2nd Annual National Home Care Co-op Conference

Attendees of the 2nd Annual National Home Care Co-op Conference.

It was dubbed "The best room in America." Over 70 home care coop members and co-op developers met in Sterling, VA for a three day conference that included strategy sessions, sharing tactics and information, and training.

While worker co-ops in the U.S. are on the rise, only home care co-ops have begun to work together as an industry. Ten years ago, only three home care co-ops existed. Today, there are 11 with three more in development. These co-ops span the gamut from the 3,000 member Cooperative Home Care Agency in The Bronx to a four-member start-up in Vermont.

Caregivers discuss operational best practices

Washington leads the nation with three home care co-ops: Circle of Life in Bellingham, Peninsula Home Care in Port Townsend, and Capital Home Care in Olympia. NWCDC assisted all three co-ops and the center's presence was felt at the conference with Executive Director Diane Gasaway and development specialists Deborah Craig and John McNamara facilitating round-table discussions on technical assistance, start-ups, and operations.

Western Treasure Valley Truckers Update

Northwest Cooperative Development Center is taking a trip to Ontario, Oregon on December 2 ^nd -4 ^th for a visit with the Western Treasure Valley Truckers Cooperative. WTV Truckers Cooperative formed in 2016 to combine their strengths, obtain economies of scale, and create a network of mutual support in the short-haul freight industry. This trip will focus on strategies to boost membership, revisiting the business plan, strategies for hiring management and obtaining contracts, networking with stakeholders in the community, and fundraising. NWCDC and WTV Truckers Co-op have been building contacts with economic development groups in the Western Treasure Valley area of Oregon and Idaho. The team will spend a day meeting at the co-op office working through a full agenda, and spend a second day meeting with community leaders. Appointments are being scheduled with staff from the Small Business Center at WTC Community College, affiliates of the Snake River Economic Development Association, and regional lawmakers invested in economic growth in agriculture and distribution. 

Twisted Strait Fibers Wins Washington Coast Works Award

Twisted Strait Fibers, represented by Ann Rosecrants, received the Community Award with a prize of $10,000 in the 2017 Washington Coast Works competition. Washington Coast Works is a project of The Nature Conservancy and the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (NWCDC serves as CIE's fiscal sponsor).

PNW Fiber Web Co-op (dba Twisted Strait Fibers) Board of Directors: (l-r) Susan Kroll, Marcia Adams, Ann Rosecrants, Wendy Bond, and Leslie Hoex

The competition involved intensive training with the CIE with four months of support by CIE. Finalists presented their plans to an independent panel of experts who made the award decisions. Twisted Strait Fibers will be using the award to develop a commercial web site to promote and sell products produced by member fiber artists with wool sourced on the Olympic Peninsula. Twisted Straits seeks to set-up and operate a full-service animal fiber mill on the Olympic Peninsula by the end of 2018.

ROC USA's Paul Bradley Admitted to Co-op Hall of Fame

Paul Bradley, Founding President of ROC USA

The 2018 cohort of the Cooperative Development Foundation's Co-operative Hall of Fame includes Paul Bradley , founding President of ROC USA . NWCDC supported the nomination put forward by ROC USA's Communications Director Mike Bullard and Prosperity Now's President Andrea Levere . The honor recognizes Paul's life-long commitment to community ownership starting shortly after graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1988. Paul found ROC USA in 2008 and NWCDC joined in 2009 as the second wave of organizations to help build Resident Owned Communities.

The 2018 Hall of Fame cohort also includes two distinguished co-op developers, Rosemary Mahoney and Marilyn Scholl , along with a credit union leader, Rudy Hanley .

NWCDC Receives $375,000 in USDA Grants for 2018

The US Department of Agriculture awarded two grants to NWCDC for the coming year. The $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development Grant will provide support for a number of projects and activities throughout the rural communities of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The $175,000 Socially Disadvantaged Group Grant provides support to a number of projects led by women, First Nations Tribes, and people of color. Some of these projects include continued support for the PNW Fiber Web, the WTV Truckers Co-op, Homecare development, and work with tribal communities on a number of projects. NWCDC thanks all of the people who wrote letters of support and continue to support the work of NWCDC. Co-operative development helps communities build resiliency through the values of mutual self-help and self-responsibility.

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