Great Idea: Templates for Board Use
The startup Monadnock Food Co-op opened its 13,000-square-foot store just a wee bit ahead of schedule last month in Keene, New Hampshire. Yes, you read that right. Ahead of schedule. Of course having a committed board and manager are key to that accomplishment. Yet the reason for this is that their group was able to stay on task and complete projects on time. [...]
Business Plan Outline
SYNOPSIS Executive summary. Write this last. Highlight key information from the plan-who you are, what you are going to do, why and how it will be financed. (Not in detail, that comes in the plan itself.) BACKGROUND History. One page on how the Co-op got to this point: How/who/why it was started (vision), bringing it up to this time. Key accomplishments to date. Ownership. Legal [...]
‘Fresh Start’ Bylaws Template
UPDATED: February 27, 2016 Bylaws are an important set of governing agreements in which the member-owners of a cooperative articulate the special dual relationship they have with each other: members of an association and owners of a business. In the bylaws, the member-owners define how they will make certain decisions together and how they will empower a board to make other decisions on [...]
Great Idea: General Manager Reporting Templates
Reports from the general manager are one of the most important tools boards have for monitoring their co-op’s operation. But sometimes the reports, while very informative, don’t always deliver information in a way that is geared toward making governance decisions. This can lead to boards spending their time asking a lot of questions of the general manager about the information in the report, rather [...]
Board Leadership Illustrated
Board Leadership Illustrated