Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation Celebrates 50 Years

Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF), founded in late 1964, is in its 50th year. TPCF sponsors the locally directed Cooperative Community Fund (CCF) program. There are now 29 food co-ops participating in the CCF program, and at least 11 more food co-ops are expected to join in 2014–2015. Visit us at www.community.coop/ccf.

A Cooperative Community Funds acts as an endowment. The annual earnings of each CCF are donated by that co-op to its own local community groups. From 1998 forward, these funds have made donations of about $400,000 to over 250 local community groups. About 25 percent was donated to building other local cooperatives.

Cooperative Community Funds actively fulfill three of the cooperative principles: “education, training, and information”; “cooperation among cooperatives”; and “concern for community.” 

In 1990, North Coast Cooperatives began the concept that later became the Cooperative Community Fund. With their approval, the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation began replicating the program in 1999, first in California and later nationally.

Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation invests the TPCF/CCF assets in cooperative development funds, NCB Savings, and in those credit unions and community-owned banks that actively support cooperatives. These assets support a vibrant cooperative and community-building economy throughout the U.S.

Each dollar invested by the program creates leveraging of 10 dollars of additional financing. Thus, TPCF/CCF dollars have generated over $25 million of lending, with a majority to food cooperatives. Almost every new food co-op and existing food co-op expansion is funded with dollars from the cooperative development groups that TPCF/CCF invests in. 

Participants and partners

Following are food co-ops participating in the Cooperative Community Fund program:

• Ashland Food Co-op
• Bloomingfoods Co-op
• Brattleboro Food Co-op
• BriarPatch Community Market
• City Market 
• Co-opportunity
• Davis Food Co-op
• East End Food Co-op
• Food Conspiracy Co-op
• Hanover Co-op
• Hunger Mountain Co-op
• Isla Vista Food Co-op
• La Montanita Co-op
• Lakewinds Co-op
• North Coast Co-ops
• Open Harvest Co-op
• Outpost Co-op
• People’s Food Co-op
• (La Crosse and Rochester)
• People’s Food Co-op (Portland)
• Quincy Natural Foods Co-op
• Rising Tide Co-op
• River Market Co-op
• Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op
• Seward Co-op
• Tidal Creek Co-op

TPCF/CCF has invested, loaned to, or deposited in the following cooperative development funds and projects:

• Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
• Cooperative Fund of New England
• Boston Community Capital
• LEAF Fund
• Organic Valley
• Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op (repaid)
• BriarPatch Co-op (repaid)
• Equal Exchange
• NCB Savings
• New Hampshire Community Loan Fund
• Organic Maple Cooperative
• NCB and/or federally insured credit union

See also the Twin Pines website section on funders, or contact Executive Director Cathy Murnighan, Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation, 216 F Street, PMB 1844, Davis, CA 95616; 916/944-4935; cmurnighan@community.coop.