2011 09 20 ora lg and island city fc and ag
TRANSCRIPT
NW Co-op Development Center
La Grande, OR – Co-op Ag MarketingNortheast Oregon Economic Development District
Sept 20th, 2011
Eric Bowman, Cooperative Development [email protected]
1063 S Capitol Way # 211Olympia, WA 98501
360.943.4241
Presentation Overview1. Intro
2. Co-ops 101 and Overview
3. Food Co-ops, Ag Co-ops and emerging models
4. Development process
5. Q&A
6. Next Steps
NWCDCThe Center
a 501(c)3 nonprofit which provides development services for new and existing co-ops
Our mission to foster community economic development through the co-op business model
We’rea team of co-op developers with skills specific to start-up and organizational business development
Co-op Role
U.S. Facts:– 3,000 farmer co-ops market 30% of farmers’ products– 6,400 housing co-ops provide 1.5m homes– 10,000 credit unions provide services to 84m
members– 1,000 rural electrics operate ½ the nation’s
distribution– 47,000 co-ops serve 43% of the population
Top 100 co-ops’ 2009 revenues = $176 Billion!
Co-ops 101
Investor owned:
Sole proprietor:
Co-ops are member:◦ Owned◦ Controlled◦ Benefited
Ownership
Member-Owners can be
– Consumers– Producers/Farmers– Workers– Other Businesses
Distributionism
Consumer◦ Credit Unions◦ Housing◦ Retail (e.g. food co-ops)◦ Farm Supply
Two Schools
Producer◦ Worker◦ Farmer◦ Artisan
Distributionism
Another School
Solidarity or Multi-Stakeholder◦ Producers & Buyers Co-op:◦ Farms◦ Institutions
◦ Weaver Street Market:◦ Worker-owners◦ Consumer-owners
◦ Idaho’s Bounty Co-op:◦ Producer-owners◦ Consumer-owners
Co-op to Co-op Supply Chain
Why Cooperate?…to access resources not individually achievable
Marketable Co-op Benefits; “Goodwill”• Keep profits, ownership and control local • Accountable• Trusted
Unique Characteristics of Co-ops
• Owned/controlled by members, not outside investors • Exist solely to serve members• Return surplus to members based on use, not
investment• Pay taxes on income kept for investment/reserves;
surplus revenue returned to members who pay taxes• Economy of scale = valued added
Relationships and Authority
Co-op Development Stages
• Identify a need a co-op could meet
• Form Steering Committee• Research Feasibility • Review Findings (Go/No Go)• Membership Drive• Planning and Financing• Begin Operations (Go/No Go)
How We Assist
• Facilitate identifying mission and goals
• Train founding Board members• Market and feasibility research• Assist with organizing• Professional, 3rd party perspective• General business consulting
Project LifecycleProject Lifecycle
Food Co-ops
Ag Co-ops
Online Food Co-ops
Thank You!
Eric [email protected]
Northwest Cooperative Development Center1063 Capitol Way S # 211 Olympia, WA 98501
360.943.4241 | www.nwcdc.coop
Fostering community economic development through the cooperative business model