In the wake of the pandemic, the customary way of doing many things has been upended. For co-ops, the list of adaptations extends to how we engage with members, including our approach to the time-honored (and legally required) tradition of the annual meeting.
Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli - Minneapolis, Minnesota At Seward Co-op Grocery & Deli in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they saw the benefit of bringing members together over food. “If we promoted the annual meeting as ‘come hear from the board’ it would not be terribly compelling,” said Madeline Kastler, president of the board. “I believe framing it and treating it as a community event [...]
The annual meeting and annual report provide our co-ops with a built-in mechanism for telling the important story of how we make a difference in our member-owners’ lives. Think of them as a structured opportunity for the co-op to be accountable to its member-owners in both governance and operational realms. By creating a compelling annual report and organizing an effective annual meeting (they work [...]
