Any store can provide natural foods—just like any financial institution can provide checking accounts. Therefore, for a co-op, a strong supportive membership is the key to success. Without it, a co-op is just another store that has to compete on price, product, or service alone. Ownership by the consumer-users distinguishes food co-ops from other natural foods or grocery stores.

Given the importance of members, all areas of the co-op are affected by consumer- ownership. For membership to be a key strength, it cannot be just an appendage to “regular” store operations. The purpose of this workbook is to provide practical tools to help co-ops build membership programs that create a sense of ownership, loyalty, and pride among members.

Specific objectives of this workbook are to:

• help co-ops identify the need for strong membership programs
• help co-ops integrate consumer ownership into all activities
• stimulate innovative and creative thinking and discussion about the meaning of membership and ownership in cooperatives
• provide a blueprint for building a supportive membership
• provide co-ops with the tools to assess their own membership programs
• help co-ops develop a plan to make improvements to membership programs
• provide tools and examples of successful membership activities used by co-ops around the United States

This workbook has been developed to fill a void. Despite the vital need to make membership a cornerstone of a co-op’s success, few resources are available to pro- vide inspiration and training. We sincerely hope that this workbook will help co-op leaders strengthen and revitalize their membership efforts to make this area a foun- dation for long-term viability and distinction.

This book is primarily oriented toward consumer co-ops—cooperatives whose mem- bers are individuals or groups using the services of the co-op for their personal con- sumption needs. In addition, this book is specifically targeted to helping consumer food co-ops, though portions will be applicable to co-ops in other industries.