Co-operatives

• How to choose the right business structure: Starting a co-op is an exciting process! But is the co-op model the right fit for your group? This resource from Small Business BC describes the pros and cons of forming an unincorporated (sole proprietorship, partnership) vs. an incorporated (non-profit, LLC, cooperative) business.
• Business Structure Overview: If you decide to go the incorporated business route, this handy chart from Small Business BC gives an overview of the difference between a non-profit, corporation, and cooperative.
• The Cultivating Co-op Guide: A step-by-step manual, created by the BC Cooperative Association (BCCA) that gives an overview of the cooperative model, as well as a comprehensive process for starting a cooperative in BC.
• Co-operate NOW Course: The BCCA also offers their Co-operate NOW course several times a year. They describe it as “an interactive blended learning experience designed to support co-ops and co-operators flourish.”
• Introduction to Cooperatives Course: Cooperatives First has a five-part online course that will guide you from early planning and incorporation to board governance and business plans.
• Community Evolution Facilitation Guide: This guide outlines a facilitation process for forming a co-operative. It contains Community Economic Development best practices that will guide a group through community reflection, decision-making, and cooperation for the development of a community enterprise that will generate long-term benefits to the community.
• Local Food and Farm Co-op Courses: Local Food and Farm Co-op (LFFC) offers courses that range from ‘Co-op Development’ for groups that are just starting out to ‘Leveraging your people power’ for groups that want to strengthen their cooperative enterprise.
• The BC Farmers Market Guide to Starting a Marketing Cooperative: A short guide by the BC Farmers Market Association that walks through some basics of co-ops from a farming perspective. Although not comprehensive, it includes some case studies to give you a flavour as to the types of farmers’ co-ops that already exist in BC!
• The BC Government Cooperatives Page: All of the legal requirements for incorporating a co-operative.
• The Co-op Creator: A wealth of resources to answer most of your co-op creation questions! From early stage to incorporation, financing to additional resources for co-ops that are already up and running, the resources section offers articles on common challenges faced by both new and established cooperators.
• Budget Template: By the Co-op Creator, this resource is a starting point for determining what your start-up costs will be for your co-op.
• Cooperative Business Planning: Creating a business plan as a co-op is the ‘same-same-but-different’ from creating a business plan as a farm. This guide from BCCA will walk you through creating a co-op business plan. The activities in the guide reference a business canvas that is not included in the guide. YA has a Business Model Canvas template that you can use.
• Co-op Feasibility Study: A feasibility study is a type of ‘reality check,’ and designed to determine if your co-op enterprise will be viable and sustainable. This short guide from BCCA Co-operate Now course is a good place to start before jumping into creating a more comprehensive business plan.
• Co-op Conflict resolution and Decision Making: Setting up processes and policies will ensure that disagreement can be a generative experience for your co-op. This video from Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Advancement out of the University of Texas, RioGrande Valley, gives an overview of governance and how they relate to conflict resolution.
• Resourcing your co-op: Accessing capital to start your cooperative can feel like a daunting task! This summary from the BCCA can give you an idea of the types of creative financing that is available for new cooperatives.

Co-ops, like any enterprise, benefit from consistent tweaking and a little TLC. Below are some resources for existing co-ops for strengthening their cooperative mojo.

• ACCESS Shared Services: Need a bookkeeper, graphic designer, or web-hosting services for your co-op enterprise? ACCESS offers a concierge service for business services such as bookkeeping, marketing, web hosting and design. Your co-op must be a  member of BCCA or another member organization to use these services.
• Cooperative Board of Directors: It’s quite common for new co-ops to have an inexperienced board of directors. Board of Directors can play a critical role in ensuring the success of a cooperative if given proper guidance and training on how to do so. This guide lays out the key responsibilities to set a strong foundation for good governance.
• BCCA Governance Workshop: BCCA provides training workshops for executive directors and boards.
• Co-op Guide for Farm Market Managers: can get questioned by Farm Market Managers about whether or not they are in violation of farmers market guidelines/by-laws. This short guide by BC Farmers Market Association helps to demystify farm co-ops and farm collectives, and also outlines what you need to provide market managers to participate as a vendor at a Farmers Market.

One of the revolutionary aspects of the cooperative model is that ownership is shared by people and not by wealth (one-member-one-vote vs. one-share-one-vote). By empowering each individual to participate actively in shaping organizational direction, cooperatives have the potential to transform how our economy is run–from the bottom up.

What does empowerment mean when running a business enterprise? Our relationship with power is foundational in how we interact with one another.

• Creating Healthy Power Dynamics: This article gives some tips for creating healthy power dynamics in a working environment
• Hierachy or Power Dynamics?: This article highlights power dynamics rather than  hierarchy as a potential source of issues.

As a society, we are unpacking a lot of historically bad habits. As value-driven organizations, cooperatives provide an opportunity to practice new ways of relating with one another that offer a better reflection of our values.

• Positionality Exercise: This resource offers some context on positionality of different forms of privilege
• “So our co-ops are mostly white”: This cheekily-titled article helps to name steps in creating more inclusive and representative organizations.