SUccess!

On November 5th, 2025, 130+ CPA co-op leaders convened at the Festival Center to celebrate our collective work together over the past year. Our DC Annual Meeting gave us a front-row seat to what democratic ownership and collective problem-solving looks like in action.

Throughout the evening we hammered home our theme (along with fans clacking): our co-op has “boots on the ground.” What does that mean to us? It means that members are deeply rooted in our communities, practice enduring mutual aid and know how to weather a storm. We believe that even if things get harder, even if there are more layoffs, more budget cuts, more instability… we are still stronger if we are in it together.

This year’s CPA MA Annual Meeting was our second yearly gathering as a new cooperative of organizations and supporters building power through our collective spending. But it was also more than that. Together, we created a space to celebrate the power of “we.” From the moment attendees arrived at the historic Trinity Church Boston, the energy was electric. Conversations flowed easily, old friends reconnected, and new partnerships began to form.

Last year, the Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative formed a national network of co-ops, the CPA Network (CPA). Three local co-ops now make up the CPA Network: CPA DC, CPA MA and PowerUp OH. Over the past decade, our flagship co-op in DC has helped community institutions save time and money, secure better contract terms, and shift spend to local and BIPOC-owned businesses on over $150 million dollars of contracting.

Insurance costs are on the rise — and not by small margins. Nonprofits of every shape and size, from charter schools to religious institutions, are experiencing notable spikes in their insurance premiums. Increases of 15% to 30% annually are becoming more common, and many organizations are seeing these jumps despite having no changes to their claims history, asset valuations, or operational risk.

I’ve spent years helping build a strong cooperative of charter schools and nonprofits in Washington, DC. Through that work, we’ve learned that thoughtful, collective purchasing can do more than trim budgets. It can build power, strengthen local economies, and reduce the daily burdens shouldered by operations leaders. This trip reminded me just how much appetite there is for that kind of support in places like Tennessee - and how possible it is to bring it there. 

As 2024 comes to a close, our team has been reflecting on all that we’ve accomplished collectively this past year. Together, we have saved mission-driven institutions time and money, shifted contract spend to local, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses, and developed a network of peers that can learn from each other and join hands to create meaningful change. We’re grateful for the role that you’ve played in strengthening the co-op and are excited to share a bit about all that we did together this past year!