Contact: Liz Bailey
CDF Establishes Hurricane Irene Cooperative Recovery Fund
$10,000 in Pledges Received From NCB & NCGA
Arlington, VA—Citing the need to help in the recovery of the cooperative community that was in the path of Hurricane Irene, the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) today announced the launch of the Hurricane Irene Cooperative Recovery Fund at www.cdf.coop.
The fund will direct tax-deductible contributions specifically to individuals and cooperative businesses along the East Coast and throughout New England who have experienced losses. The fund also will seek to assist organic farmers who are prime suppliers to food cooperatives.
CDF also announced that the first contributions to the fund are $5,000 from the National Consumer Cooperative Bank (NCB) and $5,000 from the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA). The fund will seek contributions from all sectors of the cooperative business community and from the general public.
“Regions throughout the continental United States have been hit by a devastating series of storms, tornadoes, floods and wildfires. In the latest major storm, Hurricane Irene, the victims again include co-ops and their members and we want to help. The devastation has been massive, with flooding and wind damage that has inundated both urban and rural areas from North Carolina to Vermont,” said CDF Executive Director, Liz Bailey. “The Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) applauds the resiliency of the people affected and the extraordinary work being done by government response teams and disaster relief agencies. We encourage your support for relief efforts that are providing invaluable support for victims, but we also ask you to consider a donation to this Fund which is focused on recovery of cooperatives and their members.”
“This is all about co-ops helping co-ops,” said Bailey. “Every time there has been a disaster, the cooperative community has responded with financial assistance and we know that they will be there again for victims of Hurricane Irene as well. We thank both NCB and NCGA for their early support for this fundraising initiative and their recognition that the cooperative community includes not only cooperative businesses and their members, but also their suppliers, such as the family farmers who the food cooperative sector relies on for its inventory of healthy foods.”
Collaboration with Other Co-op Organizations
CDF will partner on this fund drive with its colleagues in the cooperative community, both nationally and in the region to assure the maximum possible impact. CDF will take no administrative fee for funds raised to assure that 100% of the funds donated reach the people and organizations who need help. CDF’s primary points of contact in the affected area will be the Cooperative Fund of New England and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association who will assist in identifying the needs and dispersing funds to those with the greatest needs. Other partners who will assist in outreach and identification of needs include: Cooperative Development Institute, National Cooperative Grocers Association, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives, and the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
Online donations to the Hurricane Irene Cooperative Recovery Fund can be made atwww.cdf.coop. Checks can be made out to CDF-Irene Fund and sent to: CDF at 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22202. For more information, contact Ellen Quinn atequinn@cdf.coop or 703.383.8094.
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