In 2006 the Shirley K. Sullivan Education Fund gave Teri Ditsch of AMARAK a $1,000 grant to attend the annual Purchasing Conference sponsored by the National Cooperative Business Association. “For the first time I my career in co-ops, I was able to sit down with a group that was made solely of purchasing co-op management and board members and see what they were doing to make their co-op successful and take home some of their ideas.” Teri found the sessions on best practices, member education, and building member loyalty particularly useful. “Overall I took a lot away from this conference and it is something that I would not have been able to attend without CCA and without the help of the Sullivan Fund grant. I have wanted to go for years, but the cost was just too prohibitive. Thank you to the Sullivan Fund advisors for allowing me this opportunity.”

In 2009 the Shirley K. Sullivan Fund gave Leta Mach of Parent Cooperative Preschools International (PCPI) a grant of $750 to attend PCPI’s annual meeting. She was able to meet with members from the U.S. and abroad and discuss common issues, goals, and opportunities with them. Other activities of the conference were visiting area co-op preschools, revising PCPI’s bylaws, and discussing a thorough revamping of PCPI’s website. The last was helpful because Leta managed the website work that began soon after the conference.