Montana Cooperative Development Center

Montana Cooperative Development Center The Montana Cooperative Development Center is the statewide resource for cooperative development.

Every cooperative starts with people recognizing something they can do better together.Maybe it is keeping a local servi...
06/12/2026

Every cooperative starts with people recognizing something they can do better together.

Maybe it is keeping a local service open.
Maybe it is creating a new business.
Maybe it is helping producers, workers, consumers, or neighbors have more voice and ownership.

The cooperative model gives people a structure for shared decision-making, shared responsibility, and shared benefit.

When communities organize, they create options. And sometimes, those options become the services, businesses, and gathering places that help communities thrive.

What is one challenge in your community that people could solve together?

Thinking about starting a food co-op in your rural community? This one's for you. Food Co-op Initiative and Start.coop a...
06/11/2026

Thinking about starting a food co-op in your rural community? This one's for you. Food Co-op Initiative and Start.coop are hosting a free virtual workshop on Monday, June 16 at 11am MT covering the fundamentals of rural food co-op feasibility — including how to conduct community interviews that actually tell you what you need to know.
Then reach out to Anna as she's doing the Rural Grocery work in Montana right now!

Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/xHCfXSO_SoylVuLSR0Ey7Q #/registration

Why rural grocery?Because when a rural community loses its grocery store, it often loses more than a place to buy food.I...
06/10/2026

Why rural grocery?

Because when a rural community loses its grocery store, it often loses more than a place to buy food.

It can mean less access to fresh food, fewer local jobs, fewer gathering places, and one more reason families have to drive somewhere else for daily life.

Across Montana, communities are thinking creatively about how to keep essential services rooted locally. In some places, that includes exploring cooperative ownership, community partnerships, or other models that give residents a voice in the future of the services they depend on.

This is the kind of work that reminds us: economic development is not only about growth. Sometimes it is about helping communities hold onto what matters.

What role does your local grocery store play in your community?

Essential services are part of what help a community feel like home.The grocery store.The credit union.The utilities.The...
06/08/2026

Essential services are part of what help a community feel like home.

The grocery store.
The credit union.
The utilities.
The housing options.
The childcare providers.
The places where people gather.

When those services are locally rooted, communities are better able to shape their own future.

Cooperatives are one way Montanans have organized to meet local needs, keep ownership close to home, and build solutions that reflect the people they serve.

That is why cooperative development matters.

Is there an essential service your community needs?

Think about the places that help your community feel like home.The grocery store.The credit union.The café.The grain ele...
06/05/2026

Think about the places that help your community feel like home.

The grocery store.
The credit union.
The café.
The grain elevator.
The utility.
The childcare provider.
The local market.
The gathering place.

So many essential services are more than businesses. They are part of a community’s identity, connection, and resilience.

What is one local business or service your community couldn’t do without?

Drop it in the comments to give them a shout out and thank them!

Good Morning from a foggy Austin Texas! Tracy is down here to conduct a strategic training session for our counterparts...
06/04/2026

Good Morning from a foggy Austin Texas! Tracy is down here to conduct a strategic training session for our counterparts at UTRGV Texas Rural Cooperative Center. Part of MCDC and Montana Council of Cooperatives services include providing training to other organizations in facilitation, abundant and asset mapping and strategic planning. Interested in what we provide to other organizations? Send us an email on what you need at [email protected] and if we cant do it we will try to connect you with someone who can!

Cooperatives are one of Montana’s strongest tools for local ownership, shared problem-solving, and community resilience....
06/03/2026

Cooperatives are one of Montana’s strongest tools for local ownership, shared problem-solving, and community resilience.

Our work supports that ecosystem in four key ways:

Advocacy: helping elevate cooperative voices and priorities.
Connection: bringing co-ops, partners, and communities together.
Education: creating opportunities to learn and build capacity.
Development: supporting groups as they explore and grow cooperative solutions.

Whether a co-op is already serving its members or a community is just beginning to ask, “Could we co-op that?” these pillars guide how we show up.

Montana cooperatives show up in communities in so many ways: credit unions, utilities, ag co-ops, food systems, housing ...
06/01/2026

Montana cooperatives show up in communities in so many ways: credit unions, utilities, ag co-ops, food systems, housing efforts, community-owned businesses, and more.

At MCDC and Montana Council of Cooperatives , our work centers around four core pillars:

Advocacy.
Connection.
Education.
Development.

Together, these guide how we support existing co-ops, emerging co-ops, partners, and communities exploring cooperative solutions.

We’re here to help strengthen Montana’s cooperative ecosystem, one relationship, resource, and opportunity at a time.

What kind of cooperative work are you seeing in your community?

Address

PO Box 3027, 207 Smelter Avenue NE #7
Great Falls, MT
59403

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 12pm

Telephone

+14067271517

Website

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