As we leverage this moment as a global cooperative community, let's come together to ensure more people and policymakers understand the power of the cooperative business model.

The Year of Cooperatives comes at the right time. The U.S., along with the rest of the world, is facing new and accelerating dynamics that pose great opportunity, but alsogreat risks. Fortunately, cooperatives are a community-driven, time-tested and shovel-ready solution to tackle many of today's biggest challenges. As people-centered businesses that operate at the heart of their communities, co-ops are tools people have used for generations to participate in their economies and bring stability and resilience amid turbulent times.

When the U.S. economy was shifting toward industrialism in the late 19th century, farmers looked to cooperatives to make sure they had access to markets and could own and control more of the value chain. The result is that most farmers now own and control some of the most critical businesses that determine their viability. In the 1930s, 90 percent of urban households had access to electricity while only 10 percent of farm households did. With a knowledge of the cooperative business model and in partnership with the federal government, within a generation 90 percent of rural Americans had access to the modern economy throughelectricity. And within the last 100 years, cooperative financial institutions, or credit unions, have burgeoned. Today, they count more than 140 million Americans in their ranks, ensuring that one in three people in the U.S. have access to affordable, reliable financial services.

For generations, Americans have used cooperatives to take control of their economic life. It is time once again for more people and policymakers to turn to the cooperative business model to provide economic opportunity and resilience. The economy and the world are changing fast-technologyand digitization, displacement of workers, business consolidation, unpredictable weather, shifting global markets, and increasing geopolitical threatsare all changing the way people engage with the economy.Many Americans-particularly those left behind by a shifting economy and facing the greatest economic and societal barriers-are finding it increasingly difficult to capture opportunities in the face of big businesses that advantageoutside investors.

Communities and policymakers need to look to co-opsas a solution withthe potential of scale and ownership so that all people can compete and are included in today's economy. Because co-ops take the long view on behalf of their members, these businesses can provide the stability and resilience needed most in today's environment.

Cooperatives are an essential solution to overcome global challenges. Recognizing the role these businesses play in building a better world, the United Nations recognized 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives.

We are proud of what the cooperative community through NCBA CLUSA accomplished in 2024. We secured the reauthorization and modernization of cooperative programs in proposals to reauthorize the Farm Bill, and preserved appropriations for key federal programs that advance cooperative businesses. We worked with DotCoop to ensure the new cooperative world map was launched in partnership with co-op membership associations, guaranteeing accurate and continuously updated data. And 400+ of you joined us for the first-ever bilingual, sold out Cooperative IMPACT Conference!

Building on this momentum as we enter the Year of Cooperatives, we invite you to join us in advancing three key goals: 1) raising public awareness of how co-ops impact the economy and society, 2) advocating for legal and policy frameworks that support co-op development and enable co-op entrepreneurship, and 3) inspiring the next generation of cooperators.

Co-op Advocacy

Our advocacy work isrooted ineducating policymakers aboutthe critical role co-ops play in building the economy, strengthening democracy and creating a sustainable and resilient future for everyone. With the 119th Congress now in session, we're diving into a busy year of advocacy.

In 2025, we'll work to:

• Protect fair tax treatmentfor cooperatives including working to extend the 199A deduction in the 2025 tax package;
• Level the playing fieldwithin the U.S. Small Business Administration's lending programs to support co-op conversions;
• Preserve key investmentsto create a resilient and robust economy through cooperatives in housing, the care economy, food systems and rural America; and
• Empower communities around the worldthrough locally-led cooperative development.

You can be part of this work right away by joining us for two advocacy events later this month:

• January 23 from 10 am-1 pm EST: Advocacy Ask Me Anything on Co-op Circle
• January 30 from 1-2 pm EST: Government Relations Co-op Circle Town Hall

Look for registration for both of these events coming soon!

Public Awareness

With co-ops in the spotlight in the U.S. and around the worldduring the International Year of Cooperatives, 2025presents a pivotal opportunity to raise public awareness of cooperatives.

Here's what's on the docket for public awareness in early 2025:

• Our forthcoming Co-op Impact Report collects-for the first time-the quantitative and qualitative footprint of cooperatives in the U.S. Based on the latest statisticsfrom 70+ cross-sector co-opsand accompanied by impact stories, the report will provide the foundation for our public awareness work in 2025. Look for it in February!
• Elevating keydata from the Co-op Impact Report, our Year of Cooperatives Toolkitwill give you a roadmap to raiseawareness of your local co-opand how it fits into the global cooperative economy. Look for engaging infographics, customizable social media templates and more coming in May.

Inspiring Next Gen Cooperators

Plugging the next generation of cooperatives into our advocacy and public awareness work in 2025 is key to sustaining its impact. At NCBA CLUSA, we'll engage the 2025 Cooperative Leaders and Scholarscohort in lifting up co-ops as people-centered businesses that build a better world.

We'll also work alongside the International Cooperative Alliance's Youth Networkto ensure youth are included and integrated into our work during the Year of Cooperatives-and that young people in the U.S. can connect with their global counterparts.

As we leverage this moment as a global cooperative community, let's come together to ensure more people and policymakers understand the power of the cooperative business model. When more people in the U.S. and around the world use cooperatives to meaningfully participate in their economy, we can bring stability, resilience and opportunity to a changing world.

When more people in the U.S. and around the world use cooperatives to meaningfully participate in their economy, we can bring stability, resilience and opportunity to a changing world.

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