CDF Adds to Home Care Cooperative Resources and Programs

CDF wrapped-up its FY 2018-19 USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant with the release of a number of materials and tools designed to improve the start-up and operation of worker-owned home care cooperatives. Work done under the grant included:

• Financial Analysis Manual: a document that covers the basics of financial statements that boards need to know to measure and track co-op performance, more advanced topics such as using financial ratios and benchmarks to monitor financial performance, and how to manage future financial results through budgeting and strategic planning. Early reviews of the manual have proven to be positive, with several cooperative developers requesting access to the materials so that they may adapt our text to growing and emerging cooperatives in other sectors. 

• Home Care Loan Fund Implementation: a new loan fund designed to help home care cooperatives achieve the scale they need to prosper. The Foundation's partner organization in this task, the ICA Group, received an initial investment of $3 million for a new loan fund called the "Fund for Jobs Worth Owning" (FJWO). The Fund will focus on making loans and equity investments in worker-owned home care and childcare cooperatives, providing workers and cooperatives with broader access to resources and developmental programs.

• A Governance webinar series: designed to introduce new home care cooperative board members to the key elements of their ongoing governance responsibilities. 

• Newsletter Toolkit for Home Care Cooperatives: provides four newsletter templates with easy to edit layouts, a user guide with instructions on how to add pictures and text and suggestions for content. Once posted on the Home Care Cooperative Initiative website, toolkit users will also have access to a file of home care related pictures, graphics and articles. 

• Six technical assistance calls: covering topics ranging from Workplace Legal Guidance and Marketing Practices to Medicare Advantage and Opportunities for Home Care Cooperatives. The calls have been widely positive, and may be found on CDF's Home Care page. 

• The Annual Home Care Cooperative Conference. Feedback for the 3rd Annual Home Care Conference proved to be exceedingly positive. The 4th Annual Home Care Conference, slated on November 19-22, already has 12 of the 13 home care cooperatives nationally registered to attend, an expanded program, and its highest registration yet. 

CDF continues to utilize these USDA funds to develop, improve and implement these projects, providing support and resources to home care and food cooperatives across the country. Home care resources, including those mentioned above, are available at resources on the Home Care Cooperative Initiative page on the CDF website