COOP Stories – DotCooperation

Keystone Development Center

November 17, 2020November 13, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.kdc.coop

“KDC has worked with over 100 clients in its two decades, developing cooperatives in sectors including elder care, food, agricultural marketing, buying/supply, broadband, housing, nursery/preschool and renewable energy. While the sectors may be similar, the needs of communities can be as unique as the people involved.” – Coop News 2019 (coop news article)

KDC has been working with emerging, start-up and established cooperatives and businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region for many years. They provide quality research and business development support. Their experienced team of cooperative and business development specialists can support you and your group from development through to operations.

They have a small, but experienced staff with over 50 combined years of experience, ranging from grassroots organizing to running cooperatives to non-profit administration to Fortune 500 consulting.

KDC has a unique team of professional consultants, all with many years of cooperative business experience. Their highly skilled experts are available to assist clients with all aspects of business development. They have centers of excellence in business planning, financial forecasting, and legal advising.

Their services include; Education & Training, Intensive Technical Assistance and Funding Your Project.

About Cooperatives and .coop
The global Cooperative community has more than 1 billion members, representing 12% of the world’s employed population. All Cooperatives verify their identity when selecting a .coop web address. Your unique business identity is recognized online with a .coop domain name – your digital brand – a brand known for its economic advantages to its community, consumers, and members.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit KDC on social media:

Security Service Federal Credit Union

November 6, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.ssfcu.creditunion

We are Security Service Federal Credit Union. Since 1956, we’ve been dedicated to improving lives of members in the communities we serve.

With locations in Colorado, Utah and Texas and more than 2,300 ways to join, Security Service Federal Credit Union offers members a full suite of competitive financial products, free educational seminars, convenience of a free call center, free online banking, free Bill Pay and the financial strength of one of the country’s largest, not-for profit, member-owned financial cooperative.

Security Service strives to be America’s best credit union and provides the true benefits of credit union membership with financial services of the highest quality and value.

The global Cooperative community has more than 1 billion members, representing 12% of the world’s employed population. All Cooperatives verify their identity when selecting a .coop or a .creditunion web address. Your unique business identity is recognized online with a .coop domain name – your digital brand – a brand known for its economic advantages to its community, consumers, and members.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit SSFCU on social media:

Oklahoma Central Credit Union

November 17, 2020November 5, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.oaklahomacentral.creditunion

The Mission of Oklahoma Central Credit Union is to make a difference in the lives of our employees, members and the communities they serve.

At Oklahoma Central, you’ll find the same wide range of banking choices you’d expect from any financial institution and a commitment to our community that you’d expect from your neighbours.

At Oklahoma Central Credit Union, our members are more than just names on a checking account. You’re the clerk at our grocery store. The pipeline engineer. The ICU nurse. You’re our favourite high school teacher. You are Oklahoma Central members, but you’re our neighbours, too. That’s why we make sure that here, you get the attention that you deserve.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

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Aspire Credit Union

November 5, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.aspire.creditunion

Prairie Federal Credit Union is currently rebranding to Aspire Credit Union.

Since 1934, Prairie Federal Credit Union has been committed to exceeding members’ expectations and maintaining financial strength. Aspire Credit Union will continue to uphold those same standards with a refreshed mission, name and look. “As our members and community have transformed, we want a name that really reflects us”, says Mindee Kohlman, President/CEO of Prairie Federal Credit Union. “Aspire is a name that encompasses what we love most about being a credit union. We help our members reach their financial goals and aspire to more.”

Prairie Federal Credit Union was founded in 1934 as the Great Northern Employees Minot Credit Union. The name was changed to Tran-Em Federal Credit Union in 1970 and to Prairie Federal Credit Union in 1986. Prairie Federal Credit Union is a community-chartered credit union whose field of membership includes: anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school; and businesses, other legal entities, and organizations of such person; located in Bottineau, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail, Renville, or Ward counties of North Dakota. Membership also includes immediate families or households of our existing members.

Over the course of the next several months, Prairie Federal Credit Union will be transitioning to a new brand. You can expect to see new Aspire signage, logos, advertising, and a website revamp. In addition to updated marketing materials, they will continue the rebrand throughout the credit union with new colors, employee attire and name tags.

About Cooperatives and .coop
The global Cooperative community has more than 1 billion members, representing 12% of the world’s employed population. All Cooperatives verify their identity when selecting a .coop or a .creditunion web address. Your unique business identity is recognized online with a .coop domain name – your digital brand – a brand known for its economic advantages to its community, consumers, and members.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada

October 27, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.canada.coop

Canada’s voice for co-operatives and mutuals | Voix Canadien pour les coopératives et les mutuelles.

CMC is national bilingual association that supports, promotes and unites Canada’s 8,000 co-op and mutual enterprises.

The mandate of CMC is:

Promote the co-operative model in Canada;
Create an environment conducive to co-operative development;
Lead a strategic reflection on the future of the co-operative movement;
Implement the strategic plan;
Promote inter-cooperation and business networking;
Represent the co-operative and mutualist movement across Canada;
Contribute to training, leadership development and research;
Represent the co-operative movement before the International Co-operative Alliance;
Encourage joint action among international co-operative development stakeholders; and
Promote international co-operative development and support the structure that will accommodate the Canadian Co-operative Association – International Development

CMC holds events, awards, represents cooperatives and much more. They have a very comprehensive website, which covers the whole range of their activities.

Twitter en FR : @coopCMC

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit CMC on social media:

LASCOMED

October 15, 2020October 14, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.lascome d .coop

The Medicals Cooperative Multipurpose Society Ltd popularly known by majority as LASCOMED came into being in 1992 after some strategic pre-inaugural meetings of various head of units in the Lagos State Hospital Management Board, over the need to set up a cooperative society that would serve the financial needs of senior staff members of the board.

The meetings were successful and thus the birth of Lagos state Management Board Staff Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd. The staff that came together as pioneer members nominated some members to be the management committee. The pioneer board of trustees were Late. Dr. S.A. Sadiq – President, Alhaja. A.A. Ajala – Vice President, Mrs. T.O. Olupitan, – General Secretary, and Mrs. A.A. Adeniyi – Treasurer and others that were Ex-Officio.

The membership of the society grew fast, within one year of its existence (1993) because of the dedicated and selfless effort of the founding members and executives, who saw to the welfare of members by ensuring they get credit and loan facility on time to meet their economic and social needs and aspirations.

Today, LASCOMED has over 3,600 members whom the leaders serve well, which has led to them winning many awards in the state and nationally. LASCOMED and its leadership is now the toast of every cooperative in Lagos State because it’s a reference point for other cooperatives. They have a vision to be the reference model for cooperatives in Nigeria.

LASCOMED believing in the principles of Co-operation among Co-operatives and is a member society of Lagos Island Multipurpose Cooperative Union Ltd (LIMCU), Lagos State Cooperative Finance & Investment Society Ltd (LASCOFIS) and the Lagos State Cooperative Federation Ltd (LASCOFED) the Apex body of Co-operatives in Lagos State.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit Lascomed on social media:

Space Cooperative

October 15, 2020September 8, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.space.coop

The future is here. The future is cooperative.

Space Cooperative Inc. is a worker-owned California Cooperative Corporation focused on space expansion, crewed by a diverse global team that includes engineers, architects, futurists, artists, and software developers.

We realized that to change our footprint on Earth and transpire them to the planets beyond, it would require an interdisciplinary approach. Hence we grew our cooperative to become the template of the global collaboration we seek. Our vision for the future is the fulfillment of the human potential, a “best” version of ourselves as a species: adventurous, peaceful, autonomous, active and productive, guided by curiosity and promise of experiencing the full plenitude of the universe at large.

One of our major projects is Space Decentral, a citizen-led space program, designed to allow anyone to make their visions of our future in space a reality – through crowdsourcing and crowdfunding the next generation of space initiatives. Besides Space Decentral, Cooperative members are also internally developing space mission concepts such as the Deep Space Gateway Planetary Quarantine Facility,Robotic Asteroid Prospector, and Water Walls Life Support Architecture, which are projects led by Space Cooperative co-owner Dr. Marc Cohen.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit Space Cooperative on social media:

Solstice Cooperative

October 15, 2020August 26, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.solstice.coop

Solstice is a generalist activities and jobs cooperative where a great diversity of profiles and activities come together. Three major sectors dominate their approach:

Consulting and training
Business service
Service to individuals

Solstice’s business revolves around three main Missions carried out by a team of nine people, dedicated to services for entrepreneurs, for the management and development of activities and employment:

The Administration Mission – requirements for entrepreneurs’ activities
The Support Mission – for the development of entrepreneurs’ activities
The Animation Mission – for the network of entrepreneurs

Twenty years ago, activity cooperatives took their first steps in the Rhône-Alpes. Fifteen years ago, Solstice and Pollen took their first steps in Drôme and Ardèche. Since then, Solstice has made its way by actively participating in the creation of Copéa , by supporting the creation of Cabestan and Natura Scop.

Solstice participated in all the collective actions launched by Copéa , such as Louty , the training of accompanying persons or the effective writing of the ESS law and its implementing decree. Necessary for the legal recognition of our particular form of cooperative, this law and this decree define the reference legal framework of an activity and employment cooperative (CAE) and the status of associate salaried entrepreneur (ESA) of a CAE. Recognized, CAEs are secure. This framework allows us to be in an easier relationship with the administrations and partners, and set us rules and constraints.

Entrepreneurship in CAE means above all joining a shared company and joining a collective of entrepreneurs who pool services intended to promote the development and management of their activities. Solstice CAE brings together and legally hosts multiple economic activities , carried out by associate salaried entrepreneurs who exercise their profession in complete autonomy and assume full economic responsibility. The status of associate salaried entrepreneur , offered only in CAE, combines the freedom of the self-employed status with the security of the employee status. Solstice CAE is a network, a place of learning, training and exchange, in which entrepreneurs benefit from personalized support .

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit Solstice on social media:

Jharkhand Co-operative Milk Federation

September 30, 2020August 12, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.jmf.coop

Medha Dairy is an integral part of the Jharkhand Milk Federation. In March 2014, JMF joined hands with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to extend the developmental spirit of the dairy development programme in the state of Jharkhand. Since then, they have successfully impacted the lives of thousands of people of the state. They have taught the farmers a dairy-boosted way of life that benefits all stakeholders including themselves in one way or the other.

Jharkhand State Milk Federation (JMF) implemented various dairy development programme in the State for a period of five years. Subsequently, NDDB took over the existing Government Dairy at Ormanjhi in August 2014 and two other dairies at Deoghar and Koderma in September 2014. In April 2014, NDDB further took over the management of JMF which included milk procurement, processing and marketing activities. NDDB also agreed to lend its brand “Mother Dairy” – which is renowned for its high-quality milk and milk products in the country – to support local brand “Medha”. It not only helped the brand to get established but also enable it capture a reasonable share of the Jharkhand Milk market.

It is due to the consistent support that Medha receives, it is able to provide 1 lac litres of milk every day. They are thankful to and proud of the people they are associated with in this journey. They find it extremely delighting to be able to touch and enrich so many lives at the same time.

Their core philosophy at Medha is to stay true to their roots, i.e., Jharkhand. The brand tagline also aims at capturing the same essence – HarboondmeinSehat, Harboondmein Jharkhand.

They are committed to serve the people of the state with the best quality, hygienic, unadulterated milk which contributes to the development of a healthy and strong people.

If you would like your cooperative featured, click on this link to submit your story.

Visit Jharkhand Co-operative Milk Federation on social media:

Heart Of England Cooperative

September 30, 2020July 21, 2020 by Tom Ivey

www.heartofengland.coop

Heart of England are an independent, regional co-operative society, known as the Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited. Their origins go back to 1832, when the Lockhurst Lane Industrial Co-operative Society was founded, near Coventry. Their current name came into being in January 2000, after more than 185 years during which more than twenty local, independent co-operative societies joined together to pool their resources.

Their vision is to be an innovative regional business, always seeking opportunities for profitable growth, whilst demonstrating that a retail co-operative society can bring genuine benefits to local customers, members and communities.

Their Mission as a consumer co-operative is to provide good value for money through a range of shopping facilities and services. Their trading practices are based on a combination of sound co-operative business ethics and the need to trade profitably. They will always seek ways to share their success with their members and the local communities in which they trade.

Visit Heart of England Coop on social media: