THE COOPERATIVE FUND
We are excited to open our next round of CoFUND, our regranting program, aimed to support and build the collective resilience of food and land-justice based cooperatives.
At CoFED, we envision transforming the current food system that has roots in genocide and theft, into one that is guided by collective liberation, radical reimagination, and healing of our relationships with each other and the land.
The following three sections outline the Grant Details (Section 1), the Eligibility Requirements (Section 2), and the Application Requirements (Section 3).
Through this fund, CoFED will re-grant funding to cooperatives and farmer-based organizations that are building and working to transform the food system. This cycle of funding will focus on projects that center regenerative agriculture, land access/retention and cooperatives working primarily on agricultural projects.
Section 1. The Grant Details
The purpose of this grant is to support co-ops and small farmers in the day-to-day operations to aid in the development of their organization. We encourage legally established cooperatives and other business entities at all stages (from start-up to scale-up) to apply! Please see our eligibility and Frequently Asked Questions for more information. If your questions are not answered there, reach out to grants@cofed.org and we will do our best to respond.
This cycle of funding will focus on projects that center regenerative agriculture, land access/retention and cooperatives working primarily on agricultural related projects. Please be clear about your project goals and timeline for completion.
The grantee will receive $10,000.00. In addition to grant funding, grantees will also have access to 12 months of technical assistance in business management, financial and operational skills, and communications support.
CoFED’s, CoFUND Selection Committee, will select the grant recipients based on meeting the qualifications (as set out in Section 2) and on the ability of the applicant to communicate how the funds will be used. Selected applicants will sign a participation agreement that includes the grant agreement and reporting requirements, and commits the selected applicant to participate in and complete an educational webinar (or other format, to be confirmed) that offers education and insights to other co-ops. CoFED will implement site visits for each grantee. We will coordinate with each organization.
Section 2. Eligibility:
To be eligible to apply for the grant, organizations must:
- Be a legal US based entity or fiscally sponsored by a legal US based entity.
- Submit the complete application (Section 3) by the deadline (March 31, 2025 by 11:59pm PST).
- Applicants must submit a W-9 with their application to be considered for funding. All grants distributed by CoFED will be reported to the Internal Revenue Services, per US reporting requirements.
Section 3. Application
Click the link below to submit an application.
No, you must be an existing entity, with an active EIN in the United States.
You must be applying on behalf of a legal US Based organization.
As long as you are legally registered in your state, you are eligible to apply. We understand that all organizations cannot file as cooperatives. However, we ask that applicants have a cooperative approach or are working to assist cooperatives.
- March 31: Applications are due
- April 1 – April 5: Applications are reviewed for qualification by CoFED
- April 6-April 30: Applications are reviewed by selection committee
Applications will be reviewed and scored as follows:
- 1 – applicant clearly and concisely articulates use of grant funds.
- 2 – applicant somewhat articulates use of grant funds.
- 3 – applicant is not clear about how they will use the grant funds.
- We anticipate selecting at least ten (10) organizations. Each organization will be notified by CoFED via email that they are ‘grantees’.
- Grantees must sign the participation agreement; and provide financial details to CoFED (banking and W9) within 2 weeks from notifying the grantees or the grant may be forfeited.
- Grantees will receive two payments totaling $10,000.00 for the total grant amount. The initial payment will be for 90% of the funds and the final payment will be disbursed upon the completion of the final report and webinar.
- Grantee will meet additional deliverables outlined in the Participation Agreement
All applications submitted by the deadline of March 31 will be reviewed for selection. If you are selected to receive a grant, you will be notified as soon as possible. Once all grantees have been selected and awarded the grant, CoFED will send out a communication to notify all applicants of the grant selection status. We will endeavor to notify all applicants of their status by May 31, 2025.
Yes! We welcome your reapplication.
