Providing leadership support to mission-driven...
bensandel@columinate.coop
540-421-6976
We all go further when we go together Our consultants help you operate better, so your impact is greater. As a team, we bring on-the-ground experience, practical know-how, and a sense of collegiality to our co-op community. Our collaborative structure allows you to benefit from the combined expertise of the Columinate team: you get access to decades of proven experience that transcends community [...]
By Ben Sandel Cooperative principle four: Autonomy and independence. What do you think about it? Or perhaps a better question is—do you ever think about it? In my consulting practice, I sometimes lead activities designed to get people thinking and talking about cooperative values and principles. I’d never accuse my clients of having forgotten a cooperative principle, but based on the lack of interest, perhaps principle [...]
Ben Sandel is a board leadership consultant and capital campaign expert working with startups and established co-ops helping them to reach their fundraising goals using best practices and clear planning gleaned from a multitude of successful fundraising efforts from food co-ops and startups nationwide. In this short presentation, Ben imparts some great top-level wisdom about how to plan and organize a successful campaign and [...]
The feeling of safety and belonging are also common needs and aspirations. It is why solidarity is a core cooperative value. A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and/or cultural needs and/or aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. —International Cooperative Alliance Statement of the Cooperative Identity
By Ben Sandel 182 January-February 2016 Gaining members quickly and efficiently is a major hurdle for most startup co-ops. A co-op is selling a dream when it has no store, minimal (if any) staff, and, when organizing in areas that don’t have other food co-ops, no credible examples to refer to. This can make membership growth slow and painful. Nevertheless, some startups have had [...]
By Ben Sandel 156 September - October - 2011 PDF download of article: pdf of article In March 2006, about 30 people came to a meeting at the Little Grill Collective restaurant in Harrisonburg, Va., to talk about starting a cooperative. The Little Grill had opened a 600-square-foot health food store (called The Little Store) in a rundown plaza on the poorer side of [...]
As a new co-op project progresses through the 3 stages of the development process and the workload and complexity of the co-op development process increases, founding team and board members often wonder when to hire help, and for what roles.Though the size, skills and situation of each startup group vary, there are points along the 4 Cornerstones in 3 Stages development model where hiring [...]
Please refer to the Startup Policy Template referenced in the video
