Marilyn’s Hierarchy of Participation
Marilyn Scholl Recorded at The Cooperative Cafe Our cooperatives have made a difference in people’s lives. The food co-ops have made a difference in terms of creating a cooperative economy, and have changed the way [...]
Featured Video: Co-ops as a Hub for Community Development
Terry Bowling, general manager, La Montañita Co-op, Albuquerque, N.M. La Montañita Co-op is a thriving retail and wholesale operation with six retail locations and a warehouse. Terry Bowling, the co-op’s general manager sees potential for [...]
How to create a vision for your company
“To the person who does not know where he wants to go, there is no favorable wind.” Though 2000 years have passed since the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger wrote those words, they’re still true [...]
Safety, Security, and Loss Prevention: Strategies for success
By Michael Feiner, Paul Feiner 170 January - February 2014 Food co-ops may be some of the best-intentioned enterprises across the retail spectrum. They are guided by core values of shared responsibility, environmental stewardship, support [...]
Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance
By Marilyn Scholl, Art Sherwood 170 January - February 2014 Great leaders demonstrate how to be a force for good in local communities and beyond. Our cooperative heroes—the Rochdale Pioneers—were striking weavers who opened a [...]
New Governance Model: The Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance
The cooperative board room does not share all the same purposes as investor-owned corporation or nonprofit boards. Co-ops are organized to benefit their owners, and that is more important than a financial return on investment. [...]
Featured Video: Why Growth Matters
At the Cooperative Café in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2013, participants discussed the question of growth and Sarah Christensen, general manager at GreenTree Cooperative Grocery in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., addressed the group about GreenTree’s approach to [...]
Introducing the Four Pillars
What sets co-ops apart from other companies is their ownership structure, cooperative values and democratic governance. That’s why co-op leadership that is focused specifically on those things that define cooperation is so critical. It’s the [...]
Participation that is Open, Voluntary, Embracing, Safe
Robin Seydel, Membership & Community Development Coordinator La Montañita Co-op, New Mexico
New Resource: Field Guide—Patronage Dividend: Presenting GM Recommendations
One of the key moments in a co-op’s business cycle comes at the end of a fiscal year when it becomes clear how much profit the co-op has generated that year. At that time, the [...]