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today’s economic climate is marked by growing insecurity in the face of structural changes to work, benefits, and business ownership. Small business start-ups are at their all-time lows, and entrepreneurship is lower among millennials than previous generations at those same ages (Wilmoth 2016).1 The income gap between the top and bottom of wage earners grew 27 percent from 1970 to 2016. And wealth inequality is growing as well.In the 50 years between 1963 and 2013, the top 10 percent saw their wealth quadruple while the bottom 10 percent went from having essentially no wealth to being $2,000 in debt.

Congratulations! You’ve been elected to the co-op board to govern the business. What do you need to know?

Housing cooperatives are generally divided into affordable and market rate. The fundamental difference between these two forms is that affordable housing cooperatives promote long-term affordability primarily through agreed upon limits on resale prices of shares. In addition, income restrictions also apply to buyers of affordable housing cooperative shares in order to ensure that the housing is affordable to targeted low and moderate income households

This report provides a comprehensive summary of basic information on the cooperative way of organizing and operating a business. It covers the nature and extent of the use of cooperatives, compares cooperatives to other business structures, explains the roles various people play in a cooperative, and discusses equity accumulation and income taxation. The purpose is to make available, in a single report, the information someone would need to acquire a general understanding of how cooperatives function

Congratulations! You’ve been elected to the co-op board to govern the business. What do you need to know?

The objectives of this research are: first, examine the role of member consensus and policy consistency in a cooperative; second, examine member consensus and policy in a strategic framework of competition, where competitors offer individualized terms to selective producers that are difficult for cooperatives to match; and third, develop a game theory analysis for situations where cooperatives need to attract large-scale producers.

Following is a Co-op 101 Start-Up Packet, a set of materials about cooperatives and the start-up process. Please review the packet materials and complete the Online Request for Assistance form. Completing this form will help us determine how we can best support you in your venture

The cooperative model can be an effective way for people to meet a common set of economic or social needs. Often a cooperative is organized in response to some adversity - individual farmers face falling dairy prices, for example, or a community loses its grocery store. Instead of operating to maximize investment returns, a cooperative operates to maximize member benefit by meeting member needs in a financially sustainable way.

“A combination of factors including the rising cost of housing in recent years, have forced many people to look for alternative housing options. This guide to co-op housing attempts to answer your questions regarding ownership, responsibilities, and benefits of living in a housing cooperative.”

The co-operative housing movement has a long history. The first independent housing co-operatives were formed in the mid-19th century, when Viktor Aimé Huber initiated the construction of several dwellings in Berlin. Many co-operatives which are over 100 years old still exist today and are increasingly widespread in Europe and beyond.