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Cooperative Development Assistance -
Cooperative Services provide a wide range of assistance for people interested in forming cooperatives. This help can range from an initial feasibility study to the creation and implementation of a business plan. Staff assistance can be provided by cooperative development specialists who do everything from identifying potential cooperative functions through the development of bylaws. They also can provide training for cooperative directors.
Technical Assistance -
Technical assistance is provided to existing cooperatives facing specific problems or challenges. Technical assistance could include helping a cooperative develop a strategic marketing plan to cope with new competitive forces, helping a co-op make a crucial decision whether to merge or form a joint venture with other cooperatives, or finding a way to turn raw materials produced by cooperative members into value added products.
Research, Education, and Information -
Cooperative Services conducts research to provide a knowledge base to help cooperatives deal with changing markets and business trends.
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Studies include financial, structural, managerial, policy, member governance, legal and social issues. Cooperative Services also maintains a storehouse of information about cooperatives that is available to the public. This storehouse includes more than l50 research reports, educational publications and videos.
Rural Cooperative Development Grants (RCDG) -
This grant program is used to facilitate the creation or retention of jobs in rural areas through the development of new rural cooperatives, value-added processing and rural businesses. Grants may be made to nonprofit corporations and institutions of higher education to pay up to 75 percent of the costs for establishing and operating centers for rural cooperative development. Grant funds may be used to assist individuals, cooperatives, small businesses and other similar entities in rural areas for the following purposes: applied research and feasibility studies, technical assistance, training and micro-lending. Besides the technical and educational assistance provided through Cooperative Services, financial assistance can be provided to assist cooperatives in establishing and/or expanding operations through the business loan and grant programs offered by USDA Rural Development.
Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG)
Grants may be used for planning activities
and for working capital for marketing value-added agricultural products and
for farm-based renewable energy. Eligible applicants are independent
producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, agricultural producer groups, and
majority-controlled producer-based business ventures.
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