The Mutual Service Foundation
People Helping People……….the cooperative way
The Mutual Service Fund was established in 1974 with a $110,000 grant to the Cooperative League Fund, followed a year later with a $100,000 grant to the Cooperative Foundation. Between 1997 and 1980, Mutual Service Insurance contributed an additional $310,050. In 1987, the Mutual Service Foundation assumed responsibility for the administration of the Mutual Service Fund and the corpus on deposit with the National Cooperative Business Foundation (the successor to the Cooperative League Fund) was returned to the Mutual Service Foundation. The balance of the Fund, held by the Cooperative Foundation, was returned in 1991. Members of the Mutual Service Fund Committee in 2003 were Mutual Service Cooperative Board of Directors Clark Boatman, Terrence Bohman, Steven Cunningham, Sam Bettencourt, Vernon Glover, Gasper Kovach, Jr., LeRoy Peterson, John Shaffer, Corrine Shindelar, and Paul Kent. Grants made by the Mutual Service Foundation through June 30, 2003 total $1,849,508.88.
In 2004 the Mutual Service Foundation’s board decided to terminate its existence and place its assets where they would continue to support its objectives. That year the Mutual Service Foundation and CDF agreed to establish the Mutual Service Cooperative Fund (MSC Fund) within CDF to further the objectives of both organizations.
The MSC Fund is governed by a board of advisors which is composed of Terry Bohman of Universal Cooperatives, Steve Cunningham formerly of IMARK, Stanley Dreyer formerly of National Cooperative Bank, Gasper Kovach, Jr. of HESCO, Kevin Edberg of Cooperative Development Services, Joe Pingatore of Western National Insurance, and John Shaffer of Shaffer Farms.
In 2005 the MSC Fund board of advisors decided to change the focus of the MSC Fund to cooperative development initiatives that enhance the quality of life of seniors living in rural areas. This decision was based on the advisors’ assessment that the needs of the elderly will be one of the greatest challenges facing rural communities for the next several decades and that cooperatives are well-suited to meet these needs and the advisor’s desire to honor the MSI legacy and “give back” to the country’s rural communities, the places where many of the original MSI policy holders live.
The MSC Fund’s subsequent work has concentrated on rural senior co-op housing and home care. See http://www.cdf.coop/success-stories-2/ for some of the results of grants from the MSC Fund.
The MSC Fund gives grants that:
- Contribute to the development of systemic approaches to replicate successful cooperative models that already serve seniors in rural areas.
- Provide technical assistance to help develop cooperative ventures that serve seniors living in rural areas.
- Provide a better understanding of lessons learned from cooperatives that have served or are serving seniors living in rural areas.
2005 Forum “Cooperative Solutions for Seniors”
In December 2005 CDF hosted a public form affiliated with the White House Conference on Aging, which is held every ten years. The MSC Fund was the Forum’s major sponsor. CDF commissioned a report from the Forum and it was submitted to the policy committee of the White House Conference on Aging, where it was added to the official record of the Conference. A number of the Forum’s recommendations are in the Conference report that was sent to the Administration and Congress
Information on this Forum and the summary report can be found at resource center url.
FY 2011, 2012, and 2013 U.S. Department of Agriculture RCDG Grants to Expand Work with Rural Seniors
Cooperative Solutions for Seniors in Rural Communities
In September 2010 the Cooperative Development Foundation received a grant of $225,000 (matched by $75,000 from CDF) from USDA’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant program to expand its work to bring the cooperative model to issues facing rural seniors, with a focus on cooperative home care. This grant is being used to make CDF a national cooperative development center that helps deliver technical assistance, conducts research, and does outreach activities related to the use of cooperatives to meet the needs of senior citizens living in the rural U.S. The immediate intentions of this work are:
- Educate health care workers and providers about the potential for home care worker co-ops
- Build national capacity to deliver technical assistance to home care worker co-ops
- Conduct research on the re-merging cooperative solutions to the needs of rural seniors
In the long term, the center will:
- Identify best practices in the development of cooperatives meeting the needs of rural seniors
- Create a trained national network of technical assistance providers able to use best practices in multiple co-op sectors related to seniors
- Create a national communications platform to highlight cooperative solutions to the needs of rural seniors
The goals of this project are:
- Delivery of cooperative development assistance to rural areas
- Improvement of the economic conditions of rural areas through cooperative development
- Collaboration with business, education, and government organizations
- National expansion of the cooperative development center concept, particularly in the areas of rural senior health care and housing
- Serving multiple cooperatives in multiple cooperative sectors
2011-2012 USDA RCDG grant to expand work with rural seniors
Cooperative Solutions for Aging in Place
In September 2011 the Cooperative Development Foundation received a grant of $225,000 (matched by $75,000 from CDF) from USDA’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant program to further expand its work to bring the cooperative model to issues facing rural seniors, with a focus on energy-efficient manufactured cooperative housing. This grant continues CDF’s work as a national cooperative development center that helps deliver technical assistance, conducts research, and does outreach activities related to the use of cooperatives to meet the needs of senior citizens living in the rural U.S.
The immediate intent of the proposed projects is to:
- Educate rural senior housing and home care workers/providers about potential for home care worker co-ops
- Build national capacity to deliver technical assistance to senior housing and home care co-ops
- Conduct research on other emerging cooperative solutions to needs of rural seniors
Goals of the Project Include:
- Delivery of cooperative development assistance to rural areas
- Improve the economic conditions of rural areas through cooperative development
- Collaborate with business, education and governmental organizations
- Nationally expand the Cooperative Development Center concept, particularly in the areas of rural senior home care and rural co- op housing particularly serving senior citizens.
- Serve multiple cooperatives in multiple industry sectors
In the longer term, CDF will focus its cooperative development activities on:
- Identifying best practices in development of cooperatives meeting needs of rural seniors
- Creating a trained national network of technical assistance providers able to deploy best practices in multiple co-op sectors related to rural seniors
- Creating a national communications platform to highlight cooperative solutions to needs of rural seniors
- Developing and implementing strategies that serve underserved and economically disadvantaged rural communities
Cooperative Solutions for Aging in Place
In September 2012 the Cooperative Development Foundation was notified that it would receive a grant of $175,000 (USDA’s new maximum, to be matched by $70,000 from CDF) from USDA’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant program to expand its work to bring the cooperative model to issues facing rural seniors, with emphases on energy-efficient manufactured cooperative housing, cooperative home care, and combining cooperative housing with cooperative home care. This grant continues CDF’s work as a national cooperative development center that helps deliver technical assistance, conducts research, and does outreach activities related to the use of cooperatives to meet the needs of senior citizens living in the rural U.S. Work on this grant will begin on January 1, 2013
For more information on the work being done on Cooperative Solutions for Seniors in Rural Communities, click here.