development center.

Cooperation Jackson Jackson, Mississippi. Is the realization of a vision decades in the making, with roots from deep within the struggle for democratic rights, economic justice, self-determination, particularly for Afrikan people in the Deep South, and dignity for all workers.

Georgia Organics Atlanta, Georgia. Connects organic food from Georgia farms to Georgia families, with the belief that food should be community-based, not commodity-based.

Carolina Common Enterprise Durham, North Carolina. The specific objectives of our organization are to assist individuals and communities–particularly those in low-income and socially disadvantaged rural and urban areas–in the creation, expansion, and improvement of community-based enterprises with a focus on those that are cooperatively or mutually owned and governed.

MACED Berea, Kentucky. Create economic alternatives and strive to make Appalachian communities better places to live.

NORTHEAST

Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A co-op whose members are worker co-ops, food co-ops, housing co-ops, artist co-ops, credit unions, energy co-ops, and school co-ops in the Philadelphia region.

Center for Family Life Brooklyn, New York. The Center for Family Life’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) has been incubating worker cooperatives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for the past ten years.

Green Worker Cooperatives Bronx, New York. Dedicated to incubating worker-owned green businesses in order to build a strong local economy rooted in democracy and environmental justice.

Cooperative Development Institute Northampton, Massachusetts. Their mission is to work with people in the Northeast to create cooperative businesses and networks that grow a prosperous, equitable economy.