Frequently Asked Questions

The Fund for International Cooperative Development (FICD) is the global cooperative movement’s first dedicated, democratic solidarity fund, created to channel cooperative financial resources into crisis response, rebuilding, and long-term community-led development. Unlike traditional aid or external charities, FICD is cooperative-led and member-governed, ensuring that support flows from cooperatives to cooperatives, strengthening resilience where it is needed most. It is rooted in Principle 6.

Launched on 21 December 2024 on the 180th anniversary of the Rochdale Pioneers opening their first store, FICD was created to give the movement a permanent, collective mechanism to act at scale in a world facing escalating conflict, displacement, climate instability, and deepening inequality. It evolved from Co-operatives UK’s International Working Group (2021–2024) into a globally connected solidarity fund designed to meet the moment.

FICD exists because the cooperative movement needs a shared global financial solidarity tool to respond quickly, rebuild effectively, and invest strategically in the future, all through a democratic process grounded in cooperative values.

FICD was launched to enable cooperatives to:

• Respond rapidly to crisis: supporting co-ops on the frontline of conflict, disaster, and displacement to stabilise communities and protect livelihoods.
• Rebuild stronger systems: restoring services, food security, housing, and sustainable livelihoods in the months and years after crisis.
• Invest in long-term resilience: backing cooperative education, leadership development, women’s and youth enterprises, climate-resilient initiatives, and community-owned economic development.

FICD is not a charity or external aid programme, it is a cooperative-led, member-led solidarity fund that raises and distributes cooperative finance to support international cooperative development, crisis response, and long-term cooperative resilience.

Our uniqueness derives from:

1. Democratic decision-making: Every contributing organisation, regardless of level, has a voting role in governance.
2. Cooperative-to-Cooperative solidarity: Funding comes directly from cooperatives, flowing to cooperatives, ensuring community ownership and long-term resilience.
3. Global Partnerships with a deep reach: Our aim is for our partnerships to span cooperative bodies in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, positioning the FICD for truly global impact.

Because membership turns your cooperative’s values into real-world impact at a time when the movement is being tested.

1. It’s the most effective way to act on cooperative solidarity.
   FICD channels cooperative resources directly to cooperatives facing crisis, instability, or rebuilding, not to charities or intermediaries. Your membership makes that possible.
2. You get a democratic say in where funding goes.
   Every member has voting power. Joining means your cooperative helps shape priorities and decides which communities and sectors receive support once distributions begin.
3. You strengthen the wider ecosystem your cooperative depends on.
   Crises ripple across borders and sectors. By stabilising cooperatives elsewhere, you help safeguard supply chains, partners, and the resilience of the global movement.
4. You join a growing global network.
   Members connect with cooperatives across regions through shared learning, visibility, and collaboration, positioning your organisation as an international leader in Principle Six.
5. You help build the movement’s first global solidarity fund.
   Early members are laying the foundations for a permanent, democratic financing mechanism for cooperative crisis response and development. It’s a historic moment, and your cooperative can be part of shaping it.

Cooperatives can support the Fund through three Membership Levels, designed to accommodate organisations of all sizes while ensuring democratic participation:

Supporter Level (£1 to £4,999/year)

• AGM voting rights
• Invitations to global webinars
• Ability to propose project ideas
• Early access to impact reporting (once distributions begin)

Growth Level (£5,000–£24,999/year)

• All Supporter Level benefits
• Participation in advisory discussions
• Logo visibility on FICD channels
• Collaboration opportunities on campaigns

Solidarity Level (£25,000+/year)

• All Growth Level benefits
• Nomination pathways for governance involvement (where applicable)
• High-profile recognition as global solidarity leaders

These levels reflect Principle Six: cooperation among cooperatives, enabling shared leadership and shared impact.

No – The DEC and the FICD serve different purposes and don’t overlap.

The DEC sits outside the scope of the Fund: This isn’t because emergency need is beyond our remit, but because DEC appeals are not co-op-to-co-op mechanisms. FICD exists specifically to support and strengthen co-ops and cooperative institutions internationally.

FICD does not replace DEC giving: Co-operative retailers who have historically supported the DEC should continue to do so. There is no expectation that contributions to the Fund act as a substitute.

No one is ‘giving twice’ :
DEC giving = humanitarian and broad-based.
FICD giving = focused on supporting co-ops in crisis and rebuilding.

Where both operate in the same country, they complement each other: If the DEC launches an appeal for a country affected by crisis, FICD may (subject to member approval and our cooperative objects) support co-ops within that country, ensuring help also reaches cooperative networks and infrastructure.

In short: DEC and FICD meet different needs, both are important, both stand side-by-side, and neither replaces the other

Everything we built in 2025 was designed for one purpose: to create a fund capable of delivering real finacial impact at a moment when the world urgently needs cooperative solutions.

With crises escalating, from conflict and displacement to climate driven instability, the cooperative movement cannot act without a strong, reliable infrastructure. 2025 was about putting that infrastructure in place.

We have:

• Established our vision, governance model, and five-year strategy
• Built secure systems for data, finance, and member engagement
• Developed a clear brand and strengthened visibility across the movement
• Formed global partnerships with ICA regions, We Effect, SEWA and others
• Secured nine early contributors and £133,500 in initial funding

These achievements mean FICD is now ready to scale, attract more members, and build the Fund needed to deliver meaningful impact where cooperatives are under the greatest pressure.

Because we are running out of time. The world is facing converging crises: escalating conflict, rising geopolitical instability, accelerating climate breakdown, and deepening inequality. These pressures are already destabilising communities and the cooperatives that sustain them.

In its 2026–2030 strategy “Practice, Promote and Protect”, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) makes it clear: the cooperative movement must act urgently to defend democracy, tackle inequality, and drive sustainable development. Cooperatives are being called on not just to participate, but to lead. FICD is the mechanism that allows us to respond at scale, turning solidarity into action by pooling resources democratically, strengthening cooperatives in crisis, and supporting long-term resilience where it is most needed.

If we wait, we lose ground – to conflict, to climate impacts, to systems that exclude people from economic control.

If we act now, we build the cooperative resilience, networks, and resources that can withstand shocks and create real alternatives. Supporting FICD now says: cooperatives don’t step back from crisis, we step forward together.

Because the Fund isn’t large enough yet to make meaningful, democratic allocations.

FICD was built in 2025 to ensure that when we distribute resources, we do it transparently and with genuine contributor decision-making. To uphold cooperative principles, we need:

• more contributing members,
• a broader global network, and
• a larger, more stable Fund.

If we distributed too early, contributions would be too small to have real impact and the democratic process would be weakened.

We are growing the membership now so that when distributions begin in late 2026/early 2027, contributors have a real vote and the Fund can support projects at a scale that matters.

Although FICD has already raised £133,500 during its first year, our focus through 2026 is to build a sustainable and democratic Fund, not rush distributions.

We expect to launch the first distribution round toward the end of 2026, once the financial target, systems, and contributor engagement structures are fully in place.

Once distributions begin, FICD will channel cooperative resources directly into communities facing crisis, instability, and long term development challenges. The impact will be practical, measurable, and rooted in cooperative values.

FICD will enable cooperatives to:

• Respond rapidly to crisis: supporting co ops on the frontline of conflict, disaster, and displacement to stabilise communities and protect livelihoods.
• Rebuild stronger systems: helping co ops restore services, food security, housing, and sustainable livelihoods in the months and years after crisis.
• Invest in long term resilience: backing cooperative education, leadership development, women’s and youth enterprises, climate resilient initiatives, and community owned economic development

By pooling resources democratically, FICD will allow cooperatives to shape where funding goes and ensure that support reaches the people and places where it can have the greatest long term effect.

Transparent impact tracking – through a shared dashboard and annual reporting – will show clearly how contributions translate into strengthened co ops, resilient communities, and cooperative solutions in the world’s most fragile contexts.

In short: FICD’s impact will be visible in stronger cooperatives, safer communities, and a globally connected movement capable of meeting crisis with solidarity rather than charity.

Our long-term vision is about impact, building the cooperative capacity the world needs now and in the years ahead. The crises we face today – from conflict to climate instability – won’t be solved overnight. Communities need long-term, democratic investment that strengthens resilience, rebuilds local economies, and keeps decision-making in the hands of the people affected.

FICD aims to grow into a multi-million-pound, globally connected solidarity fund capable of delivering that impact: supporting co-ops in crisis, backing long-term recovery, and enabling communities to secure their own futures.

To achieve this, we are building:

• A diverse, international network of contributing cooperatives committed to collective action
• Strong global partnerships (ICA Americas, SEWA, We Effect, BCCM and others) to amplify reach and expertise
• A steady pipeline of cooperative-led development projects that create real, measurable change
• A permanent platform for cooperative solidarity finance, ensuring the movement has the tools to act whenever and wherever it’s needed