What's A Co-op?

Co-operatives are jointly owned enterprises formed by people coming together to meet their needs. They are businesses that are owned and controlled by the people who use their services, and are based on ethical values and principles including self-help, democracy, equality, and concern for community.

They are an expression of the power people have when they recognize their common interests and act collectively. For a chart on how co-ops differ from investor-owned businesses, click here.

Because of its inherent roots in community, and its highly democratic structure, the co-op model is often used to deliver social services, sometimes as non-profit organizations. Such co-ops may also choose to register as charities.

Whether organized as a business or something more resembling a social service agency, co-operatives are legally recognized entities that are engaged in a huge diversity of activities.

Co-ops are founded on a common idea - that people, no matter what their economic class or educational level, know what's best for themselves. Through co-operation, people work together to meet their common needs.

There are a handful of principles which all co-ops share:

1. Voluntary and open membership
2. Democratic member control
3. Member economic participation
4. Autonomy and independence
5. Education, training, and information
6. Co-operation among co-operatives
7. Concern for community

Co-ops take many different forms: they are businesses offering their members products or services; social enterprises providing such necessities as housing or employment; businesses that are owned and operated by their workers; or public services offering members health care or child care.

Cooperatives and credit unions differ from other businesses in three key ways:

A Different Purpose:

The primary purpose of co-operatives and credit unions is to meet the common needs of their members, whereas the primary purpose of most investor-owned businesses is to maximize profit for shareholders. The primary purpose of a worker's cooperative is to provide stable and meaningful work for its members.

A Different Control Structure:

Cooperatives and credit unions use the one member/one vote system, not the one vote per share system used by most businesses. This helps the co-operative or credit union serve the common need rather then the individual need and is a way to ensure that people, not capital control the organization. SSG is taking this one step further by using consensus decision-making for governance and operations of our co-operative.

A Different Allocation of Profit:

Co-operatives and credit unions share profits among their member-owners on the basis of how much they contribute to the co-op, not on how many shares they hold. Co-operatives and credit unions invest their profits in improving service to their members and improving the well-being of their communities. SSG is also committed to reinvesting a portion of our revenue back into the communities in which we live and work in order to support non-profit, advocacy, and social entrepreneurship.

In the Kootenay and Boundary Regions of Southeastern British Columbia, where the Co-op Council resides, there are over 80 incorporated cooperatives, including several credit unions, food co-ops, radio stations, artisans' co-ops, land co-ops, social service co-ops and carshare services that all do business cooperatively.