Cooperative development

Cooperatives are one way to structure a business that involves individuals working together to accomplish goals not possible by working alone. NNFP views cooperatives as vehicles for accomplishing a variety of important outcomes for rural forest-based communities, such as:

• Creating jobs focused on improvement of the forest resource base for future generations
• Enabling landowners to have a greater say in how their woods are managed
• Keeping more economic value closer to the resource base, through value-adding processes
• Providing a social context within which caring and committed landowners can embed their forest stewardship efforts

From idea to expansion

We work with existing and prospective cooperatives along the entire range of development trajectory, from idea to exploration and research of feasibility, to planning, start-up, and expansion.

Much of our cooperative development work is currently focused in the Central Appalachian region through our Appalachian Forest Resource Center, though we also work with other cooperatives and cooperative-oriented businesses all across the United States.

Learn more about Forest Cooperatives in the Resources section of our website.

Get connected

If you are an existing cooperative or exploring the idea of organizing a cooperative, please get in touch. We offer a variety of support services to help prospective and existing cooperatives get to the next level, with a strong emphasis on peer-to-peer sharing between leaders of cooperatives in order to disseminate lessons learned, reduce the need to "reinvent the wheel," and provide input and support to each other. This peer-to-peer sharing takes place through a combination of our web-based learning and networking platform and occasional regional and national gatherings.

NNFP Cooperative Development contacts

Colin Donohue (colin at nnfp dot org)

Scott Bagley (scott at nnfp dot org)

Call our main office number to talk with us: 740-593-8733.