Renewable Energy

We promote renewable-resource co-op businesses. The development of cooperatively owned renewable energy systems has been one of the Center’s primary goals.

Sample Projects
Last Mile Electric Co-op: Helped organize stakeholders, provide board development, and assisted with HR for initial manager and administration support.
Olympia BioFuels: Provided general business training and conducted a feasibility study.
Our Wind Co-op: NWCDC researched the feasibility of on-farm small turbines and sale of Green Tags.

Housing

NWCDC supports the development of co-op housing that empowers residents to collectively take control of their housing future. We help residents with ongoing technical assistance in the management and governance of their co-ops. We provide technical assistance and training for manufactured home communities (MHC) converting to resident-owned co-ops. We are a Certified Technical Assistance Provider in the ROC USA™ Network. For more info on our MHC co-op program, click here.

Sample Projects
Hidden Village MHC: Partnering with Columbia Legal Services, and RCAC we assisted the homeowners to establish a co-op to successfully purchase and run their community. Currently assisting the newly formed resident owned co-op strengthen their internal systems. Read about them here.
Green Pastures Senior MHC: Provided assistance in organization structure and governance training to residents as they transition to limited equity co-op ownership. Read about them here.

Community Grocery

NWCDC has a commitment to promoting the proliferation of rural consumer-owned natural food and grocery co-ops. Supporting local and sustainable food systems via the cooperative business model is a cornerstone of NWCDC.

Sample Projects
Mountain Community Co-op: requested NWCDC help regarding organizational and operational advising during their start-up phase. Now they own their storefront with >270 members, we're assisting them to author a business plan and facilitate a strategic planning process.
Vancouver Food Co-op: Conducted market feasibility study
Baker Food Co-op: Experiencing historic growth in recent years. We have provided leadership training, assisted in addressing complex industry issues, and are developing financial proformas for expansion.
Grow Your Own Workshops: We offered a three-part workshop series over six months focused on all the key steps in forming a consumer-owned food co-op.

Marketing

Marketing cooperatively offers an established means for individual producers to reach consumers. By combining inventories and buying power, producers are able to access markets not available to individual producer’s, decrease individual risk, and increasing the number of possible markets.

Sample Projects
Cascading Thread Quilt Boutique: We supported marketing strategies of a custom quilting and sewn art co-op based in rural Oregon
Oregon Woodland Co-op:Through facilitation of business planning and board training, the Center increased the co-op's vitality and member stewardship.
Lost River Valleys Marketing Co-op: We developed a marketing plan and a cost analysis, provided input on potential site selections and conducted strategic planning sessions. Entrepreneurs who produce a broad variety products ranging from ceramics to paintings to bead and quill work who market through seasonal events, the internet, and other retail outlets.
Island Grown Farmer’ Co-op: Developing training materials for slaughter and fabrication and assessing the market for meat cutting education for culinary students.

Worker Cooperatives

NWCDC supports the growth and development of businesses owned and democratically governed by the worker/owners. We work with both start ups and businesses wanting to transition to employee ownership.

Sample Projects
Paradise Home Care: A worker-owned co-op formed to provide consistent quality care, worker benefits, and a steady workforce. Such a model fits the needs of the workers, who are otherwise often underpaid, and overworked. We assisted in the development of their business plan, organizational documents.
Circle of Life: We assisted with market analysis, strategic planning and a business and finance plan. We also assisted with bylaws, and business plan development, and provided board training.

General

We work to further the body of thought around co-ops and seek innovative approaches business deployment by researching and writing white papers and op-eds, etc. Additionally, we seek to advance the understanding of co-op business development through workshops, an internship program and by creating training materials. Examples of our work can be found here.

Sample Projects
Harvesting NW BioEnergy Co-ops: Researched the role of co-op in the bioenergy sector and authored a report: Mapping the Route to a Cooperatively-Owned Future for Emerging Bioenergy Industries. The report examines the biodiesel, ethanol, biomass and digestion sectors through the opportunities for co-op ownership and the importance of ownership.
Heritage University: Elementary level co-op development classroom experiences taught by Heritage students.
Small Forest Landowners Workshops: A 3-part workshop series over six months focused on all the key steps in forming a forest landowner co-op.
Organization of Parent Education Programs: Reviewed a series of existing organizational bylaws and create a consistent legal template