Cooperative Education Fund grants include trade school curriculum development

Madison Workers Cooperative (MadWorC), an organization working to support and build the solidarity economy in Madison, Wisconsin, is one of six recipients of grants from CDF's Cooperative Education Fund. The CDF board approved $28,400 in grants from the Fund on June 15.

MadWorC, in partnership with Madison College, is developing a syllabus and curriculum about worker cooperatives and how to start them as a new pilot program in trade schools. Implementation is scheduled for Spring 2022.

"Workforce development through trade schools is critical, but we want to make it a step beyond putting people in the workforce and put people in positions of ownership. We believe that worker-owned cooperative businesses are the solution to the problems of low-quality jobs as well as unequal access to wealth-building," said Rek Kwawer, MadWorC.

Other grants awarded were:

• Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative - Union Co-op Symposium

• Cooperative Development Foundation - Cooperative Leaders and Scholars Institute

• National Farmers Union Foundation - College Conference on Cooperatives

• Northwest Cooperative Development Center - Shared Equity Housing Research

• Ralph K. Morris Foundation - Cooperative Leadership Scholarships

About the Cooperative Education Fund

The Cooperative Education Fund supports cooperative research, sponsors cooperative education events and scholarships, and develops cooperative education materials and programs. The Fund provides $90,000-$100,000 in grants, scholarships, and sponsorships annually. Applications for the 2021 Fall grant cycle must be submitted by October 1, 2021 by visiting https://www.cdf.coop/cooperative-education.