His father Gottfried Friedrich Raiffeisen was a farmer and also served as the mayor of Hamm.

The family of his mother, Amalie Christiane Susanna Maria, born Lantzendörffer, came from the Siegerland region.

[1] Raiffeisen conceived of the idea of cooperative self-help during his tenure as the young mayor of Flammersfeld.

Motivated by the misery of the poor during the winter famine of 1846/47 he founded the “Verein für Selbstbeschaffung von Brod und Früchten” (Association for Self-procurement of Bread and Fruits).

Based on this idea he came up with the three 'S' formula: self-help, self-governance, and self-responsibility (in the original German: Selbsthilfe, Selbstverwaltung, and Selbstverantwortung).

When put into practice, the necessary independence from charity, politics, and loan sharks could be established.