The Keystone Development Center (KDC) supports businesses in the multi-state area of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware but our most active area is southeastern Pennsylvania. KDC has been working within the Southeast PA Foodshed for many years, helping people form and sustain cooperatives. This connects the food system – the rural to the urban. We work with a variety of clients.
Our past and current clients represent businesses in the following sectors: Elder Care, Food Cooperatives, Agricultural Marketing, Associations, Buying/Supply, Broadband, Housing, Nursery/preschool, and Renewable Energy.. We provide some services pro bono and some projects are fee-for-service. KDC received funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to develop a database of cooperatives currently operating in Pennsylvania. KDC was able to confirm through a lengthy process a total of 707 cooperative businesses existing in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is experiencing a growth in the use of the cooperative business model since a low point in the 1990’s. Fifty new cooperatives have incorporated in Pennsylvania since 2000.
Our data now includes 452 Credit Unions, 48 Agricultural Cooperatives, 47 Mutual Insurance Companies, 36 Real Estate (Housing Cooperatives), 36 Waste Management Authorities, 19 Utilities, primarily rural electric cooperatives, 18 Educational Service Cooperatives, primarily daycare, and 15 food cooperatives, 10 Health Care and Social Assistance Cooperatives, 6 Wholesale and Retail Trade Cooperatives, 6 Arts and Entertainment Cooperatives and 14 other types of cooperatives including transportation, food service, construction, and other business and community services. The primary purpose of our research is to account for the economic impact of cooperatives and mutually-owned businesses in rural communities throughout Pennsylvania. |
Keystone Development Center
KDC is supported through grants from the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant program.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. To learn more, please visit www.usda.gov |
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