The US National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) has welcomed the US$1.2tn funding package signed by the president this month, which “delivers clear wins that expand capital access and technical assistance for co-operatives”.
This package, which funds 95% of the government, ended the partial federal shutdown and channels money to agencies including the Department of Labor, the Department of State, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“These appropriations bills reflect continued support for co-operative priorities,” said NCBA. “Within the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund was funded at $13.875m.
“The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) bill included funding for the Cooperative Development Program (CDP), and new opportunities for co-op development in the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) bill were included in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Ownership Initiative.”
Additional wins hailed by the apex in the FY 2026 appropriations include:
- $5m for USDA’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) and $3m for the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant (SDGG) programmes
- $4.2m for USDA’S Rural Energy Savings Program
- $324m for the CDFI Fund
- $2m for the Department of Labor’s Employee Ownership Initiative to provide technical assistance grants
- $13.875n for the Cooperative Development Program
- SBA establishment of an Employee Ownership and Cooperatives Promotions Program through Small Business Development Centers
NCBA adds that the FSGG appropriations bill includes language that directs the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create a publicly available succession planning toolkit to help small business owners plan for ownership transitions.
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“For co-ops,” it says, “this toolkit can make succession a practical pathway by giving communities and co-operative developers a clear roadmap to approach sellers, structure a transition, and keep a business rooted locally through a co-operative model. We’ll share the toolkit as soon as it is finalised and released.
“These are the kinds of federal investments that help communities finance growth, convert businesses to employee ownership, and build resilient local economies.”
The apex says is now time “to start planning for FY26 grant and award cycles as agencies roll out implementation guidance and funding notices in the months ahead.
“We will continue tracking timelines and opportunities, and will share action alerts as soon as new application windows open or agency resources become available.”
With the appropriations process for FY 2027 “ right around the corner”, NCBA says it will be tracking new priorities in the coming weeks and has issued a new policymaker’s guide to prepare for the upcoming funding conversations.
