Initiatives

Data Commons

CDI has been supporting the development of a democratically controlled continuously updated database of cooperative enterprises in North America for several years. It has been a mostly volunteer project, until CDI applied for a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) on its behalf last year. We are using the funds to pay a coordinator for the project and some business planning and legal consultants. The challenge is to determine an organizational structure and operating plan that is productive and sustainable over the long term. The project has the support of many large and small organizations, including the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Grassroots Economic Organizing, the Solidarity Economy Network, North American Students of Cooperation, Cooperative Maine, and the Cooperative Fund of New England. It has received small amounts of funding from private donations, Equal Exchange, and the Cooperative Charitable Trust.

Click here to visit the Data Commons homepage.