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How to Start a Cooperative

Starting a worker owned cooperative for home care workers
Guidance and resources for building a worker owned home care cooperative. A joint project of USDA Rural Development, CAP Services, Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. Funding by the Mutual Services Cooperative Fund.

Considering Cooperation: A Guide for New Cooperative Development
by Brian M. Henehan and Bruce L. Anderson
Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, February 2001

Cooperative Feasibility Guide
By James Matson
United States Department of Agriculture
Rural Business - Cooperative Service
Service Report 58

The Co-operative Formation Decision
Graeme Charles and David Griffiths
Cooperative Federation of Victoria, Australia, 2003

Cooperative Governance: This page includes sample Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, information on Boards of Directors and sample membership documents.

Cooperatives: A Tool for Community Development.
This nine-chapter manual was produced by the UW Center for Cooperatives and Cooperative Development Services (CDS) for the 1998 Cooperative Development Training Conference. It was supported by grants from the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Services, The Cooperative Development Foundation, and the Mutual Service Fund of the MSI Insurance Foundation.

Cooperatives in Wisconsin: The Power of Cooperative Action
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, 2007.

Coops ... and You!
University of Wisconsin's Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) educational web site. This site offers learning modules on a number of cooperative topics; general information on co-ops; scholarship information and much more. This website was made possible by a grant from CHS Cooperatives Foundation

Creating 'Co-op Fever': A Rural Developer's Guide to Forming Cooperatives.
Service Report 54. 24 pgs. 1998. William Patrie
USDA Rural Development

Development Manual for Small Rural Home Cooperatives,
 University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, September 2005

Home Base: The Playbook for Cooperative Development
While this NCB Capital Impact publication guide is written specifically with cooperatives in mind, it is a useful tool for anyone undertaking a major multifamily real estate development project. Home Base is primarily intended for consumers, providing tenant groups and nonprofit developers a clear, step-by-step process for conversion to, or construction of, cooperative buildings. To download the guide or order a free copy, visit http://www.ncbcapitalimpact.org.

How to Start a Cooperative
CIR 7. 32 pgs. Revised 1996. Galen W. Rapp and Gerald Ely
USDA Rural Development

Keys to Success for Rural Grocery Co-ops
Greg Lawless and Anne Reynolds, University of Wisconsin, Rural Cooperatives September/October 2005

Legal Manual for Small Rural Home Cooperatives,
 University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, September 2005

A Legal Sourcebook for California Cooperatives: Start-Up and Administration
Van P. Baldwin, Third Edition, 2004

Starting a Cooperative on the website of Cooperative Life

State statutes that govern cooperatives.

Steps in Forming a Cooperative - a basic guide published by Cooperative Development Services, Madison WI.

What is a cooperative manager?
by David Griffiths
Cooperative Federation of Victoria, Australia, 2003

What is a cooperative feasibility study?
Cooperative Federation of Victoria, Australia, 2003

Developing new cooperatives: Case studies, etc.

ICA: Building Community Jobs by Replicating Model Worker Co- ops
by Carol DiMarcello, Director of ICA's Community Jobs Program

Home Grown Wisconsin: The Story of a New Producer Cooperative by Greg Lawless

The Potential Role of Cooperatives in Wisconsin's Aquaculture Industry presents a range of cooperative models that could be applied to the Wisconsin aquaculture industry. The paper was prepared for the Wisconsin Aquaculture Advisory Council by Cooperative Development Services (Madison, WI) and the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives.

A study of worker-owned business development by John G. Cline, St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 1995. A study of worker co-op development and leadership roles, with a focus on women, in rural Nova Scotia.

The Use of Discriminant Growth Analysis in Measuring Cooperative Growth Factors ,
By Biran M. Henehan and Neil H. Pelsue
Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics ,
Volume 15, No. 2, Pages 178-184 (October 1986)

Will a cooperative business meet your needs?
Cooperative Ownership Compared to Other Business Arrangements for Multi-Family Dairy Operations,
by Greg Lawless, Dr. Robert Cropp and Dr. Phil Harris, April 1996. This paper evaluates the cooperative model versus alternative business structures for multi-family dairy operations.

Cooperatives 101: An Introduction To Cooperatives
CIR 55. 40 pgs. 1997. Donald A. Frederick
USDA Rural Development

Resources available to help

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list. Please contact mgrinnell@wisc.edu with additional suggestions.

Boosting the 3 Bs: England's Plunkett Foundation promotes "The furtherance of rural cooperatives"
by Eliza Banks Rural Cooperatives March/April 2000

Cooperative Development Services (CDS) is a non-profit organization that provides professional business development and planning services to cooperatives and communities in the Upper Midwest.

NASCO Development Services NASCO Development Services functions as a development catalyst, providing financial and development services to sponsors of student cooperative housing.

NCB Development Corporation NCB Development Corporation (NCBDC) ranks among the top community development banks in the United States. However, its mission is incomparable - to assist with the creation and support of cooperatives throughout the country. Structured as a non-profit affiliate of National Cooperative Bank, NCBDC develops new markets, primarily for low-income populations.

The ICA Group is a national not-for-profit organization which seeks to create and save jobs through the development and strengthening of employee-owned and community-based businesses. Their web site includes information on starting a worker cooperative.

 

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