Cooperative managers are charged with creating reports that demonstrate financial accountability to the board. Yet some managers struggle with having the right amount of information for their boards. When it comes to financial reporting what is the right amount? In the Columinate Library in the GM Report Support section, managers can find templates for financial conditions monitoring reports that gives boards the valuable information they [...]
Many people visit a food co-op on a daily basis, not just to meet their needs for groceries, but to get information or be more engaged in their communities. Likewise, hundreds upon thousands of people also use public libraries with a high degree of participation. John Sheller, a trustee at PCC Natural Markets in Seattle, Wash. and manger of the King County Library System, [...]
Sean Doyle is the general manager of Seward Community Co-op, a rapidly growing food co-op in Minneapolis, MN. Doyle is an energetic advocate for staff empowerment, and in this video he makes the case that greater co-op participation is enhanced when people are engaged in a workplace where the values of cooperation are in place and part of every workday. “When we talk [...]
Joe Marks had been the board president at the startup Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, NH for three years. Marks had been instrumental in leading the co-op from its founding to operational governance. He’s currently finishing his current board term with one year left, but not as an officer. His new role as an at-large board member is to act as a resource [...]
People join co-ops to be a part of a community with shared values, and to belong to an association that enhances their well-being. Their sense of belonging is reinforced and grows when the co-op meets their needs, when they feel included, and when they understand that the co-op also belongs to them! Check out this short video by Patricia Cumbie on this important aspect [...]
From September 2014 Our CBLD team recently updated our set of template policies (which you can find in “Sample Policies” section of the CBLD Library) to incorporate new learning and feedback from our client boards and managers. The new “Planning and Financial Budgeting” policy template was redesigned in order to help boards and managers focus attention on Ends accomplishment. Now, in the GM Report [...]
Along with the template Financial Conditions policy, in the CBLD Library you can find an easy to use monitoring report template that reflects the trends approach outlined in this article. When it comes to numbers and data, context matters. This is particularly important when we are talking about financial data; the context in which we place particular numbers helps us make meaning of [...]
How will you make your next meeting the best meeting ever? Here is a useful tool for helping you run effective meetings and create common ground with groups. You’ll find tips for meeting process design, preparing for a meeting, creating meeting materials and the agenda, as well as insight into the stages of group development and meeting process. “In this [...]
Realistically the board president can’t do everything. No matter how strong someone is at the role, having a hired facilitator may give board chairs the opportunity to lead with their strengths and address different governance needs. More boards are finding that hiring a trained facilitator has also helped make their meetings run smoother. A win-win for everyone. At Abundance Cooperative Market in Rochester, New [...]
The nominations committee of the Friendly City Food Co-op in Harrisonburg, Va. has been meeting since January to get a head start on the board nominations process. In addition to finding excellent candidates and improving the voting process, the co-op also wants to ensure it has contested elections. “Each year we are trying to be more proactive,” said Laura Toni-Holsinger, the board president. “I [...]
