It’s time to plan for federal grant applications. In August we announced successful applications worth $458,000 for three clients in the USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) Program. This program will provide cost-shared support for feasibility studies, business plans or working…

One of our most recent clients just opened for business: www.quiltshopcoop.com! Quilt Shop Co-op (QSC) is on its way to becoming a full-service shop selling fabric, notions, and patterns, and offering classes for quilters at any skill level, from beginner…

On August 25, 2020 we presented in a University of Minnesota Extension Service webinar on Retaining Rural Businesses Through Conversion to Employee Ownership. A generation of American business owners is retiring, yet many lack a plan to transition their business…

Several years ago, CDS had the privilege of working with the founding of NorthEast Investment Co-op in Northeast Minneapolis. Neighborhood leaders came together to leverage community capital to secure and transform commercial real estate, and recently completed leasing their second…

CDS was successful in securing federal grant funding totaling $458,000 for three value-added agricultural clients announced last week. USDA Value-Added Producer Grant for working capital were awarded for a family owned organic dairy and a family-owned vineyard/winery, as well as funds…

We are entering a small business crisis. Shelter in Place orders have been a necessary tool to stop disease transmission. But for many small businesses that provide necessary services in our communities they have also reduced revenues and stretched cash flow…