Working to unite, promote and strengthen
cooperative businesses across Montana
MCDC has a new Website!
Check it out
Like the looks of our new website?! MCOC's is next to get a revamp; starting Spring 2020.

As outlined on our new website we now have IT and website services for cooperatives and economic development type organizations now available. Call Donnie today (727-1517) to see how we at MCDC can help.
SAVE THE DATE!

Montana Cooperative Summit
April 7th-9th, 2020
Hampton Inn, Great Falls Montana

The Montana Cooperative Development Center in partnership with Montana Farmers Union and Lake County Development Corporation will host the Montana Cooperative Summit on April 7th -9th.

This exciting summit has been redesigned to better serve Montana and the Cooperative Community within the State. With a track dedicated to exisiting cooperative leadership and management teams which include: social media for attracting the next generation, tax laws updates, communicating with public officials, and more. The Summit will provide exisiting cooperative board members, managers, and staff to gain valuable training to better serve their cooperatives and communities.

A second track is dedicated to educating community leaders, economic developers, and those interested in pursuing cooperatives. With sessions dealing with state-wide issues of housing, workforce, childcare, value added agriculture production, and more, this year's summit will showcase how the Coopertive Business model can be utilized to meet your community needs.

This year we are also pleased to announce, we will be working with Montana Farmers Union to host an afternoon session (Wednesday April 8th) for the youth to be part of this Summit.

Mark you calendars for April 7th thru 9th to join us in Great Falls, Montana. Follow our website www.mcdc.coop for more information. Registration and full agenda will be released soon!
COOPERATIVES ARE BUILDING THE ‘BACKBONE’ OF RURAL MONTANA’S NEW FIBER NETWORK
When Choteau City Councilman Steve Dogiakos first started pressing his community to go to fiber, he said he met some initial resistance. “A lot of people pushed back and asked me, well, we’re Choteau, we’re rural, what do you expect?” He didn’t give in and joined other community leaders to work with their local telecommunications cooperative to lay fiber in Choteau.   

To read the full story, ( CLICK HERE ) .
MONTANA COUNCIL of COOPERATVES'
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUPPLY
Co-Op Supply (Dillon) and Gallatin Farmers Company (Belgrade) merged in 1999 to form Rocky Mountain Supply; a farm, ranch, and consumer supply cooperative that has since expanded to serve a growing number of different kinds of members living and working in several communities across southwest Montana.  

To read more about this month's featured Council member (CLICK HERE).
MONTANA COUNCIL OF COOPERTIVES ANNUAL MEETING

A RECAP FOR YOUR REVIEW
The 60 th Annual Meeting of the Montana Council of Cooperatives was held on January 15 th and 16 th , 2020, in Great Falls, Montana.  Though the air was brisk outside, over 40 participates across Montana braved the weather and gathered to talk about Cooperatives.  Presentations by many of our State and Federal agencies and partners lead to conversations and networking.  A fun night of Cooperative Trivia created much laughter and camaraderie.  A special thank you to Star Radio and Northern Broadcasting’s Voices of Montana for live broadcasting and discussing cooperatives in Montana directly with those in the known.  It was a jammed pack two days of networking and learning.  

Click Here to see all of the presentations from the event and make plans to join us on January 11 – 13, 2021, in Helena, Montana, for the 2021 Annual Meeting. 
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AND A BIT MORE INFORMATION TO SHARE:
Please join MCDC in promoting and educating our Montana Communities on the importance of cooperatives in our State. MCDC is rolling out a new online Cooperative 101 curriculum that is focused on High School students. The goal of this program is to showcase the cooperative business model while also sharing the stories and impacts of our Montana Cooperatives.  

As education is a core principle of our cooperatives, we ask that each Montana Cooperative support us in our new outreach efforts with a pledge of 5 % of your 5 % reserve for education purposes.  The Cooperative 101 is an online training offered to teachers and students complimentary to their current CTE curriculum; and at no charge to the schools.  

Future goals are to utilize this program in youth education camps, outreach to college age students and organizations, and evidentually open to general public.

Sign up today to support the educational outreach programs at https://mcdc.coop
Planning Ahead


MCDC and MCOC will be out and about this year. If your cooperative is having a meeting and you would like us to be engaged call today as our calendar is getting full!

And while we have you here are a few dates to keep in mind:

April 7th-9th : Montana Cooperative Summit, Great Falls

April 27th-May 1st : MCDC is particpating in Give Great Falls/Give Montana (stay tuned and follow our facebook page for more details).

May 13th-15th : Montana Credit Unions, Billings Montana

May 21st-22nd : Opportunity Zone training in Billings

May 27th-29th : Montana Economic Developers Assocaition in Kalispell

June 15th-17th : Montana Housing Conference in Helena

July 19th-23rd : Pacific Northwest Economic Region meetings in Big Sky

October 202 0: Celebrate Co-Op Month

Oct. 12th : Raise a Pint for Coopertives at Mighty Mo in Great Falls

Oct. 29th : Annual Open House for MCDC and MCOC in Great Falls

For more great events in Montana make sure to follow: https://matr.net/events/
If you would like us to post your upcoming co-op events in the Cooperative Update send event information to: tracy@mcdc.coop