Cooperative 101

Playgrounds flood with games during school recess. A great example is hopscotch. The game can be played by one child or a large group, and the rules are simple. A course is laid out, typically drawn in chalk on pavement. Blocks are numbered in the order they must be hopped in, with a home, or safe, spot at the end. Then players toss a marker into designated squares and hop through the course.

In some ways, the game reflects how  cooperatives were formed. Co-ops—not-for-profit, member-owned businesses—may serve a few people or large groups. But all co-ops use the same “course,” following seven key principles. By “hopping” on each principle, co-ops provide an efficient consumer resource focused on service, not profit.

Youth Tour is a GREAT example of the cooperatives principle, Concern for Community, being practiced.

What are co-ops?

Cooperatives are owned by their members—the people who receive services from them—and are found in many industries. For example, more than 900 electric co-ops serve 42 million Americans. According to the National Cooperative Grocers Association, 30 percent of farmers’ products are marketed through more than 3,000 farmer-owned cooperatives in America. Familiar brands like SunKist, Land O’Lakes, Cabot Creamery, Ocean Spray, and Sun-Maid are all co-ops formed to help farmers distribute products.

In banking, 10,000 credit unions provide financial services to 84 million members across the nation. Co-ops have also been formed to provide child care, insurance, and housing. Nearly 30,000 cooperatives operate at 73,000 locations nationally.

Guiding Principles

The cooperative movement traces its roots to a store started by weavers in the town of Rochdale, England in 1844. The Rochdale model revolved around a set of guidelines drawn up by one of its members, Charles Howarth. When introduced into the U.S. by the National Grange in 1874, these “Rochdale Principles” fueled a cooperative explosion.

Although stated in many ways, the Rochdale Principles hold that a cooperative must provide: