NCBA PRESENTS ON-LINE CONFERENCE TO UNVEIL RESULTS FROM LANDMARK RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COOPERATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES

One-hour webinar explains the University of Wisconsin’s research project’s methods and findings to create insights of the value of cooperatives.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 29, 2008 ) Washington, D.C. – On June 26 at 2 PM ET, the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCFC), will host a special on-line conference to unveil preliminary results from the largest research project in U.S. history on the economic impact of cooperatives in the United States. The research project, which the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and private resources funded, showcases the economic impact cooperatives have on the U.S. economy.

Recognizing the need for statistics to make the case for cooperatives to the public, NCBA made it a priority to secure funding for research. After NCBA successfully lobbied Congress for funding, the USDA awarded a grant to the Center to research the number, size and value of cooperative businesses for the project’s first phase. Brent Hueth, director of the Center, will lead the webinar and present the research study’s findings.

“The research we’ve conducted has returned enormous results,” said Hueth. “The statistics have basically never been documented for the cooperative community, and those that attend this webinar are among the first to see what we found.”

Cooperatives are member owned and operated businesses. Instead of returning profits to outside investors, cooperatives return surplus revenues (income over expenses and investment) to members proportionate to their use of the cooperative.

Hueth will guide participants through topics such as:

• Direct and indirect impact of cooperatives on wages, assets, employment and taxes
• Why cooperatives matter to the United States
• A mapping of cooperatives by sector and by location
• The definition and attributes of a cooperative the Center used for research purposes
• Forthcoming discussion papers that provide in-depth analysis on issues related to the cooperative economic structure
• What’s in store for the next phases of the research

For this first research phase, the Center’s efforts focused on significant cross-sector data measuring the cooperative impact on the U.S. economy from four key sectors: agricultural cooperatives, credit unions, farm credit cooperatives and rural electric cooperatives.

Future research phases will address additional co-op sectors, including food, purchasing, housing, child care, and worker among others. One of the goals for the study is to offer critical information the cooperative community can use to support marketing, public policy, and advocacy programs—illustrating what makes the cooperative business model a vital part of the national marketplace.

“We’re very pleased and excited to share these results among the greater cooperative community,” said Paul Hazen, president and CEO of NCBA. “Our members asked us to tell the cooperative story in a very powerful way—this study enables us to do just that.”

“Cooperatives are the wisest choice for so many Americans—especially younger people—who are looking for greater value and corporate social responsibility when they make purchases or seek employment,” said Hazen. He anticipates the data will support the position that cooperatives are the better business model because cooperatives “give consumers and the general public services and products they need at reasonable prices while retaining any ‘profits’ in the community in which the co-op operates.”

The webinar is free to NCBA members, government officials, and members of the press; the cost for non-members and other interested parties is $20. To register for the event, go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/293709762. For more information on the event, contact Carissa Heckathorn, manager of marketing and multimedia, at 202-383-5471 or at checkathorn@ncba.coop.

NCBA also offers the Cooperative Business Journal, a bi-monthly newspaper covering current happenings across all cooperative sectors, which plans to spotlight the research study’s results and subsequent data analysis in many of its upcoming editions.

To learn more about the cooperative business model go to www.ncba.coop or contact NCBA at 202-638-6222.

ABOUT NCBA

Headquartered in Washington, the National Cooperative Business Association creates cooperative connections across all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, food distribution and retailing, childcare, credit unions, housing, healthcare, energy, and telecommunications. In addition, NCBA’s CLUSA International Program has helped develop cooperatives and other sustainable businesses in over 50 countries since 1953. CLUSA currently runs projects in 13 countries.

###

This press release was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.Com. For more information on unlimited press release distribution
service, go to http://www.emailwire.com