General Co-ops

Group

General Info

Co-ops 101- An Introduction to Cooperatives
Frederick, Donald: USDA. An introduction to cooperatives, covering topics including history, principles, sectors, business structures, governance, officers, personnel, staff, equity, and financing.

Que es una Cooperativa?
Coontz, E. Kim.

West Coast Cooperative Directory and Resource Guide
Coontz, E. Kim, Mahlon Lang, and Karen Spatz: UC Davis Center for Cooperatives. A directory of co-ops in California, Washington, and Oregon. Entries are organized by co-op type and includes a summary of co-ops by type.

Cooperatives: Principles and Practices in the Twenty-first Century
Zeuli, Kimberly A. and Cropp, Robert: University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. A booklet on cooperative history (international and domestic), classification, business structures, officers, personnel, communications, finances, formation, and overall benefits and limitations.

Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives
The cooperative ownership model is used in a wide variety of contexts in the United States, ranging from the production and distribution of energy to delivery of home health care services for the elderly. Although cooperative businesses have been responsible for many market innovations and corrections of market imperfections, little is known about their impact as an economic sector. Until this project, no comprehensive set of national-level statistics had been compiled about U.S. cooperative businesses, their importance to the U.S.

Starting Up

Essential Business Planning Elements

Coontz, E. Kim: CCCD. Adapted from Ward and Kennedy, The Business Plan Manual. An overview of the purpose and components of a business plan.

Feasibility Study Checklist

Coontz, E. Kim: CCCD. Adapted from Adams and Hansen, Putting Democracy to Work. A checklist of steps to include in examining the feasibility of the cooperative venture.

Starting a Co-op: Principles, Phases, Steps & Elements for Success

Karen Zimbelman, Kim E. Coontz, and Malan Audrey: A brief overview of cooperative principles, phases of co-op development, steps to starting a co-op and elements needed for a successful co-op start-up.

Operations

Basic Responsibilities of the Co-op Board of Directors

Coontz, E. Kim: CCCD. Describes the roles and responsibilities of co-op boards.

Conflict Resolution Tips for Co-op Members

Coontz, E. Kim: CCCD.

Guidelines for Successful Organizational Meetings

Coontz, E. Kim: CCCD. Adapted from Haberman, Gayle, Facilitating Meetings. An overview of strategies to improve meeting effectiveness—including information about preparation, recording minutes, facilitation, encouraging participation, and addressing concerns.

University of Wisconsin Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives

The cooperative ownership model is used in a wide variety of contexts in the United States, ranging from the production and distribution of energy to delivery of home health care services for the elderly. Although cooperative businesses have been responsible for many market innovations and corrections of market imperfections, little is known about their impact as an economic sector. Until this project, no comprehensive set of national-level statistics had been compiled about U.S. cooperative businesses, their importance to the U.S.

Other

University of Wisconsin Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives

Resources

Canadian Cooperative Association

The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) is a national umbrella organization representing co-operatives and credit unions. We are a not-for-profit co-operative owned by our members.

Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University

The Coady International Institute is a training center specializing in leadership development. It operates from a complex of facilities located on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Cooperative Business New Zealand

The site should be a useful resource on matters to do with co-operative and mutual business information.

International Co-operative Alliance

The ICA is an international non-governmental organisation which unites, represents and serves co-operatives worldwide.

Sustainable Economies Law Center: Coop Law Library

Legal information, best practices, and supporting tools for cooperatively owned businesses and organizations.

UK Cooperative Group

The Co-operative Group employs over 70,000 people, operates more than 3,000 retail outlets, as well as online and 'business to business' operations, and in 2002 our sales topped £7billion.

University College Cork, Center for Co-operative Studies

The Centre for Co-operative Studies is a university research centre that promotes education and training and independent research and consultancy in all aspects of co-operative organisation.

University of Saskatchewan, Centre for the Study of Co-operatives

The objectives of the Centre are: to develop and offer university courses that provide an understanding of co-operative theory, principles, development, structures, and legislation; to undertake original research into co-operatives; to publish co-operative research, both that of Centre staff and that of other researchers; and to maintain a resource centre of co-operative materials that supports the Centre's teaching and research functions.