Our History
Founded in 1916, the National Cooperative Business Association was known as the Cooperative League of America until 1922 and as the Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA) until 1985. It was the first national organization for cooperatives.
Though NCBA's name has changed over the years, its primary mission never has. For nearly 80 years it has been dedicated to developing, advancing and protecting cooperatives. It is the national voice for cooperatives, helping them compete in a changing economic and political environment.
Early History — Consumer Co-ops Only Need Apply
Its founders created NCBA to allow consumer-owned cooperatives to share best practices and management advice. The organization sought to expose businesses that falsely promoted themselves as cooperatives. Today, NCBA's membership includes all types of cooperatives across all industries—consumer, producer, shared services, and worker-owned co-ops. Although we continue to identify those who free-ride on co-ops' relationship with consumers, over time NCBA's programs have been adapted to meet the modern-day needs. Today, NCBA remains the only national organization for all types of cooperatives.
Co-ops As Engines of Economic Growth
Throughout its history, NCBA has worked to make cooperatives a key component of the nation's economic development policy. Its first president, James Warbasse, served on the Consumer Advisory Board, established under the National Recovery Act during the Great Depression. NCBA's co-op leaders continue to serve on national advisory boards and councils that set the nation's economic direction. They also propose legislative and regulatory changes that enhance cooperative businesses.
A New Source of Credit for Urban Co-ops
In the 1970s, as lack of access to credit inhibited the growth of the co-op sector, NCBA successfully lobbied Congress to create the federally chartered National Consumer Cooperative Bank. Now owned by its member co-ops and known as the National Cooperative Bank, it provides lending and other services to the nation's non-agricultural cooperatives. Today the bank has more than $1 billion in assets and more than 1,800 member-owners.
Strengthening Rural & Urban America
In the 1990s, NCBA worked with the National Rural Development Task Force to create a new source of funding for cooperatives in rural areas, and to build a strong, networked co-op development infrastructure. The Task Force convinced Congress to establish the Rural Cooperative Development Grants program in 1991. Since that time, it has provided more than $35 million dollars to a network of centers that help farmers develop cooperatives that enhance their income and boost rural economies. NCBA remains the lead advocate for increased funding for the program.
Today, NCBA is using its development expertise to help troubled inner cities. Its new Urban Cooperative Development Initiative seeks to expand the role of cooperatives in creating economic opportunity through both self-help and legislative solutions.
International Leadership—A Founder of CARE
Over the years, NCBA has played a prominent role in making cooperatives a key component of U.S. international development policy.
In 1944, NCBA formed the Freedom Fund to help cooperatives recover in war-torn Europe. The following year, NCBA played an integral role in creating the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, which provided economic relief to war-torn Europe. NCBA President Murray Lincoln was the first president of that organization, now known and recognized worldwide as CARE.
In 1953, NCBA continued its international relief work by helping India's farmers
build an agricultural cooperative infrastructure. That infrastructure created
a strong, integrated agricultural sector and helped India become one of the
world's largest producers of milk and dairy products. NCBA also helped develop
the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative, now the largest fertilizer business
in Asia.
Since then, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, NCBA's CLUSA International Program has managed over 200 long-term projects in 53 countries in East Asia, Africa and Central America. Its annual international development budget averages $16 million. Because it was originally known as CLUSA when it began its international development work, NCBA continues to use that name in many developing countries.
Creating New Support Institutions
In the United States, NCBA has played a key role in creating new self-help businesses and organizations to support the cooperative sector. It helped form:
Putting Co-ops on the Cutting Edge
In 2000, NCBA brought co-ops to the cutting edge of technology by successfully lobbying the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to create a new top-level Internet domain—.coop—exclusively for cooperatives. The new .coop joins .com and .org at the end of web and e-mail addresses. One of only seven new domains approved, .coop distinguishes cooperatives from investor-owned businesses and charitable organizations on the worldwide web. The .coop registry, launched in January 2002 has registered more than 6,000 .coop Internet addresses.
The Future
As it looks to the future, NCBA continues to address the challenges facing cooperatives, and to identify self-help and legislative solutions that will help co-ops overcome them.
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