Area served United States | ||
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Type Cooperative association Industry Cooperative Business Association, International Development Founded March 18, 1916 (March 18, 1916) Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Key people Judy Ziewacz, President & CEO | ||
Founded in 1916 as the Cooperative League of the United States of America, the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) is a United States membership organization for cooperatives, businesses that are jointly-owned and democratically-controlled.
The league's founding president was medical doctor James Peter Warbasse, who served in that role until 1941. Thereafter, the league's presidents included Murray B. Lincoln, former U.S. Congressman Jerry Voorhis, Stanley Dreyer, Glenn Anderson, Morgan Williams, Bob Scherer, Russell C. Notar, Paul Hazen, and Michael Beall. In November 2015, after the resignation of Michael Beall, Judy Ziewacz became interim CEO until she was appointed by the board of directors as president and CEO effective February 1, 2016. Ziewacz is the first woman to hold the office of president and CEO in NCBA CLUSA's 100 years of service.
In its first few decades, it focused on consumer cooperation, and published a monthly magazine, Co-operation.
History
In 1922, it originated and trademarked the twin pines symbol used to represent North American cooperatives. "The pine tree is an ancient symbol of endurance and immortality. The two pines represent mutual cooperation—people helping people."
In 2000 the group successfully lobbied the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to establish a new top-level domain exclusively for cooperative organizations. The domain, .coop, became active in 2002.
NCBA members include some well-known United States consumer brands, such as Ace Hardware, True Value, Nationwide Insurance, Cabot Creamery, Organic Valley, and CHS Inc..