The Art And Science of
Cooperative Development
A rigorous three-part course for participants to develop the skills to start a new cooperative and assist groups to start new cooperative enterprises.
Stay up-to-date on trainings and webinars
Comprehensive Training
For Cooperative Developers
This intensive, outcome-based curriculum is focused exclusively on cooperative applications and real-world elements such as site visits and interactive case studies. The training provides critical lessons in cooperative business model, group facilitation and start-up issues while incorporating challenges cooperatives face today. Upon completion of the program participants will be able to:
Understand the unique attributes of the cooperative business model
Lead groups through the key steps of cooperative business development process
Set up effective governance models for start-up cooperatives
Apply strong group facilitation and communication skills
Assess cooperative finance and capitalization strategies towards business success
Advise groups on the process of completing a feasibility study
Prepare a cooperative business plan
Educate groups on the legal structure and the tax environment for cooperatives
Build successful cooperative development ecosystems
Building Blocks
The first session of The Art and Science of Cooperative Development lays out the basics of the cooperative model, including governance, feasibility, business basics, and memberships. Additionally, we’ll cover topics ranging from cooperative history to building your cooperative ecosystem.
Toolkit Implementation
This session will dive deeper into topics like feasibility, explore a wider array of business planning tools, include more information and resources for later stages of business development, and put more emphasis on the field of cooperative development and the participants’ role in it.
Finance Fundamentals
Session 3 is a five-day, webinar-based training that gives participants hands-on experience building their own Excel workbook to determine the feasibility of a start-up co-op.
Building Blocks: Cooperative Basics, Building Capacity, and Developing Leadership
Registration has been extended until Friday, March 23rd!
Building Blocks (formerly Session 1) provides a thorough but introductory overview into the field of cooperative development. This session lays out the basics of the cooperative model, including governance, feasibility, business basics, and memberships. Additionally, we’ll cover topics ranging from cooperative history to building your cooperative ecosystem. Participants will learn from case studies that delve into particular topics in co-op development, such as investment cooperatives, conversions, and assisting groups in low-resource communities. Additionally, tours to local Madison co-ops and ample networking opportunities this intensive, productive, and meaningful training. Check out the agenda.
Building Blocks (formerly Session 1) will be offered in Madison, WI on April 16-19th.
Reserve your discounted room at the Graduate Hotel here.
More trainers and bios coming soon!
Margaret Bau has been a Cooperative Development Specialist with USDA Rural Development for nearly 20 years assisting in the formation of over two dozen Wisconsin cooperatives in a variety of industries from health care, local foods to senior housing, nonprofits and forest management. Ms. Bau developed an interest in cooperatives while organizing a rural women’s income generating project as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica. Ms. Bau earned a master’s degree in economic & community development from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Carroll College.
Margaret Lund is an independent consultant specializing in community development finance and shared ownership strategies. Ms. Lund spent 16 years as the Executive Director of the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund, a CDFI lending to cooperatives of all sectors. Ms. Lund is a past board member of the National Cooperative Business Association where she chaired the Cooperative Development and the International Development committees as well as a national task force on cooperative capital formation. Ms. Lund has been featured as a speaker, trainer, and panelist for a wide range of organizations including the Opportunity Finance Network, the National Credit Union Administration, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, the Consumer Cooperative Managers Association, and the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
Courtney Berner joined the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives in 2011 and served as a cooperative development specialist until assuming the role of executive director in January 2018. As the executive director, she develops courses, conferences, and other educational programs and works closely with the Center’s faculty director on the Center’s strategic direction. Courtney teaches a course on cooperatives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that focuses on the role and management of cooperatives, cooperative groups, and collective action. Courtney holds an M.S. in agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and bachelor’s degrees in biology, French, and environmental studies from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
Mo Kessler
Mo is a queer Appalachian artist and community organizer. They graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Sculpture. Much of Mo’s work as an Appalachian, an artist and as an organizer is centered on the stories and lessons of frontline communities. Mo has a history of resistance organizing against mountain-top Removal, foreclosures and police brutality. They currently serve as a board member of the Beloved Community Center, Co-chair of the Central Carolina Worker Justice Center, founding board member of the Greensboro Radio Project and founding board member of the Renaissance Community Cooperative where they serve as the board chair of the Governance and Policy Committee. Mo spends most of their time making art, hanging out with their dogs and uplifting the intersections of food access, healthy sexuality, environmental, racial and economic justice. From this framework, they are deeply invested in building a transformative cooperative economy in Appalachia and the South.
JJ Jones
John Jones is a North Carolina native & resident of Greensboro. He has served on the Renaissance Community Cooperative Board for three years as chair. The RCC mission is to create a democratically owned & controlled grocery store in Northeast Greensboro where there has been no grocery store since 1998. He has lived in Northeast Greensboro for 44 years. His work career included the Greensboro Police Department for 27 years and he currently volunteers with Moses Cone Hospital, Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro, Citizens for Environmental and Economic Justice, Woodmere Park Association and Greensboro Voter Alliance. John serves as Deacon for Calvary Christian Center and is a proud booster of NC A&T University.
Nat Locke
Nat has been an educator for over a decade, working with diverse groups of all ages in outdoor education, traveling education, and cooperative education programs. They have been spreading the good word about cooperatives for nearly four years, through trips, trainings, and the USA Cooperative Youth Council board. Nat is currently working as a paraprofessional in Minneapolis Public Schools and pursuing their teaching licensure. In their work, as in their life, Nat emphasizes democratic group process, youth empowerment, and play. When they’re not educating, Nat can be found working with their partner on their shared home, riding a bike, or playing fetch with their puppy, Granger.
$1400, includes tuition and food. Transit and lodging are not included.
Scholarships
Thanks to our training sponsors, there is some funding available to assist participants with the cost of tuition. Participants in need of financial assistance can apply for a scholarship with this application by Friday, February 23rd.
Scholarships may also be available through the Ralph K. Morris Foundation Cooperative Leadership Fund. Please visit their website at www.ralphkmorrisfoundation.org for more information.
Toolkit Implementation: Practical Application of Tools and Skills for Cooperative Developers
Toolkit Implementation (formerly Session 2) builds upon the concepts and skills developed in Building Blocks and prompts participants to use these in interactive, hands-on, case studies. This session will dive deeper into topics like feasibility, explore a wider array of business planning tools, include more information and resources for later stages of business development, and put more emphasis on the field of cooperative development and the participants’ role in it. Toolkit Implementation includes a tour to a co-op development centers and other institutions that support cooperative development.
Toolkit Implementation will be held October 29th – November 1st in Madison, WI! Stay tuned for info on how to register, what they training will look like, and who the trainers will be.
Anne Reynolds
Anne Reynolds is the Executive Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. She develops courses, conferences and educational programs at the Center, and has led numerous workshops on board leadership, board roles and responsibilities and strategic planning. Her areas of interest include governance, member loyalty, business structure and innovative uses of the cooperative model. She has worked with cooperatives in all sectors, including agriculture, food, energy, purchasing and worker-owned. Anne serves on several boards, including The Cooperative Foundation and Shared Capital Cooperative. Before joining the Center for Cooperatives, she worked at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
Courtney Berner
Courtney Berner is a cooperative development specialist at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives where she provides technical assistance and counsel to existing and start-up cooperatives and to business owners interested in exploring conversion to cooperative ownership. Courtney writes and speaks frequently on the co-op business model and recently co-authored Successful Cooperative Ownership Transitions: Case Studies and Key Factors for Success in the Conversion of Privately Held Businesses to Worker Cooperatives with the Democracy At Work Institute.
Courtney has research, development, and outreach experience in a range of issues related to food systems, community economic development, and the cooperative business model. Prior to earning an M.S. in agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she spent five years at the Worldwatch.
Margaret Bau
Margaret Bau has been a Cooperative Development Specialist with USDA Rural Development for nearly 20 years assisting in the formation of over two dozen Wisconsin cooperatives in a variety of industries from health care, local foods to senior housing, nonprofits and forest management. Ms. Bau developed an interest in cooperatives while organizing a rural women’s income generating project as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica. Ms. Bau earned a master’s degree in economic & community development from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Carroll College. In her quest to examine how other cultures implement co-op development strategies, she traveled to Italy, Argentina, Spain, and Quebec, Canada. Ms. Bau was recognized for “outstanding contribution to cooperative education and training” by the Association of Cooperative Educators and by the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund who awarded Ms. Bau the Cooperative Service Award in recognition for her tireless efforts towards co-op development.
Margaret Lund
Margaret Lund is an independent consultant specializing in community development finance and shared ownership strategies. Her clients includes dozens of cooperative development organizations, co-ops and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Prior to launching her consulting practice in 2008, Ms. Lund spent 16 years as the Executive Director of the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund, a CDFI lending to cooperatives of all sectors. Ms. Lund is a past board member of the National Cooperative Business Association where she chaired the Cooperative Development and the International Development committees as well as a national task force on cooperative capital formation. She also served on the board of Health Partners, the largest consumer-governed healthcare organization in the U.S. Ms. Lund has been featured as a speaker, trainer and panelist for a wide range of organizations including the Opportunity Finance Network, the National Credit Union Administration, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, the Consumer Cooperative Managers Association, and the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
Nat Locke
Nat has been an educator for over a decade, working with diverse groups of all ages in outdoor education, traveling education, and cooperative education programs. They have been spreading the good word about cooperatives for nearly four years, through trips, trainings, and the USA Cooperative Youth Council board. Nat is currently working as a paraprofessional in Minneapolis Public Schools and pursuing their teaching licensure. In their work, as in their life, Nat emphasizes democratic group process, youth empowerment, and play. When they’re not educating, Nat can be found working with their partner on their shared home, riding a bike, or playing fetch with their puppy, Granger.
Ricardo Nuñez
Ricardo coordinates Sustainable Economies Law Center’s education, research, advocacy, and advice for equitable, democratic enterprises as the center’s Cooperatives Program Director. Programs and projects include the Worker Coop Academy, Co-opLaw.org, policy advocacy at the regional and state level, building a cooperative support ecosystem, and much more! Previously, Ricardo worked for the Peace Corps in Zambia and then with Our Place Housing Solutions coordinating homeless rehousing and eviction prevention services in southern Los Angeles county. Ricardo enjoys bodyboarding, cycling, traveling, and the ocean breeze. He is deeply committed to family, friends, and community.
Tom Pierson
Tom began working with cooperative enterprises in 2000 after deciding to not pursue formal higher education. He coordinates the public policy efforts of CooperationWorks! Pierson serves as vice president on the board of Shared Capital Cooperative, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that lends nationally to cooperative businesses. He serves on the board of Riverton Community Housing, a Minneapolis non-profit developer of student housing cooperatives, and the board of Wedge Community Cooperative, a retail and wholesale food cooperative. Tom was a founding organizer of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives from 2003-06.
As an independent consultant Tom provides facilitation, historical research and technical assistance services to cooperatives across the country. Tom is a specialist in the issues of housing and worker cooperative development. He provides pro bono and sliding scale assistance to groups that advance racial equity, environmental sustainability, and serve low-income members. He volunteers for CoMinnesota and serves as a guest lecturer at the University of Minnesota on topics related to co-op law and economics. In his free time Tom enjoys theatre, dance, chess, and unstructured play.
$1400, includes tuition and food. Transit and lodging are not included.
Finance Fundamentals: Financial Analysis for New Cooperatives
Finance Fundamentals (formerly Session 3) is a five-day, webinar-based training that gives participants hands-on experience building their own Excel workbook to determine the feasibility of a start-up co-op. This training requires some knowledge of Excel (and registration comes with a free, two-hour introduction to Excel prior to the training) and will build participants’ knowledge of the program. Finance Fundamentals requires nightly homework as well as a final examine. This intensive session demands participants learn and utilize practical skills for assessing feasibility and determining success factors for new cooperatives.
Coming Fall 2018.
Kate Smith
Cathy (Kate) has over 25 years of experience with the cooperative-business model. She spent 11 years researching the economic benefits of cooperatives while on the Agricultural Economics faculty at the Pennsylvania State University. She has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing and finance. Kate left PSU to become Vice President of a consulting firm in New Jersey, where she refined her financial-analysis skills. Following that she was Executive Director of a cooperative development center for 10 years – helping many cooperative startups. She covered the four states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland by providing a broad range of economic, marketing, and organizational development services to individuals and associations. She specialized in both financial and qualitative analysis as used to assist organizations in developing business/revenue models, competitive intelligence reports, and strategic plans.
She has worked on approximately 45 feasibility studies, mostly for cooperative-business projects. Other projects include three separate ethanol plants, a concrete manufacturing plant, an urban mushroom production facility, and a bio-diesel plant. This will be her 5th time as lead trainer for Session III.
Cathy is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Ph.D. in Economics.
Cathy (Kate) has over 25 years of experience with the cooperative-business model. She spent 11 years researching the economic benefits of cooperatives while on the Agricultural Economics faculty at the Pennsylvania State University. She has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing and finance. Kate left PSU to become Vice President of a consulting firm in New Jersey, where she refined her financial-analysis skills. Following that she was Executive Director of a cooperative development center for 10 years – helping many cooperative startups. She covered the four states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland by providing a broad range of economic, marketing, and organizational development services to individuals and associations. She specialized in both financial and qualitative analysis as used to assist organizations in developing business/revenue models, competitive intelligence reports, and strategic plans.
She has worked on approximately 45 feasibility studies, mostly for cooperative-business projects. Other projects include three separate ethanol plants, a concrete manufacturing plant, an urban mushroom production facility, and a bio-diesel plant. This will be her 5th time as lead trainer for Session III.
Cathy is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Ph.D. in Economics.
This week-long webinar-based training is $800. Cost includes and optional two-hour Excel training on Friday, December 8th. Register here.
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