Financing

Grants can be a powerful tool for growing your cooperative, but jumping into the world of fundraising without the right preparation can lead to frustration and wasted time. In this session, you'll learn how to assess whether your co-op is ready to apply for grants, what foundational materials and systems you'll need in place, and how to start the grant-seeking process with confidence. We'll also explore how to identify funders who are aligned with cooperative values and how to spot red flags when they aren’t.

Session materials from the Creating a Co-op Course Track at NASCO Institute 2024.

With the cost of living constantly on the rise, the demand for affordable housing solutions—like housing co-ops—is greater than ever. NASCO has pulled together a team of experts to take future co-op founders through the process of starting a new housing co-op, from clarifying the initial concept to drafting your business plan. Workshops in this series provide a comprehensive, step-by-step training program on the development process.

Session materials from “The Cooperative Horizon: Collapsing the Housing Market” presented by Liz Curran-Groome and Caroline Davis at NASCO Institute 2024. The housing market is not a free market. There’s a ton of free money out there and most of it subsidizes landlord profiteering. What if we the autonomous communities were to get in on the party?

Cooperatives often include affordability in their mission and strive to maintain it. Members in the cooperative will all have different expectations and ideas of what this means when entering the cooperative. This discussion guide about affordability and defining it for your cooperative will help clarify member expectations and long-term planning for your cooperative.

Below, are the recordings for NASCO Institue 2020 sessions by room. Please share lessons learned with your cooperatives and communities. 

If you did not register for NASCO Institute and you'd like to support free and low-cost cooperative education, please consider contributing a donation amount that feels appropriate for you and/or your cooperative. Your donation makes it possible to offer cooperative education materials and resources free of charge. DONATE HERE.

This resource includes several templates for cooperative business plans from actual housing cooperatives in North America. Other references provided are a blueprint for the development process, of which the business plan is a part, and a cooperative business plan presentation given at the 2009 NASCO Institute.

Table of Contents

Strategies for Expansion 2

Obtaining Financing 7

Financing Sources 8

Appendices

A: Property Information 10

B: Pro Forma: 505 West Green Street 12