Cooperative Development Services (CDS) is a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization created by and morally accountable to the cooperative community of the Upper Midwest. The Cooperative Development Fund of CDS (the Fund) is a segregated fund within CDS that holds a 501(c)3 IRS Letter of Determination for charitable and educational purposes.
Together we provide organizational and developmental guidance to communities starting new co-ops, groups planning for conversion to cooperative ownership, and assistance to existing co-ops seeking to expand.
Reflecting the early role of the WI Federation of Cooperatives in the formation of our organization, CDS is legally domiciled in the State of Wisconsin. Today our staff and consultants live in the Upper Midwest and we primarily work remotely.
The Cooperative Development Fund of CDS is registered as a charity in about a half dozen states, facilitating our ability to solicit charitable contributions in those states to support various projects and the work of our clients.
Since our organization was established in 1985, Cooperative Development Services has provided organizational and developmental guidance to urban and rural communities that want the benefits of cooperation. The first cooperative development organization of its kind in the nation, CDS delivers business development services to cooperatives in many sectors in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Our preferred clients are:
- Cooperatives
- Members of cooperatives or credit unions
- Groups that want to form a cooperative