Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

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Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

MISSION

To be a catalyst for the development of self-supporting communities through cooperative economic development, land retention, and advocacy.

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund is a cooperative association of Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives that has been fighting to save Black-owned land with cooperative development, land retention, and advocacy since 1967.

02/16/2026

Land was never just property. It was protection, strategy, and infrastructure.

Join us for The Land That Held Us, a Black History Month webinar exploring the roots and future of the Rural Training & Research Center.

Register via link in bio.

02/09/2026

Reflecting on our accomplishments as a member-owned organization. Team work makes the dream work!

02/06/2026

This Black History Month, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund presents a two-part virtual series exploring how land ownership, cooperative economics, and education have protected and strengthened Black communities for generations. From the Civil Rights Movement to the establishment of the Rural Training & Research Center (RTRC), and from HBCU classrooms to rural farmland, this series highlights the institutions and strategies that sustain Black land retention and economic resilience.

Throughout the month, we will share digital spotlights honoring civil rights and cooperative pioneers such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Jo Baker, while also uplifting the work of Charles Prejean, Ralph Paige, Estelle Witherspoon, Wendell Paris, the Zipperts, and the many members and organizers who helped build and sustain the Federation’s cooperative legacy.

Join us as we reflect on the infrastructure behind Black freedom work, and reaffirm our commitment to preserving Black land and cooperative power for future generations.

02/03/2026

🌾 The 43rd Georgia Farmers Conference is here!

Friday, February 13, 2026 | 9AM–2PM EST
📍 Hilton Garden Inn | Albany, GA

Join us for a day of outreach, education, and technical assistance featuring sessions on:

• Co-op Development & Marketing
• Heirs Property
• Farm Management
• Forestry Management
• USDA Programs

We will also honor and celebrate the unwavering passion and commitment of our Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives.

Please see the registration link here: https://www.federation.coop/georgiafarmersconference

For more information, contact:
FSC/LAF Georgia Field Office
229-432-5799
loriwhite@federation.coop

01/22/2026

The voice of our membership matters now more than ever. Our Mississippi and Alabama staff joined coalition partners in Washington, D.C. to advocate for farmers, landowners, and cooperatives.

01/21/2026

We’re hitting the ground running in 2026! The Mississippi Association of Cooperatives has submitted our first USDA FSA loan package in preparation for the upcoming planting season.

01/19/2026

Our purpose was born of the Civil Rights Movement and grounded in Dr. King’s unwavering commitment to liberation, where freedom is not only the absence of bo***ge, but the presence of economic power, cultural identity, and intellectual self-determination within the Black community. This vision lives on through our work in farming, land stewardship, and cooperative economics, where ecosystems, food systems, and people are deeply interconnected and shared responsibility makes freedom possible.

Today, we honor Dr. King’s great legacy and encourage you to take part in community building, service, and reflection as we celebrate his life, his work, and his enduring call toward justice.

12/31/2025

As we look back on the year, we’re proud of the progress made alongside our members and partners.

This year, we supported 75 cooperatives and community-based groups and invested $2.6 million through our Revolving Loan Fund to strengthen local ownership and cooperative infrastructure.

We supported 1,000+ Black farmers and landowners, advancing land protection, heirs’ property solutions, and USDA program access through outreach, education, and technical assistance, while moving into active participation in the USDA Heirs Property Relending Program.

Through our Advocacy Institute, we amplified member voices through national partnerships and public platforms, including participation at Essence Festival and Farm Aid, ensuring farmers are part of key policy conversations.

Through our Regional Marketing System, Federation farmers and cooperatives mobilized across Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, moving 12,000+ lbs of fresh, locally grown produce to families facing food insecurity during the SNAP shutdown.

We advanced 40 cooperatively owned housing units, strengthened resident leadership, invested in family and youth spaces, and continued developing a cooperatively governed Health and Wellness Center to expand rural healthcare access.

We advanced Rural Training and Research Center upgrades and made significant progress toward completing the Memorial Legacy Project, honoring the Federation’s history while remaining focused on long-term sustainability.

Thank you and cheers to 2026.

12/09/2025

This past weekend, we held our 7th Annual FORWARD National Heirs’ Property Conference 2025, bringing together 200 attendees, including landowners, next-generation heirs, practitioners, and advocates from across the South for three powerful days dedicated to one mission: saving Black landownership and protecting generational wealth.

This Boot Camp is a core part of the Federation’s land retention and advocacy work, currently led by the Federation’s Director of Land Retention & Advocacy, Stephanie D. Banks. With a diverse slate of expert speakers and state leaders in attendance, participants explored a comprehensive set of heirs’ property solutions covering estate and succession planning, title clearing, tax foreclosure prevention, mediation, public policy strategies, plus more.

Our land is our legacy and we are committed to protecting it for generations to come.

12/03/2025

This , we’re raising $5M to protect Black land, strengthen rural communities, and sustain cooperative power across the South.

Join us as we expand our Rural Training & Research Center, grow our Revolving Loan Fund, restore the “Forty Acres and a Mule” Endowment, and deepen our land retention work for generations to come.

Every contribution, large or small, helps move this mission forward. No donation is too small when we’re building collective power.

Give today and help secure our next 58 years of impact. Visit link in bio: give2federation.org

11/18/2025

Registration for FORWARD: National Heirs' Property Boot Camp 2025 is open!

If land is in your family or in your future, this is where you need to be.

For Black families across the South, land ownership has always been a cornerstone of stability, wealth, and freedom. Yet more than 60% of all Black-owned land is tied up in heirs' property, making it vulnerable to loss, partition sales, and outside exploitation. We cannot afford to lose any more.

The Boot Camp brings together landowners, next-gen heirs, attorneys, and practitioners to protect what generations before us built.

For landowners and families, the Boot Camp provides real tools to resolve heirs' property, strengthen estate planning, and secure family land for the next generation.
For attorneys and practitioners, it offers law, policy, and practical solutions with the option to earn CLE credit.

Black farmland once spanned up to 19 million acres. Today, less than 3 million remain. But the story is not over, and we have the power to write the next chapter.

For nearly six decades, the Federation has supported families fighting to hold on to their land. This Boot Camp continues that work.

Protect it. Preserve it. Pass it on.

Register by visiting our website link in the bio:
federation.coop/registrationheirspropertybootcamp

11/11/2025

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) was designed to help states, tribes, and territories buy food directly from local and regional producers. Its goal was simple: support small and mid-sized farmers, strengthen local food systems, and make our food supply more resilient.

The USDA has canceled the next round of LFPA funding for 2025.

This funding was critical for farmers and food banks that relied on these dollars to purchase and distribute locally grown food.

Now, with SNAP benefits halted during the government shutdown, communities are facing immediate food insecurity. The loss of LFPA funding removes a key tool that helped bridge gaps in moments exactly like this.

We stand with those affected by the shutdown. In response, we are working to connect our farmers directly with food distribution systems so that communities can continue to access fresh, local food even during federal disruptions.

Address

2769 Church Street
East Point, GA
30344

Telephone

+14047650991

Website

http://www.federation.coop/

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