Cooperative Development Services (CDS) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

engaged in

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

development in the United States. CDS works primarily with

food cooperative A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a private or public company. Food cooperatives are usually consumer cooperatives, where the decisions regarding the production and distribution o ...

s and senior

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...

s, providing consultation services and co-sponsoring conferences and programs for board members, managers and other professionals in the cooperative sector. CDS has staff in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

and

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

and is run by a 12-member board of directors.

History

Cooperative Development Services was founded in 1985 by Rod Nilsestuen.

Programs

Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) is a program providing support to the boards of food cooperatives. CBLD works with cooperatives to help define the role that Boards play in relation to staff.

Policy Governance Policy Governance, informally known as the Carver model, is a system for organizational governance. Policy Governance defines and guides appropriate relationships between an organization's owners (also with non-legal 'moral owners'), board of direct ...

: A complete system of board leadership that is proactive, future-based and clearly differentiates between governance and management responsibilities. It empowers management while assuring accountability of performance.

Forestry cooperatives

Cooperative Development Services assists in the development of sustainable forestry cooperatives and associations. Since 1998, CDS has been involved in the formation of 25 forestry cooperatives. CDS has received nearly $1 million in grant assistance from the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

's rural cooperative development grants program. CDS is a founding partner in WoodWorks, a network of organizations that provide services to forestry cooperatives.

Food Co-op 500

Food Co-op 500 is a program to increase the number of

s in the United States to 500 by 2015. As of 2009, there were approximately 300 food cooperatives in operation. The program is supported by CDS along with the

National Cooperative Grocers Association National Co+op Grocers (NCG) is a business services cooperative for retail cooperative grocery stores located throughout the United States. NCG offers franchise-like services to food co-ops that help businesses optimize operational and marketing ...

and the

National Cooperative Bank The National Cooperative Bank is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered cooperative bank in the United States created by the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act of 1978 (Pub.L. 95-351). National Cooperative offers banking products a ...

. CDS offers free outlines detailing the seven steps in forming a cooperative.Dresang, Joel
Co-ops give power to the customers.
''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

.'' 16 August 1996.

Renewable energy

CDS assists organizations with founding businesses and funding projects in the renewable energy industry. CDS has helped organizations with projects involving

biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...

and

wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...

Value-added agriculture

CDS works with agricultural and livestock businesses to create revenue through value-added products. The organization assists businesses in obtaining grants such as the Value-Added Producer Grants available through the USDA.

References

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External links

Official website.CDS Consulting Co-op website
1985 establishments in the United States Cooperatives in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Wisconsin Non-profit organizations based in Minnesota Organizations established in 1985