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Officials from USDA-Rural Development presented IIRA officials with a $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development grant award October 26 on WIU's Macomb campus. The award enables IIRA's Illinois Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) to help start and retain cooperatives and other community-owned businesses in Illinois. From L to R: Chris Merrett, IIRA director; Kathleen Neumann, WIU interim provost and academic vice president; Dwight Reynolds, area director, USDA-RD Illinois; Karen Peitzmeier, Illinois Cooperative Development Center, IIRA; and Margaret Bau, USDA-RD, co-op program.
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USDA-RD Awards IIRA $200K Grant to Boost Investment in IL Cooperatives, Community-Owned Businesses

October 31, 2016

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MACOMB, IL — Cooperatives and other community-owned businesses in Illinois will get a boost of investment thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University.

Officials from USDA-Rural Development presented IIRA officials with a $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development grant award October 26 on WIU's Macomb campus. The award enables IIRA's Illinois Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) to help start and retain cooperatives and other community-owned businesses in Illinois.

"Cooperatives—businesses owned and democratically controlled by people in the community—are a key way to provide needed services, create jobs and generate capital investment in rural Illinois," noted IIRA's Small Business Development Center Program Manager Sean Park.

Illinois Rural Development Director Colleen Callahan emphasized the importance of partnerships in driving success for cooperatives and rural communities.

"The cooperative business model is an effective and flexible tool for community economic development," she added. "The more we work together the more we can accomplish. Our partnership with the Illinois Cooperative Development Center extends the impact of this investment many times over."

The relationship between Macomb Food Cooperative and McDonough Telephone Cooperative is a key example of such a partnership, according to IIRA Director Chris Merrett.

"It's been a privilege for IIRA to work with these co-ops to help them succeed and better serve their member-owners," Merrett noted. "McDonough Telephone is now assisting Macomb Food Co-op's start-up by providing use of the building for the Food Co-op's local marketplace operations. This illustrates the economic development snowball effect that a small investment in technical assistance can have."

Entrepreneurs and community leaders can access free, one-on-one assistance from the Illinois Cooperative Development Center, view an extensive collection of online resources on cooperatives and learn about new IIRA initiatives to empower community foundations and local economic development agencies to support community-based co-op business development by visiting IIRA.org or by calling (800) 526-9943.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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