2026 Co-op Fest Recap

Our third annual Co-op Fest was an astounding success! We are so thankful to all of the cooperatives and solidarity economy partners who participated, all of our sponsors, and all of the 200+ people who came!

Co-op fest has quickly become our favorite part of the year at Cooperation Buffalo. It's a time where our community shines, the bonds we forged over the year get reinforced, and we get to celebrate our growing cooperative economy in Western New York. Thanks to you, we made over $2,000 in sales, and raised almost $10,000 in sponsorships. We featured 10 cooperatives and 7 solidarity economy organizations, and had basket raffle items from 15 local businesses!

Co-op Fest is a day rooted in people power and collective care, a truly collaborative effort that brings people together to celebrate everything co-ops!  We’re proud to be part of this growing movement where we build power through shared ownership, equity, and decision-making. Some examples of Mutual Aid and Principle 6 (co-ops helping co-ops) in action at Co-op Fest:

• Buffalo Toy Library brought toys and entertainment for the little ones

• Cooperation Buffalo borrowed tents and chairs from the Tool Library

• Farmer Pirates Compost provided compost services for the event

• Over 15 businesses donated items for our Basket Raffle, including Lexington Co-op and BreadHive Bakery

• Extra Extra Pizza donated slices to Co-op Fest volunteers

• Friends, family, and supporters who volunteered at the festival

• And so much more!

Another important aspect of Co-op Fest for us is Principle 5 - Education, Information, and Training. Every year we make it a point to give the cooperatives in our network an opportunity to educate the public about themselves and their mission, both through tabling and by speaking at the event. This year we welcomed Atraeu from Nickel City Housing Cooperative, who spoke about their cooperative housing model and the benefits of this kind of low cost housing; Jenny Bruce from Lexington Cooperative Markets, who spoke to Lexington's long standing involvement in the cooperative community in WNY; and Josh from Farmer Pirates Compost who spoke about the benefits of worker ownership. Finally, our Executive Director Andrew Delmonte provided some highlights of Cooperation Buffalo's work over the past year:

• 31 new co-op leaders graduated in November from the Cooperative Changemakers Fellowship

• We’ve provided 1-on-1 technical assistance to about a half dozen projects that emerged from the Fellowship in the first 3 months of this year, and we are currently supporting 12 co-ops with long-term technical assistance

• In 2025 we provided co-ops with over 550 hours of technical assistance and supported over 60 workers

• In the past year, we’ve awarded $2,500 in microgrants direct to co-ops to support legal formation, professional development, and member-owner training

• We published a digital 200-page workbook called “The Cooperative Academy Workbook” based on the Fellowship and Cooperative Academy courses, that includes self-paced modules that help teams of co-op entrepreneurs launch worker-owned co-ops or convert an existing business to worker ownership

• We’ve been able to secure 3 new loans for worker co-ops so far in 2026: 2 lines of credit and an expansion loan, totaling $170k

• All-time, we have now brought over $1.5M in capital to the Buffalo co-op economy through our non-extractive loan program

We closed out the evening with an announcement and call to action from Board President Tori Kuper - we are asking for 30 new people to join our Collective Power Giving Circle by the end of the year. When you give to Cooperation Buffalo, you help empower workers and communities with the knowledge, tools, and opportunities needed to create businesses that are owned and governed by the people who make them successful. Every day, we work to create a future where economic opportunity is accessible to all, communities thrive together, and community ownership becomes a powerful tool for lasting social and economic change. Join our Collective Power Giving Circle to become part of a community of consistent, values-driven supporters who are investing in Buffalo’s cooperative future. The first five people to become members at the $35/month level will receive a gift basket valued at $75 or more! Please join us today in building a new economy that puts people first. Because we are stronger, together!