Saint Paul, MN – National Co+op Grocers (NCG) – a sponsor and funder for the 2022 Co-op Innovation Awards – congratulates this year’s five awardees, each working to increase cooperative development in communities of color and communities living with low incomes.
The 2022 Co-op Innovation Awards, issued by Capital Impact Partners and National Cooperative Bank, are providing $170,000 in early-stage grant funding for five ideas in five U.S. cities, including projects such as enabling Cambodian refugees to have permanent affordable housing; keeping a neighborhood safe so families and businesses can thrive; creating an online marketplace for street food vendors; teaching skilled laborers how to become upholsterers; and helping a housing cooperative move toward sustainable growth.
NCG joins Rochdale Capital, CUNA Mutual Group, and Local Government Federal Credit Union in helping organizers augment the award opportunities by $50,000.
Since 2015, the Co-op Innovation Awards have issued a total of $685,000 in grants. The 2022 recipients are:
- Northside Residents Redevelopment Council, Minneapolis, $50,000.
- North American Students of Cooperation, Chicago, $35,000.
- The Industrial Commons, Morganton, North Carolina, $30,000.
- Pilsen Housing Cooperative, Chicago, $30,000.
- Beloved Community Incubator, Washington, D.C., $25,000.
For more details on each organization, visit www.capitalimpact.org/capital-impact-announces-eighth-coop-innovation-awards/.
“It takes a seed to grow positive change in a community, and NCG was honored to join other exemplary organizations in helping to fund the powerful ideas offered by this year’s grant recipients,” said C.E. Pugh, NCG CEO. “They embody the cooperative principle of ‘Concern for Community,’ and we look forward to seeing their impact on their local communities continue to grow.”
About NCG
National Co+op Grocers (NCG), founded in 1999, is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. NCG helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere. Our 148 member co-ops operate more than 200 storefronts in 38 states with combined annual sales of nearly $2.4 billion. NCG is a winner of the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence and a certified B Corp. Find map of NCG member co-ops. To learn more about co-ops, visit grocery.coop.
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Media inquiries may be directed to Eric Davis (edavis@curiousplot.agency, 612-202-9407).