From May 20 to 22, cooperators from around the country participated in NCBA CLUSA’s 2024 Virtual Hike the Hill event. Over three days, cooperators from across sectors met with 20 members of the U.S. Congress to educate staff on the cooperative business model and advocate for co-op legislative priorities.
Hike the Hill participants met with the offices of members appointed to key U.S. House and Senate committees, including the Agriculture Committee, Small Business Committee and Appropriations Committee. Virtual Hike the Hill brought together representatives from across co-op sectors including finance, credit unions, worker co-ops, housing, food and development organizations both domestically and abroad—as a unified voice on issues impacting the cooperative community.
Click here to view our Virtual Hike the Hill Resources
Grassroots advocacy is critical to ensuring elected officials understand that cooperatives are a time-tested solution to the most pressing issues of our time. There are no better advocates for better policies to support co-ops than the member-owners doing the work within their communities. Virtual Hike the Hill allowed congressional offices to hear directly from their co-op constituents about the challenges cooperatives face, the benefits cooperatives bring to their communities, and how legislators can work with NCBA CLUSA to craft policy that promotes the development of cooperatives in the U.S. and internationally.
NCBA CLUSA’s advocacy team encourages members and co-ops across the country to engage with the members of Congress, state legislators and local policymakers, including inviting them to your co-op. Members can reach out to advocacy@ncba.coop with any questions about how you can become a co-op advocate at the federal, state, or local policy level.