About The CW Network
The CW Network comprises organizations and individuals doing cooperative development in all 50 states and across co-op sectors. For 20 years, members have been sharing resources, experience, and tools, building a collective expertise and setting best practices in the field of cooperative development.
Our Members
Benefits of Joining
CW offers 4 key areas of value to cooperative developers, membership strengthens our national community of cooperatives and helps to elevate the impact of the cooperative movement and of community organizers.
Networking
Share skills, expertise, and resources with a national network of skilled co-op developers.
Networking
CW provides a platform for cooperative developers across the US to ask questions and share experience, resources, tools, and more. This network is crucial for developing best practices for the field of cooperative development and enables members to continuously build and refine their skills. Members rank the ability to easily network with each other as one of the most valuable benefits of CW membership. The network facilitates the building of nationwide institutional knowledge to better the field of cooperative development.
Professional Development
The ability to teach and learn from each other is a key element of the CW network. Members recognize the value of experience and choose to learn from each other, ensuring that they don’t need to reinvent the wheel for every project they embark on. //Peer learning occurs every day on CW’s well used listserv and in more targeted ways during member meetings when CW members lead topical trainings for each other.
Peer Learning
Providing continuing education is crucial for supporting a thriving national cooperative ecosystem. CW trainings come in the form of our flagship 3-part intensive The Art and Science of Cooperative Development, webinars, in-person workshops, and published resources encourage developers to add to their toolkits and expand the tools and resources available to their practice. CW’s certification program sets the golden standard for developers working in the field.
CW members receive discounted tuition for the Art and Science program and have access to early registration to ensure they can partake in the trainings they need to further their career in cooperative development.
Advocacy
Connecting developers across the US enables local efforts to connect as one larger voice, demonstrating that they are part of a growing national movement. CW’s advocacy focuses on bringing cooperatives to the national mainstage with items like garnering continued support for the Rural Cooperative Development Grant, promoting co-op friendly financing, and working with partnering organizations like the National Cooperative Business Association to have cooperatives added to the US Economic Census.
Types of Memberships
CooperationWorks! (CW) is a member-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The foundation of CW is built on the participation of its members.
There are two classes of membership in CW: Individual and Organizational. All members are encouraged to participate on a committee to help carry out the work of CooperationWorks! A description of each membership class and link to the membership applications are below.
Individual Member: Any natural person who engages in cooperative development; services cooperative development centers as an accountant or lawyer, or supports cooperative development practitioners in any other way is eligible. Each Individual Member has full member privileges. Individual Member dues are $350. For a membership applicant who has participated in two or more weeklong CW professional development training sessions, you are offered a special $100 rate the first year of membership.
You can find an Individual Membership application here.
Organizational Member: A center for cooperative development or other legal entity that engages in cooperative development or supports cooperative development practitioners are eligible. Every employee, board member and consultant of the Institutional Member is eligible for membership and must state in writing. Over the next three years, we will be phasing in a new membership dues structure, moving from a flat $3000 to a tiered system linked to budget, to better serve members.
New Organizational Members receive a 25% discount for their first year.
You can find an Institutional Membership application here.
CooperationWorks! members agree to adhere to the Madison Principles in their capacity as cooperative developers.
Organizational Member dues are as follows:
| Tier | Operating Budget | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Year Dues | See below with 25% discount | 25% discount |
| 1 | <$250k | $1,500 |
| 2 | $250k-$500k | $2,000 |
| 3 | $500k-$750k | $2,500 |
| 4 | $750k-$1m | $3,000 |
| 5 | >$1m | $3,000 |