The Kagawa Fund for Student Cooperative Development was created in 1989 to meet the need for democratically-controlled, affordably-priced cooperative housing in campus communities across North America. Established through an initial gift of $50,000 from the Japanese Consumer Cooperative Union, this Fund has grown through other gifts and social investments from NASCO members. Working in with local groups and other lenders, the Kagawa Fund has been instrumental in the development of a number of group equity campus co-ops during the last 15 years.
The mission of the Fund is to participate directly in the development and expansion of the cooperative movement by providing technical and financial assistance, in the form of loans to newly-forming and expanding campus cooperatives. It does so by pursuing the following goals:
Building strong co-ops
By providing technical assistance to new co-ops and making loans to eligible projects, including to small co-ops which are looking to expand;
Encouraging a diversity of projects
To help build a more geographically and socially representative cooperative community;
Supporting innovative development models
Which will be better able to meet local needs or which will be able to create additional cooperative housing.