Coopfond is based in Rome and serves as the solidarity fund for Legacoop, Italy’s oldest federation of cooperatives. Established following Law 59/1992, Coopfond is structured as a joint-stock company with a share capital of €120,000, fully held by Legacoop Nazionale. Its capital is sourced primarily from a statutory provision requiring Italian cooperatives to allocate 3% of their annual profits to national mutual funds. Coopfond’s mandate is tied to the cooperative movement’s principle of mutual aid, not private profit.
Coopfond’s activities span financial support for the creation, consolidation, and growth of cooperatives. This typically includes investments in new cooperatives, support for worker buyouts (where employees rescue companies in crisis by converting them into cooperatives), and assistance to social cooperatives. In terms of scope, Coopfond also supports projects for innovation, sustainability, and youth entrepreneurship.
The organization has played a notable role in sectors such as social welfare, agri-food, and manufacturing. For example, Coopfond contributed to the rescue of factories and the revitalization of rural communities by backing new agricultural cooperatives set up on land confiscated from criminal organizations. Over the years, Coopfond’s interventions have preserved thousands of jobs nationwide.
Coopfond operates within a national network, but its resources and policy decisions are centrally coordinated from Rome, in line with its foundational legislation and its relationship to Legacoop. Its operations embody a form of economic solidarity designed to reinforce the cooperative ecosystem and ensure its resilience across economic cycles.