Impact &
Success Stories
Cooperatives are built on the idea that communities are stronger when they own and control the enterprises they depend on. Here are some of the businesses Mission West CDC has helped bring to life.
Building Community-Owned Enterprise in Rural Montana
Since our founding, the Cooperative Development Center has helped groups of community members, farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs form cooperative enterprises that keep wealth in the community.
Ronan Cooperative Brewery
Montana's First Consumer-Owned Cooperative BreweryDowntown Ronan needed a gathering place, and a committed group of residents decided to own one themselves. The Ronan Cooperative Brewery is Montana's first consumer-owned cooperative brewery, born out of community organizing, member investment, and cooperative development support from Mission West CDC.
The brewery anchors downtown Ronan's revitalization, providing a locally owned social hub and demonstrating what community ownership can do for a small rural town.
Glacier Processing Cooperative
Preserving a USDA-Inspected Meat Facility for Family-Scale RanchersWhen an independent USDA-inspected meat processing facility was at risk of closure, it threatened the livelihoods of family-scale ranchers and livestock producers who depended on it. Mission West CDC helped the ranchers form a producer cooperative to acquire and operate the facility collectively.
The Glacier Processing Cooperative preserved critical processing infrastructure and created a sustainable, democratically controlled path forward for ranchers in the region.
Western Montana Musicians Cooperative
A Democratic Organization for Working MusiciansMusicians in western Montana faced the same challenges as independent workers everywhere: unpredictable income, no collective bargaining, and no shared infrastructure. The Western Montana Musicians Cooperative brought working musicians together under a democratic organizational structure.
As a worker cooperative, musicians own and govern the organization together, ensuring that the benefits of their collective work stay with them.
Northwest Food Hub Network
A Farmer-Owned Cooperative for Year-Round Local Food DistributionLocal farmers needed consistent, year-round market access, and institutional buyers needed reliable, aggregated local food supply. The Northwest Food Hub Network brings together farmer-owners in a cooperative structure designed to bridge that gap.
By pooling distribution logistics and market relationships under cooperative ownership, the network allows individual farms to access markets and efficiencies that wouldn't be possible alone.
Want to Start a Cooperative?
The Cooperative Development Center works with groups at every stage, from early-stage feasibility and organizing through launch and beyond. We provide facilitation, legal document templates, business planning, capitalization strategies, and access to cooperative-specific financing through the BDC.
There's no one-size-fits-all model. Whether you're converting a business, preserving a community asset, or starting something new, we work with you to design the structure that fits your community's needs.
Talk to the
CDC Team
Whether you’re ready to start, exploring the idea, or want to chat through what’s possible, we’d love to hear from you.
Tell Us About Your Co-op Idea
Taylor will follow up within one business day.
Related Resources
Communities Are
Stronger Together
Cooperative ownership builds wealth in the community, preserves essential services, and creates democratic institutions that answer to the people they serve.