Help Co-op Development in Washington

Before Covid-19 hit the State of Washington with all its fury, there was already a tidal change happening in the economy. Thousands of small business owners are reaching retirement making this era the greatest generational transition of equity ever recorded. However, it is estimated that only 20% of existing small businesses will transfer to a new generation of ownership. That is why the Northwest Cooperative Development Center started its Legacy Project last year. It is our goal to help existing businesses continue to serve their communities by helping the employees take over ownership when the current owner is ready to retire.

Since 2018, NWCDC helped the employees of seven Washington businesses buy their companies and are currently working with several new conversion projects. In addition, to our Legacy Project, NWCDC also provides support for new co-ops and existing co-ops. At any given moment NWCDC supports up to 60 different co-op projects and offers advice and training to people starting to explore the co-op model.

The effect of the pandemic has made this effort even more important. All businesses are essential to the people who depend on them for their livelihood. The economic effect of the pandemic may become a deciding factor accelerating the decision to retire for many small business owners. We want to keep these businesses functioning in their communities and build a resilient cooperative economy.

We hope that you can join in support of our mission to foster community economic development through the cooperative model!

Give to our Give Big Drive

Donations to BigGiveWA begin on April 15th but the big day is May 6th. Visit our GiveBigWA page and make a donation. Alternatively, you, or your organization, can also create a match for donations. If you are interested in setting up a match, please contact John McNamara for assistance.

Create a Fundraiser Page

Create a “peer to peer” or fundraise page is simple and this guide provides a lot of tips!

All you need is the following:

1. A brief summary of while you believe in cooperatives and support cooperative development (and why you support NWCDC).
2. A Photo
3. A Campaign goal
4. It isn’t required, but a video that you can shoot with your camera or computer.

Then share your page on Social Media between April 15 and May 6th.

Share with your family, friends, and colleagues

People support causes when they know that people that they trust and respect support those causes. We hope that you can be our amabasor in your community.