35th Anniversary

 What was begun thirty five years ago by a group of idealistic young cooperative organizers, one accountant, and a couple of enlightened investors has become a highly respected community development loan fund that enjoys the support of dozens of investors and donors, both individual and institutional.

Together, they have made almost  $20 million available to CFNE. We have used this money to extend almost 500 loans to cooperative businesses and community-oriented nonprofits around the region, thus helping to create or retain thousands of jobs and recycle millions of dollars in the region’s economy. Our borrowers have shown themselves to be so responsible that not one investor dollar has been lost.

We can only share a little of the wealth of stories we have accumulated since 1975. They attest to the intelligence, compassion, and determination of the region’s people, and they illustrate what we can accomplish, working together in cooperation.

You can read more about our 30th Anniversary here.

Annual Report

Click here to download our 2009 Annual Report

Click here to download our 2008 Annual Report.
Click here to download our 2007 Annual Report.
Click here to download our 2006 Annual Report.
Click here to download our 2005 Annual Report.

Board of Advisors

JOHN ABRAMS, West Tisbury, Massachusetts. John s cofounder and CEO of South Mountain Company, a 32-year-old employee owned design/build and renewable energy company on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. His book THE COMPANY WE KEEP: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place was published by Chelsea Green Publishing in 2005. Business Ethics magazine awarded South Mountain its 2005 National Award for Workplace Democracy. He roams far and near to speak, write, and teach about Good Business. Close to home, he concentrates on re-localizing the economy and solving the island’s affordable housing crisis. John and his family live in a cohousing neighborhood developed by his company.

LINDA GALLAGHER, Halifax, Canada. Linda is a Community Development consultant working in the areas of finance and development. Linda has over 25 years of experience in the fields of development banking and commercial banking in both Canada and the US. Linda holds a BA in Russian and History from McGill University and a MBA from Southern New Hampshire University (“SNHU”). She was on the adjunct faculty at SNHU in the School of Community Economic Development Linda is particularly interested in multi-culturalism, and has done two international development assignments with NGO’s.

MARC REICH, West Hartford, Connecticut. Marc is President of Ironwood Capital Ltd., an investment-banking firm serving middle market and larger firms throughout the US. He is a principal in IronBridge Mezzanine Fund, L.P; an investment fund that invests principally in businesses owned by women, people of color located in low and moderate income communities. Prior to founding Ironwood in 1990 he headed Aetna’s investment banking unit and was an institutional private placement lender. He was a bank examiner with the FDIC as well as a long time food co-op member. He holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

DON SCHRAMM, Burlington, Vermont. Don is co-owner of a worker owned software development firm. He was an organizer and president of a retail food co-op, instructor at various universities and is currently the project leader of a 32 unit cohousing project.

TIM WINGATE,  Montpelier, Vermont. Tim i served as CFNE's Board Treasurer for three years and is the finance manager at Hunger Mountain Food Co-operative and has served as the co-op's general manager. He is a CPA who has his MBA from Plymouth State College and a BS from the University of Maine at Machias. .

Board of Trustees

MARGARET ATKINSON, Brattleboro, Vermont. Margaret is the  Marketing Director and a Worker-owner at the  Green Mountain Spinnery. She brings over 15 years of marketing and development experience to the board. She has worked for the Institute for Community Economics and several conservation land trusts. She brings additional stakeholder hands-on owner cooperative experience which assists with providing development services to our borrowers. Ms. Atkinson has a BA and an MA  from Rutgers College in Ethnography and serves on the CFNE governance and development committees.                                                 

ERBIN CROWELL, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. Erbin Crowell works as Executive Director for the Neighboring Food Cooperatives Association. He has worked for CFNE as marketing manager and previously was a member of Equal Exchange, a worker co-operative and pioneering fair trade organization.  He developed and directed the co-op’s “Interfaith Program”, and launched Equal Exchange’s Domestic Fair Trade Program, overseeing the development of a new product line sourced from small farmers and their co-ops in the U.S. Erbin worked for a year as a cooperative development specialist with the Cooperative Development Institute and currently serves on the boards of the National Co-operative Business Association and the Domestic Fair Trade Association. He has delivered workshops on fair trade and co-operation at many conferences and gatherings. He holds a B.A. in anthropology and the visual arts from Brown University, and a Masters in Management (Co-operatives and Credit Unions) from St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

ANDREW DANFORTH, Attleborough, Massachsuetts. Andy is the housing program manager for the Cooperative Development Institute. He has over 25 years of executive, accounting, technology, and operational experience in banking and finance. Prior to joining CDI to run theer manufactured housing program, he was a self-employed consultant specializing in enterprise solutions for mortgage companies, commercial banks, software providers, governmental agencies, and whole loan traders. He was founded a number of businesses and has  held executive finance positions for two public companies.  Andy is a CPA, and has been a board member since 2003. He serves as President of CCF and is on the CFNE Loan Committee. 

SUSAN ELLIS, Spruce Head, Maine. Susy served on the CFNE board from 1982 to 1996 and served for many years as the Board President. She provides accounting and management services to small businesses across Maine. Management services include personnel, business planning and financial analysis. She also provides Coast Guard documentation for commercial fishermen and yachtsmen throughout New England. Susy was formerly President of the Federation of Co-ops and was co-author of "A Comparative Financial Analysis of Maine Co-op Stores".Susy serves on the CFNE loan committee.
  

CORY GREENBERG, Shutesbury, Massachusetts. Cory is also a founding board member of the Cooperative Capital Fund. He is a financial and management consultant to small businesses. He is Treasurer of a movie theater management and investment company in the New York metropolitan area, and is active in various socially responsible and other investments. Cory is Treasurer and board member of Ten Directions, Inc. and is on the advisory board of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society. He has been CFO at a publicly traded company as well as a financial manager of a worker cooperative, and is a graduate of Hampshire College. Cory is the chairperson of CFNE’s Loan Committee. 

DON KREIS, Board Vice President, Norwich, Vermont. Don has served on the board of the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society in Hanover, New Hampshire since 2003, including three years as president. He is associate director, and assistant professor of law, at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, where he is writing about democratically run electric cooperatives. Don is Justice of the Peace in Norwich, Vermont, He is an active participant in the Neighboring Food Cooperative Association and has a special interest in governance and fiduciary responsibility of boards. He has served as general counsel of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, third mate on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, and reporter for the Associated Press and the Maine Times. Don enthusiastic about the cooperative model and its need for capital. Don has a BA from Middlebury College, a MS in Journalism from Columbia University and a JD from the University of Maine. 

CLAIRE MORDUCH, Claire is the Director of Finance and Administration for Connecticut Voices for Children. Prior to CT Voices, she was a management consultant with Brody Weiser Burns for 16 years.  She worked with nonprofits, specializing in financial analysis of CDFIs, organizational development and planning. Before moving to New Haven, she worked as assistant manager in a worker-owned print shop in Philadelphia and as a collective member in a cooperatively owned and operated restaurant in Takoma Park, MD.  Claire has been a member of a consumer co-op in almost every place she has lived since 1980 including the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, TPSS Food Co-op, Weaver's Way Co-op, Whitfield Pantry and currently Food & Friends Buying Club.  Claire received a Masters degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management in 1992. Claire, her spouse and two teenagers live in Guilford, CT.

PHEBE QUATTRUCCI, Board Clerk,South Freeport, Maine. Phebe began her career in banking and has sixteen yearsʼ experience working with and for Community Development Financial Institutions and mission-based organizations throughout the country (CDFIs). She is the principal of Quattrucci & Company, a consulting practice that specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-faceted capitalization strategies for CDFIs and other mission-based organizations. Quattrucci & Company also provides strategic and operational planning, Board development, and marketing services to its clients. Phebe is a successful grantwriter and is nationally recognized for her work with Native American CDFIs. She worked as an Outreach Coordinator for CFNE for four years. She earned her B.A. from Middlebury College. 

JON RESKE, West Springfield. MAssachusetts. Jon is a senior manager and Vice President of Marketing at the UMassFive College Credit Union which has 24,670 co-op memebrs and assets of $296 million. He has skills in marketing and strategic planning. Jon has a BS in Business Adminstration from American International College and an MBA from Wake Forest University, Babcock School of Business, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

L.J. TAYLOR, Board President, Somerville, Massachusetts. L.J. is a worker-owner and senior sales representative at Equal Exchange, in West Bridgewater, MA a worker-owned co-operative marketing fairly traded coffee, tea and chocolate from small farmer co-ops. He has worked in Bulk Foods at Weaver Street Co-op in Chapel Hill, NC. He has volunteered for the post of Mentor/Buddy coordinator at Equal Exchange to help push the continuing education needed to help cooperatives survive. L.J. helped in the formation of the Independents Coffee Cooperative in Philadelphia, which consists of café owners who support Fair Trade. He has a BA in mathematics from the University of Virginia where he specialized in business development and raised funds through the UVA Development Office. 
 

CFNE's Mission Statement

We advance community based, cooperative and democratically owned or managed enterprises with preference to those that serve low income communities through:

• provision of prompt financial assistance at reasonable rates
• provision of an investment opportunity that promotes socially conscious enterprise; and
• development of a regional reservoir of business skills with which to assist and advise these groups.

Contact Info

COOPERATIVE FUND OF NEW ENGLAND

P.O. Box 3413, Amherst, MA 01004-3413
Phone: 910.395.6008 / 1.800.818.7833
Fax: 910.397.2857
Email: cfne@coopfund.coop

Administrative Office
Rebecca Dunn,
Executive Director
5533 Peden Point Road
Wilmington, NC 28409
rdunn@coopfund.coop

Betsy Black
Northwest Outreach Coordinator
betsy@coopfund.coop

Maggie Cahn
Southeast Loan and Outreach Officer
maggie@coopfund.coop

Erbin Crowell
Marketing and Cooperative Relations Officer
erbin@coopfund.coop

Mary Hoyer
Southwest Loan and Outreach Officer
P.O. Box 3413
Amherst. MA 01004
mary@coopfund.coop

Glen Ohlund
Northeast Loan and Outreach Officer
glen@coopfund.coop

Helen Scalia
Development Coordinator
helen@coopfund.coop

There is an online contact form available to request further information about CFNE and to join our newsletter mailing list. Click here to enter your name on that list.

Cooperative Capital Fund

The Cooperative Capital Fund is in formation. It provides longer-term equity like patient capital funds to Cooperative Fund borrowers and  new, expanding, and developing cooperatives.

For information on the Cooperative Capital Fund  visit www.coopcapital.coop

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is CFNE?
CFNE is the Cooperative Fund of New England, a community developement financial institution (CDFI) that makes loans to cooperatives, employee owned businesses, and community based nonprofits.

Where does CFNE get its money?
Socially responsible investment loans are made by various individuals, religious organizations, cooperatives, banks, intermediaries and foundations.

Who does CFNE Lend to?
We make loans to cooperatives, employee owned businesses, and community based nonprofits in New England and eastern  New York.

Is CFNE a cooperative?
No, but we use consensus decision making, our workplace is democratic, and the board is from the cooperative  community we serve.

How do I apply for a loan?
First, call our office at 1-800-818-7833 to discuss your organization's needs, then download our loan application.

How long does it take?
Our process usually includes a site visit fromone of our outreach coordinators but we generally estimate 3-4 weeks from  application to funding.

What are your rates and terms?
Terms generally range from 3-7 years, rates are at or below market.  

Do we need collateral?
Collateral can be business assets, inventory, real estate, equipment, accounts and/or grants receivables, guarantees.

How do I support CFNE?
You can make a loan to CFNE, make a grant or donation to CFNE? you can refer others to CFNE  as borrowers or lenders, you can support CFNE's borrowers.

What makes CFNE different from a bank?
CFNE is not federally regulated although we are a U.S. treasury certified CDFI. Social investment loans are not insured by any government agencies (like the FDIC) but one should look at our fund's history of over 32 years. No investor has lost a dollar.

What is a cooperative?
Cooperatives are businesses-be it food, housing, or agriculture-that exist to benefit the people that work, live, or shop in them. Profits from business or housing cooperatives aren't siphoned off to a single outside owner, but reinvested in the community they came from, serving their own members economically, socially, and educationally.
Cooperatives are community-builders. People often shop at, live in, or work for cooperatives because co-ops make a special effort to be active participants in improving the lives of neighborhood families.
Cooperatives are democracies. All co-op members have a voice in making decisions about what direction the enterprise takes. In this way, members gain valuable skills in governance, finance, management, and more.

What is a CDFI?
A CDFI is a Commuity Development Financial Institution. There are more than 500 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the United States, with at least one in every state. The primary mission of CDFIs is to promote economic development in struggling areas, both urban and rural, that are underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs are playing a critical role in building a healthier economy by providing these communities with the access to capital that they so sorely need.

What is CCF?
CCF is the Cooperative Capital Fund. It is a newly formed nonprofit that was the result of work by a committee of the CFNE Board. CCF will have a separate board inlcuidng members of the CFNE Board as well as the outside cooperative community. CCF will provide long term equity-like funds to augment CFNE loans. 

What is the difference between CFNE and CCF?
CCF and CFNE are separate nonprofits offering different products. CFNE provides loans secured by collateral, CCF provides longer-term, unsecured, patient equity capital for cooperatives. 

Staff and Outreach Coordinators

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

REBECCA DUNN, Wilmington, North Carolina. Rebecca has been the Executive Director since March, 1986. She manages the Fund from her home office (which moved in April, 1994.) She commutes to New England on an as needed basis and to facilitate tertiary Board and Executive Committee meetings. She has extensive experience as a business consultant and as a commercial bank loan officer for Barclays American. She was formerly a bank examiner for the State of Connecticut. Rebecca has also worked as a consensus process trainer and nonprofit advisor to a number of groups. These include her local food co-op, an urban grocery store project, a symphony orchestra, an artists collective, and Dance New England. She helped Wilmington Community Coalition, a diverse organization which served low-income city neighborhoods, form a community loan program. She has served on the boards of the Opportunity Finance Network (National Community Capital Association), Temple of Israel, the Wilmington YWCA, New Hanover County Human Relations Commission, WHQR public radio community advisory, and Tidal Creek Food Coop.Rebecca was named recently to the board of the Cooperative Development Foundation.She has a BA in economics from Trinity College and an MBA in finance.

NEW ENGLAND LOAN AND OUTREACH OFFICERS

MARY HOYER, Amherst, Massachusetts. Mary works part-time assisting Rebecca with visiting current and potential borrowers, providing technical assistance, administration of the loan portfolio, and marketing the Fund in the southwestern part of New England. She is a former educator in the Hartford Public Schools and is now working as a community development consultant, having worked in the nonprofit and cooperative development arenas for over twenty-five years. She has been active in anti-racism and anti-apartheid work, union organizing, alternative and parent education, and local electoral politics. She has a doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, an MA from the University of Kentucky, and a BA from Occidental College. She joined the Fund’s Board of Trustees in 1992.

BETSY BLACK, Concord, New Hampshire. Betsy works part-time assisting Rebecca with visiting current and potential borrowers, providing technical assistance, administration of the loan portfolio, and marketing the Fund in northwestern part of New England. Betsy’s background is working with community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and nonprofit organizations. She is a long time cooperative member, volunteer, board and committee member, and enthusiast. Betsy assists CDFIs nationally with capitalization and strategic planning, and instructs for Opportunity Finance Network and Oweesta Corporation. She formerly worked for the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund for a decade as Capitalization and Communications Director before starting her own consulting business in 2002. Previously, she worked as a solo law practitioner in Manchester and Concord (NH); for the Concord Feminist Health Center (a collective); and for the Argus Champion (NH) and Milford Cabinet (NH) newspapers. She holds a law degree from Pierce Law (NH), a BA in American Studies from Middlebury College (VT), is accredited through the International Coach Federation, and is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor.

GLEN OHLUND, Hopkinton NH. Glen works part time as works part-time assisting Rebecca with visiting current and potential borrowers, providing technical assistance, administration of the loan portfolio, and marketing the Fund in the northeastern part of New England. In his previous position as Development Coordinator with the City of Manchester, NH, he managed the City’s Revolving Loan Fund, among other responsibilities. Prior positions include serving as Assistant Director for the New Hampshire Main Street Center, facilitating revitalization in Downtowns across the State. He also worked and lived in Boston for most of the 1990’s, working on both brick and mortar projects as well as building community capital. He worked with the Boston Building Materials Cooperative during Graduate School, growing a building material recycling project of the BBMC. Originally from New Hampshire, Glen spent much of the 1980’s working on economic, environmental, and social justice issues with membership-based statewide organizations. He is committed to sustainable development issues facing the Granite State and the Country. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development, both obtained at Southern NH. 

MAGGIE COHN, Roxbury, Massachusetts. Maggie works part-time assisting Rebecca with visiting  current and potential borrowers, providing technical assistance, administration of the loan portfolio, and marketing the Fund in the southeastern part of New England. Maggie comes from recent positions as Executive Director of local non-profits. Most recently she oversaw a two-year planning initiative for the Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness, working with a broad array of community organizations, institutions and municipal agencies. Prior to that, she served as the executive director of Mission Hill Main Streets, working with business owners and local residents to bring in new independent businesses and to strengthen and improve the commercial district. In the 1990s, she worked at Red Sun Press, a democratically-controlled commercial print shop in Jamaica Plain. Developing a lasting interest in community development, she left Red Sun to pursue a degree in Community Economic Development. Maggie currently serves on the boards of the Back of the Hill Community Development Corporation and the Mission Hill Health Movement, volunteers with Bikes Not Bombs, and is a member of the Boston Building Materials Coop and the Harvest Cooperative Market. She holds a BA from UMass Boston in Studio Arts and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.

INTERN

KALISTA AIRD,  Kalista Aird recently joined the CFNE team as an intern assiting with marketing, borrower contact and conference attendance. Kalista grew up in Virginia and has been working with cooperatives since 2003, when she joined the Interfaith Program at Equal Exchange. As a current master’s student in Management of Cooperatives and Credit Unions at St. Mary’s University, Kalista is committed to use and development of the cooperative model. She has experience with worker cooperatives, collectives, food cooperatives, and participation in several food coop start-up projects. She serves on the Board of Directors for Manchester Area Food Cooperative, a growing and recently incorporated consumer-worker cooperative. In addition to her role at Coop Fund, Kalista works with New England Farmers Union, a non-profit chapter of National Farmers Union, as a membership and cooperative education program contractor.

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