National Cooperative Business Association

Washington, DC – February 19, 2013 – Today, the National Cooperative Business Association announced a community development initiative that launches with a program to certify credit union staff as financial counselors, ready to protect their most vulnerable members from predatory lenders. The Community Development Certified Financial Counseling (CDCFC) program trains credit union staff to identify financial distress and work directly with members to prevent financial catastrophe. CU Strategic Planning created the CDCFC training, and NCBA is the certifying body for the program.

“Working people have been having a difficult time in this economy,” said NCBA President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Beall. “All cooperatives—especially credit unions—have a role to play in improving the lives of their members. Having a concern for the community is one of the core principles of cooperatives. Credit union staff members that participate in the CDCFC program will understand how best to support working people that are finding it hard to make ends meet. Without this type of support from the credit union, these people can fall victim to predatory lenders.”

The national member association representing cooperatives in the United States, NCBA provides to its members a variety of tools and resources to assist in strengthening and developing cooperatives. The community development initiative complements existing programs by providing practical tools, training, and capacity building that aid cooperatives in becoming more capable of participating and succeeding in community development work. 

Beall considers the CDCFC program a key component of NCBA’s community development efforts. “This tool is a great piece to help us get where we want to go domestically,” he said. “NCBA is working with cooperatives on developing community based, sustainable wealth-building strategies and increasing collaboration among cooperatives. The CDCFC program can involve credit unions in building community wealth and enable them to promote their financial products to complement established community-building efforts.” 

“Having the NCBA as a certifying agent for our CDCFC online training program is a boon for low-income communities nationwide to have the tools to build a solid foundation of financial stability – and ultimately wealth,” says CU Strategic Planning Founder and Instigator of Goodness Jamie Chase. “We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with NCBA to help each other assisting consumers gain a solid financial footing for their futures that ultimately transfers to more flourishing communities.” 

One credit union has recognized the value of the CDFC program as a way to assist members. Pelican State Credit Union ($200 million: 33,530 members; Baton Rouge, LA) CEO Jeff Conrad noticed that over the last five years the credit scores of Pelican’s members had dropped, sometimes leaving them ineligible for loans for which they formerly qualified. Conrad certified all of his staff through the CDFC program so that every staff member is empowered to help its members build wealth and improve their financial state. 

During an event to launch NCBA’s community development initiative on Feb. 26, 2013, Beall will recognize Pelican State Credit Union as the nation’s first financial institution to certify its entire staff through the CDCFC training program. 

About the National Cooperative Business Association

Founded in 1916, NCBA's mission is to develop, advance and protect cooperative businesses and to demonstrate the power of the cooperative business model to achieve economic and social impacts. As the apex organization representing the interests of the US cooperative community, NCBA’s portfolio includes programs and services that meet the shared advocacy, education and communications needs of a cross-sector US cooperative community that includes agriculture, child and home care, energy and telecommunications, insurance and financial services, food distribution, healthcare, housing, and wholesale and retail purchasing and distribution.  In addition to its work domestically, NCBA’s CLUSA International program has been engaged in cooperative and sustainable business development in over 100 countries for close to 60 years. The current CLUSA portfolio includes over 20 development projects in 15 countries.

About CU Strategic Planning

Headquartered in Tacoma, WA, with satellite offices in San Diego and Boston, CU Strategic Planning is the only strategic planning facilitator in the United States with the mission to help credit unions realize their potential through the International Credit Union Operating Principles. It is widely considered the #1 writer of credit union Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) grant applications. No firm serving credit unions writes and wins more CDFI awards than CU Strategic Planning. Its “Miracle Makers” have 100 percent success with CDFI certification.

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WASHINGTON, DC (February 6, 2013) –National Cooperative Business Association President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Beall commends President Obama for his choice of Sally Jewell as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Jewell is President and Chief Executive Officer of REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), the nation’s largest consumer cooperative.

“NCBA and its members are energized by President Obama’s selection,” said Beall. “Sally Jewell leads an extraordinary organization that represents the best of the cooperative business community, and we are pleased that she will now occupy a seat on the President’s Cabinet.  REI is an organization that is grounded in the core principles that are shared by all cooperatives that has made them a financially sustainable business that also is grounded in volunteerism, concern for community and democratic governance.  We have no doubt that her years of leadership at REI have prepared her well for this opportunity to for public service as the Secretary of the Interior.” 

With revenues of $1.8 billion and assets of $1.1 billion, REI ranks as the 27^th largest cooperative in the United States, according to the NCB Co-op 100 (www.coop100.coop).  REI’s 4.7 million members are among the more than 100 million Americans who participate as members of cooperatives.  More than 29,000 cooperatives operate in every sector of the US economy, generating 2 million jobs each year, contributing $652 billion in annual sales and possessing $3 trillion in assets. 

REI is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative, but there are cooperatives in virtually every sector of the economy.  “Whether it’s providing affordable housing through a housing cooperative, providing affordable financial services through a credit union, providing affordable and reliable utility services to rural residents, providing farmers and small businesses with access to markets, cooperative business enterprises are major players in the US economy.  We are proud that the President turned to the cooperative sector to select the newest member of his Cabinet,” Beall said. 

About National Cooperative Business Association (www.ncba.coop)
Founded in 1916, NCBA’s mission is to develop, advance and protect cooperative businesses and to demonstrate the power of the cooperative business model to achieve economic and social impacts. As the national organization representing the interests of US cooperatives, NCBA’s portfolio includes programs and services that meet the shared advocacy, education and communications needs of a cross-sector US cooperative community that includes agriculture, child and home care, energy and telecommunications, insurance and financial services, food distribution, healthcare, housing, and wholesale and retail purchasing and distribution.  In addition to its work domestically, NCBA’s CLUSA International program has been engaged in cooperative and sustainable business development in over 100 countries for close to 60 years.  The CLUSA portfolio includes over 20 development projects in 15 countries. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 14, 2012

Contact: John Torres
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(WASHINGTON, DC) – In Mozambique, the National Cooperative Business Association’s (NCBA) CLUSA International program has been awarded a five-year $14 million contract by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to bolster long-term food security in the country’s Central and Northern provinces of Zambezia, Tete, and Manica. The project is designed to boost agriculture production by 20% and increase household resilience by 30%, helping these small farmers progress from the subsistence level, to income generation.

“CLUSA International’s commitment to programmatic excellence is evident in the success of our projects worldwide. This award is a testament to the success of our team’s excellent leadership in creating long-term food security throughout the region,” stated Mike Beall, president of NCBA.

“We are excited to be partnering once again with the Norwegian government to assist vulnerable populations,” stated Wilson Beebe, Chair of NCBA’s board of directors. “CLUSA maintains a long institutional commitment to the success of the farmers in Mozambique.” Also partnering with CLUSA International on this five-year project are Tillers International and the Conservation Farming Unit (CFU).

This program will train 54,000 farmers and 50 emerging commercial farmers in proven Conservation Agriculture (CA) techniques and nutrition, benefitting more than 140,000 individuals. The practice of Conservation Agriculture is a method of farming that, when adhered to, achieves high and sustained production levels, while concurrently conserving the environment.

These environmentally friendly techniques promote strong resilience of the nutrients in the land being farmed. Once adopted by farmers, these techniques will increase current yields, which will increase incomes, improve soil fertility, reinforce crop rotation practices and ensure sustainability through the engagement of private sector service providers. The five-year implementation period will ensure a greater inculcation of the benefits that can be realized by adopting this technology.

“CLUSA’s holistic approach combines the benefits of Conservation Agriculture with a strong focus on organizing and strengthening smallholder farmers,” says Amy Coughenour, vice president for international development at NCBA. “By helping farmers organize, they have a stronger voice and more control over their destinies.”

An important aspect of this project is the integration of women in training and capacity building. A full 50% of targeted farmers will be women, who will benefit from the training in literacy and numeracy and assistance in land title acquisition and ownership.

As a whole, CLUSA’s projects in Mozambique include a strong, integrated gender component, utilizing its extensive expertise in creating conditions for empowering sustainable women’s participation in project activities. Providing farmers with the right tools, simple but specific agricultural guidelines, and a road map for gender empowerment, CLUSA International and its partners will contribute to the long-term, sustainable increase of food security and farmer incomes in Mozambique.

Since 1995, CLUSA International’s on-going agriculture, food security, and market development activities have benefitted over 100,000 small producers in five provinces in Northern and Central Mozambique. In 2006, CLUSA International assisted the Mozambican government in drafting a new association law that ensures the autonomy of associations and member-owned businesses. CLUSA International continues to work with the government to provide a voice for farmer owned enterprises.

Founded in 1916, CLUSA International is an international development organization with offices in 13 countries, providing sustainable community development in agriculture and food security, community-based healthcare, democracy and governance, and natural resource management.

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WASHINGTON, DC (December 3, 2012) – Today, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cooperative Business Association Michael Beall announced the Association’s support of the Credit Union Small Business Jobs bill (H.R. 1418 and S. 2231). NCBA is the US national association for cooperative business enterprise and represents cooperatives of all types and in all industries, including credit unions, which are financial cooperatives. 

Beall, acting on behalf of the more than 29,000 cooperative businesses in the United States, is sending letters of support for the bill to all members of Congress. In his letters, Beall advocated for support for this measure that can bolster America’s economy, put Americans back to work and give consumers more options. 

“As the former president of the Missouri Credit Union Association, I can assure you that if Credit Union Small Business Jobs bill becomes law, credit unions would strengthen our economy through their ability to lend to more small businesses,” said Beall in his letter.  “As financial cooperatives, credit unions offer fairly-priced, reliable credit that small businesses and consumers need.” 

The Credit Union Small Business Jobs bill will enable credit unions near the business lending cap to continue to serve small businesses.  If Congress passes this legislation, credit unions will be able to lend an additional $13 billion in the first year alone, helping small business create 140,000 new jobs, at no cost to taxpayers. 

“NCBA stands firmly with the Credit Union National Association, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and the state credit union leagues on this issue,” said Beall. “America's small businesses deserve more, not fewer, choices for capital to create and sustain their enterprises.” wrote Beall. 

Cooperatives are independent businesses, owned by the members who use the cooperative’s services.

WASHINGTON, DC–Nov. 20, 2012–Attending the close of the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) shifts focus to growth of the cooperative approach over the next 10 years, in the US and internationally.

NCBA’s strategy is in line with the rest of the world’s cooperatives, according to Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) who, in an official statement, declared a new era open for cooperatives, referencing ICA’s Blueprint for a Cooperative Decade. This blueprint is a framework and strategy to ensure cooperatives grow as financially and environmentally sustainable businesses over the next decade.

Throughout the year, NCBA has taken a leadership role in raising the profile of cooperatives across the US, representing more than 29,000 cooperatives nationwide with annual sales of more than $650 billion. NCBA organized the United States IYC steering and youth committees, and promoted a number of member events and activities around the country and the world.

“The International Year gave us an opportunity to spread the message of the value cooperatives can bring to consumers, businesses, and communities,” said Liz Bailey, NCBA’s Vice President for Domestic Development and Public Policy. “Our work is not done with the close of IYC; we’re continuing our efforts to promote the value of cooperatives for our economic recovery and to consumers.”

Mainstream media agreed, covering the economic and social benefits of cooperative enterprise in Entrepreneur magazine, Fast Company, and MSNBC, among others. In May of 2012, NCBA took the message that co-ops provide jobs and strengthen local economies to the White House during a Community Leaders Forum focused on cooperatives.

This message also resonates abroad, where NCBA’s CLUSA International program promotes the cooperative model and principles to over 13 countries through its work in sustainable community development. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed with the power of cooperatives to improve the lives of the rural poor, when she spoke at a press conference after visiting NCBA-supported Cooperativa Café Timor, in Timor-Leste in early September:

"I was so impressed by the role that the cooperative has in creating economic opportunity and transforming the lives of people in the rural districts…,”   “Projects like these reflect the model of partnership that the United States is pursuing across the Asia Pacific. These are partnerships rooted in our shared values, that deliver concrete benefits to people, and that help countries become stronger and more capable over time so they too can play their role in solving regional and global challenges."

This successful coffee cooperative program in Timor-Leste, supported by USAID through CLUSA International for several years, exports high quality coffee beans to international markets providing stable livelihoods and establishing a network of healthcare clinics to serve its worker population.

For NCBA and CLUSA International the close of the International Year of the Cooperative will serve as a spring board for continued promotion of the cooperative solution. Throughout the world cooperatives fill a key role in combating chronic issues such as poverty and hunger. By empowering individuals and instructing in the cooperative approach, the future of each affected community is placed in their own hands.

"This year moved cooperatives, and the role they play in bettering communities around the world, into the forefront of the conversation," said Michael Beall, President of NCBA. "Our hope is that the momentum generated during this year, especially among the youth, will continue to build awareness and support of the cooperative solution for years to come."

For more information on NCBA, visit www.NCBA.coop.