CPA Co-op Expands to Richmond, VA

As the Community Purchasing Alliance has grown throughout Northern Virginia and the greater DMV region, we've often wondered whether our cooperative model could create similar opportunities for institutions to collaborate and save on their facility costs elsewhere in Virginia. Located along the I-95 corridor and serving as Virginia's capital city, Richmond is one of the state's largest metropolitan areas. Many of the vendors that already serve our DMV programs have the capacity to work in Richmond, making it a logical next step for expansion.

The opportunity became even more tangible when one of CPA's senior leaders, Shelby Garofalo, relocated to Richmond to begin a doctoral program at Virginia Commonwealth University. With nearly seven years of experience helping grow CPA programs both regionally and nationally, she was uniquely positioned to help lay the groundwork for a cooperative presence in the city.

As Shelby began building relationships, meeting local organizations, and exploring what a cooperative network could look like in Richmond, she discovered something that felt remarkably familiar.

"When I moved to Richmond, I was anxious," Shelby recalls. "I was in a new city, I needed to make friends, and I had to create routines in unfamiliar places. But over time, I quickly learned how kind and welcoming Richmond can be. It was at least six months before anyone casually asked me what I did for work. The genuine care people have for one another was striking."

Shortly after arriving, Shelby experienced one of the city's most challenging recent events: the January 2025 water crisis. Like thousands of residents across Richmond, her household found itself without running water for several days.

"The experience pushed me to think more deeply about what cooperation looks like in practice," she says. "As we navigated a complicated and uncertain situation, neighbors stepped up for one another. One household had bottled water. Another had access to a pool with potable water. Someone else had stocked up on easy-to-prepare meals, while another neighbor shared disposable plates and utensils. Together, we pooled our resources and got through it."

Coming out of that period, she started viewing the city through a different lens. There are more locally owned businesses than national chains. There are more than 600 nonprofit organizations serving the greater Richmond area. It's a community that has been built by its people, for its people. That's cooperation.

So why did CPA expand to Richmond?

At first, the answer was simple: the opportunity was there. Today, the answer runs much deeper. Richmond is home to hundreds of houses of worship, nonprofit organizations, independent schools, and small businesses—all organizations that can benefit from the purchasing power, shared resources, and collaborative relationships that a cooperative like ours creates.

In many ways, Richmond already embodies the values that make cooperatives successful. Our only hope is that we’re able to strengthen and support the spirit of cooperation that already exists there.