Democracy/Participation

Cooperative Board Leadership Development: Mid-Year Report

By Mike Houston|2023-05-05T20:04:56-04:00August 22nd, 2022|

The Columinate Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) program provides annual board support that includes monthly consulting, facilitated board retreats, board training, and resource development. CBLD helps boards take advantage of their collective knowledge and talents, identify their annual goals, and connect with specific resources for their challenges of the moment. The program is run and staffed by industry professionals with experience and expertise in a variety of areas, and it can help to broaden the knowledge base each co-op has to draw upon to meet their goals.

Deepening the Work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

By LaDonna Sanders Redmond|2023-05-05T20:27:03-04:00October 26th, 2018|

By LaDonna Sanders–Redmond Seward Community Co-op (Minneapolis, Minn.) began its equity work in the fall of 2013. Seward’s second store, Friendship, and its first restaurant/commissary production facility, the Creamery Café, both opened in 2015. Building the Friendship Store in an historically African-American community required taking a closer look at the co-op’s commitment to equitable relationships as stated in the Seward ends statement. Taking a deep [...]

Using Marketing to Build Success: Making Cooperative Ownership and Governance Real

By Rebecca Torpie|2023-05-05T20:05:14-04:00July 22nd, 2018|

By Rebecca Torpie, Thane Joyal 196 May-June 2018 What does it mean to be an owner of a consumer cooperative? At the most fundamental level, cooperative ownership means that we are in business together. And for the owners of a cooperative that is under substantial market pressure (and what business isn’t?), everything the business does needs to match the needs and aspirations of the community that [...]

Co-op Capitalization Campaigns that Engage and Inspire

By Patricia Cumbie|2023-05-05T20:05:23-04:00May 9th, 2018|

Research suggests that public speaking tops the list as the number-one fear-inducing activity for most people. Put that together with asking people for money, and you’ve got a potent combination for high anxiety.

Leaders in Democracy: Seeking Win-Win through Assertive Cooperation

By Arthur Sherwood|2023-05-05T20:05:41-04:00March 18th, 2018|

By Art Sherwood 191 July-August 2017 If we created opportunities in meaningful participation by seeking win-win, it would be a game changer—in our relationships, in our customer service, in our strategies, in our partnerships, and in our innovative approaches to solving pressing social problems. Democracy is hard. And because it is hard, it takes skills and practice and a willingness to work with others. Why [...]

Telling Stories with Intention

By Patricia Cumbie|2023-05-05T20:05:50-04:00January 11th, 2018|

In our digitally-connected universe, there has been an explosion of stories—and many of them come to us like processed food. Quick, canned, too many empty calories. So much of what people encounter in the form of news or stories about organizations or individuals feels inconsequential or insincere. All of us have experienced what that feels like, wading through an information overload to try to [...]

Autonomy and Independence: What’s Up with Principle Four?

By Ben Sandel|2023-05-05T20:05:53-04:00December 28th, 2017|

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 [...]

What Kind of Experience Does Your Food Co-op Deliver?

By Patricia Cumbie|2023-05-05T20:06:08-04:00September 13th, 2017|

Customer service experiences are a very hot topic, especially online and in social media. People regularly share the good and the bad, and social media has become the new word-of-mouth. It’s where people hear from friends, family and acquaintances how they “rate” the businesses they frequent. The Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods has upped the ante on how customer service for groceries is going [...]

Cooperative Service Training Helps Staff Promote the Co-op

By Columinate|2023-05-05T20:06:09-04:00September 13th, 2017|

Friendly City Food Co-op Harrisonburg, VA Year founded: 2011 Membership investment: $200 Number of members: 1,800 Number of employees: 34 Retail square feet: 5,600 When Friendly City Food Co-op in Harrisonburg, Va. opened as a startup in 2011, they quickly gained a positive reputation in the community for providing great customer service. As Mary Beth Kannen, the co-op’s front-end team leader said, “The name [...]

Everyone Welcome? Personal Narratives about Race and Food Co-ops

By Jade Barker|2023-05-05T20:06:12-04:00August 30th, 2017|

By Jade Barker and Patricia Cumbie We believe that now is a critical time to engage our cooperative community in important conversations about racism and oppression. Everyone Welcome? Personal Narratives about Race and Food Co-ops presents a variety of perspectives on what can be done to make food co-ops more racially inclusive. Fifteen co-operators from a variety of backgrounds — class, gender, race, ethnicity, [...]

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