​KDC is pleased to announce that we were awarded two grants from the USDA. We were awarded a Rural Cooperative Development Grant for $200,000 to improve the economic condition of rural areas by increasing the understanding of and support for cooperatives through education and technical assistance. KDC has been a Cooperative Development Center for 22 years. The KDC Team and our community are strengthened by our collective commitment to each other, our common goals, and the unique contribution we all bring to our efforts. Interest in KDC services has been steady as we welcomed 144 leads in the past four years, averaging 35 leads per year. Our clients represent many sectors: agriculture, food cooperatives, homecare, housing, transportation, renewable energy and more.
 
KDC will host the Cooperative Leadership Conference in the spring of 2022 and the KDC Cooperative Academy  in the fall of 2021 and spring 2022. These trainings are tailored to address the unique challenges and highlight best practices of starting and managing a collaborative enterprise. Our assistance includes meeting facilitation, board leadership training, focus groups, feasibility studies, business plans, incorporation assistance, and other needs-appropriate services.
 
KDC was awarded a Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant for $173,288 to support two groups of women farmers. Small farmers of all types face their challenges, but women-owned are particularly hard hit when it comes to capital, land access, and market access. Cooperatives enable women to unite in solidarity, provide self-help strategies, and form a network of mutual support to overcome barriers and increase their economic prosperity.
 
The Pennsylvania Female Fiber Growers are revitalizing the natural fibers industry and consist of flax, hemp, and wool farmers, natural dye growers, and textile producers They plan to create an industry built on the principles of inclusion, environmental stewardship, and social justice. They envision the creation of clean jobs across the industry from farming, milling, weaving, and manufacturing. They are committed to their local economy, self-reliance, and regenerative farming as an important step towards a healthy future.
 
The Greater New Jersey Flower Farmers steering committee have reached out to KDC to help them formalize their emerging cooperative. 80% of flowers sold in the United States are imported. Florists and designers have increasingly turned to local flower growers for a reliable source of flowers for weddings, events, and the retail flower industry. There are a growing number of flower growers in New Jersey who need additional outlets through which to sell their products. The flower farming industry in New Jersey is dominated by women but that does not correlate to equal access to opportunity and resources. The status of women-owned farmers ranges from women who have retired and changed careers to others who are just starting out and need supplies and equipment to get started, to those who are struggling to maintain the legacy of their family farms. 
 
Both the Women Fiber Farmers and the Greater New Jersey Flower Farmers steering committees will participate in cooperative study circles to explore their prospective cooperative business. These two projects will be managed as individual projects but will follow KDC's proven steps for successful cooperative development. Each session will be a facilitated conversation led by cooperative development specialists. We will initiate peer-to-peer discussions designed for participants to share, inspire, and learn from one another. Collectively they will develop ideas and opportunities to market and distribute together.

Co-op Academy 
Tailored to address the unique challenges and highlight best practices of starting and managing a cooperative enterprise for emerging cooperative leaders. Click here to apply today!     

National and regional experts in the cooperative business sector will lay the foundation of cooperative business best practices in a presentation format followed by opportunities for questions. Topics include the cooperative advantage,  governance, financial modeling, legal structures, funding your project, human resources, marketing, and branding and more! 
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The 8 sessions will be virtual due to COVID19 with the potential for an in person closing session should conditions improve.  Click here to view additional program details.
 
Cooperative Leaders Forum 
A collaborative learning opportunity designed for teams who recently completed the Co-op Academy and experienced cooperative business stakeholders leading their community’s cooperative development efforts.

These virtual peer-to-peer discussions designed for participants to share, inspire, and learn from one another. Each session will be a facilitated conversation led by cooperative development specialists. Topics will range from leadership transition and business continuity, roles and responsibilities, hiring a general manager, power dynamics, financial resilience, membership engagement, and refreshing policies and bylaws.
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The 8 sessions will be virtual due to COVID19 with the potential for an in person closing session should conditions improve. Apply Today!

Cooperative Leadership Conference 
Advanced educational experience to support leaders within a cooperative business. Participants will include board members, general managers, and co-op members.

Learn cooperative business strategies to strengthen your co-op, leverage your energy and resources, improve marketing power, and implement transparent control over business decisions. Topics including marketing, leadership succession planning, engaging in difficult decisions, strategic planning, capitalizing infrastructure, and expansion of the solidarity economy.

This day long program will be a combination of presentation, Q&A, and working group formats. Apply Today
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KDC is a tiny organization with a big impact, thanks to our strong volunteer Board of Directors consisting of leaders from multiple cooperative, economic development, non-profit, government, educational, and agricultural organizations. We are currently looking to fill two open seats. At this phase of our growth, we are specifically looking for individuals who will bring at least one of the following skills to our organization: finance, fundraising, marketing, and human resources. Enthusiasm for the mission is a crucial qualification, and we will be especially thrilled with candidates who have board experience and/or experience in the cooperative economy.

Keystone Development Center is an equal opportunity provider and employer and does not discriminate on any basis including sexual orientation, race, creed, color, religion, gender identification, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or familial status.

​Board Member Requirements

1. Demonstrate commitment to and understanding of the mission of KDC.
2. Have a passion for or professional experience related to KDC programs and management.
3. Provide leadership and experience in a related field such as:​

• Professional experience with the food industry (farming, food service, food processing),
• Non-profit governance, fundraising or financial management, or
• For-profit business development and financial management.

KDC is pleased to announce that we were awarded two grants from the USDA. We were awarded a $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development Grant to improve the economic condition of rural areas by increasing the understanding of and support for cooperatives through education and technical assistance. The USDA RCDG funds support continued development efforts of new cooperative approaches in our region. KDC is providing technical assistance to our third broadband cooperative to bridge the gap to internet and technology access in rural Maryland. Our diverse clientele also includes a Pennsylvania grass-fed beef cooperative, two new dairy cooperatives, and a rural housing cooperative. We are also responding to a growth in worker-cooperatives by helping retiring owners convert their business to a worker-owned model. In addition to the co-ops specified in the work-plan and budget, we will be responsive to requests from new clients, and giving priority to qualified groups in economically distressed areas. Our assistance includes meeting facilitation, board leadership training, focus groups, feasibility studies, business plans, incorporation assistance, and other needs-appropriate services. KDC evaluates all projects both qualitatively and quantitatively for effectiveness and efficiency. 

KDC was also awarded a $174,991 USDA Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant. The SDGG funds will be used to create better quality jobs for women of color, immigrants, and the working poor that make up the caregiving workforce through the cooperative business model. There is a national trend to support Home Health Aides and Personal Care Aides becoming worker-owners resulting in improved wages, benefits, training, and workplace leadership skills. KDC continues to participate in this effort to develop and strengthen the home care co-op business model. Through the cooperative model we aim to improve job quality for caregivers through increased wages, more stable employment, consistent hours, improved training opportunities, and more opportunities for caregivers to advance their careers. In an industry where the work is emotionally and physically taxing and low paid, where benefits are limited, hours are inconsistent, and career advancement is nearly non-existent, recruitment of enough caregivers to meet demand is a significant challenge. However, caregiver owned cooperatives, which increase job quality for caregivers and provide better quality care and outcomes for patients, provides a better model.  Already there are ten caregiver-owned home care cooperatives in operation around the country, and nearly as many are currently under development. 

KDC’s team is growing! Please join KDC in welcoming its two newest team members, Tony Ricci and Hanna Mengel.

​ Tony Ricci, KDC’s newest Cooperative Development Consultant, joined the team in March of 2020. Tony brings 36 years of agricultural experience, as well as extensive knowledge in marketing and logistics in retail and wholesale production and distribution. Tony is from Three Springs, PA where he co-owns and operates Green Heron Farm, and manages the Huntingdon Farmers’ Market. As a founding member of Tuscarora Organic Growers Co-op, Pennsylvania Certified Organic, and Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Tony brings a wealth of agricultural experience and expertise to the KDC Team. 

​ Hanna, a recent Lock Haven University graduate, joined the team in January 2020 as KDC’s Program Assistant. She has worked for KDC during previous summers, taking a vital role in moving KDC to a fully cloud based system and became full-time in 2020. Hanna’s role is to support all aspects of KDC projects by conducting research, reporting results, and assisting with grants and contracts. She handles administrative tasks such as maintain our client and financial records, handling communications, responding to client requests and maintain the KDC website and social media platforms.  

Many elderly, the ones most vulnerable to COVID 19, rely on in-home caregivers. Now, they’re faced with a difficult choice: open their homes to possible contamination or forego the life-sustaining care that allows them to continue living independently.

When our best resourced hospitals don’t have access to the medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to provide care to COVID 19 patients, you can be sure same is true for home health aides. As one former director of a regional home care agency put it, “Aides are at the bottom of the heap in the medical system. They’re the last ones to be considered.” Yet, homecare could be the safest choice as nursing homes and long-term care facilities experience a rapid increase of infection.

In addition to those who already rely on home health aides, those with COVID-19 who are able to self-quarantine at home will be in need of care. And as thousands of hospitalized patients return home, they, too, will need in-home care to fully recover.

This could provide an opportunity for unemployed Pennsylvanians. However, the threat of contracting the coronavirus on the job may deter people from becoming a home health aide. Furthermore, home care workers are often paid at or just above minimum wage. In an industry where the work is emotionally and physically taxing and low paid, where benefits are limited, hours are inconsistent, and career advancement is nearly non-existent, recruitment of enough caregivers to meet demand is a significant challenge.

One solution is an employee-owned model. When home health aides and personal care aides become worker-owners, they experience improved job quality through increased wages, more stable employment, consistent hours, improved training opportunities, and more opportunities for caregivers to advance their careers.

The second largest and one of the oldest home care cooperatives in the country, Home Care Associates (HCA) of Philadelphia, owned by 125 employees, has been in operation for more than 25 years. As one of twelve employee-owned home care agencies across the country, HCA is finding that, as their former director Karen Kulp stated, “Co-ops shine in times of crisis.” HCA is one of the few home care agencies that provides health insurance to its worker-owners. Caregivers can continue to do their jobs - providing life sustaining care to the most vulnerable- knowing if they get sick, they won’t go into debt due to medical bills.

Because all employee-owners have a stake in the success of the company, and because of aide’s “tremendous hearts,” as Kulp explains, employee-owners step up in this difficult time. Caregivers take on extra shifts, caring for coworkers’ clients. Managers who could easily work from home go into the office as an act of solidarity so that aides aren’t the only ones putting themselves at risk. Leadership staff check in regularly with aides on the frontlines. Volunteers make hand sanitizer and masks. This is, as Kulp puts it, part of the co-op spirit. “For co-ops,” she says, “it’s about us, this is our business, our money.”

While Home Care Associates is the only employee-owned home care agency in Pennsylvania, it won’t be for long. Keystone Development Center (KDC) was awarded a Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant from the USDA to explore the opportunities to develop worker-owned home care in Central Pennsylvania. KDC, a small non-profit, has a mission to sustain communities, economies, and resources through cooperatively-owned businesses. The ICA Group, a partner on the project, is a national nonprofit that specializes in the development of childcare and home care cooperatives as well as cooperative conversions of businesses of all kinds.

While the good work being done elsewhere does not ease the burden on caregivers and agencies in this current crisis, it is important to know that the opportunity for employee-owned home care cooperatives – cooperatives that shine in times of crisis -  is growing. An effort to expand the opportunity for employee-ownership to more caregivers in Pennsylvania is underway.

Peggy Fogarty,

Executive Director, Keystone Development Center

For more information, contact Keystone Development Center by calling 717-792-2163 or emailing admin@kdc.coop