In March, the Brazilian Cooperative Organisation (OCB) published a COP30 Manifesto, after a series of conversations with member organisations and co-op leaders which started at the 15th Brazilian Cooperative Congress in 2024.
Walworth County, Wisconsin: Last May, I connected with Kevon (who works in an oven factory), Sara (who works at a free clinic), and Tom (a pastor) to hear about their successful campaign to expand transportation services in their very rural Wisconsin county. Not only did they achieve their goal (to get the county-contracted van service to run on Sundays), but a new group grew out of their efforts.
Join Shareable and the Tool Library Alliance for a "crossover" session, combining the Library of Things Co-Lab and Mutual Aid 101.
The UN’s theme for 2025 recognizes cooperatives as a means to “build a better world.” That message resonates in the U.S., where rural food access depends increasingly on collaboration.
Many of the RGI models, and similar ventures nationwide, embody cooperative principles, whether or not they’re formally structured as co-ops. They emphasize shared ownership, local investment and collective benefit, often bridging the gap between producers, processors and consumers.
The contribution of cooperatives to the country’s economy is well-documented in official economic records and observed in daily life. Yet, a significant demographic gap exists within these cooperatives, as the majority of their membership is comprised of older individuals, while the Kenyan population skews younger. This disparity represents both a challenge and an opportunity in addressing youth unemployment.
“The recipients of this year’s Co-op Innovation Awards are helping to strengthen communities by creating jobs, increasing the availability of affordable housing, expanding access to child care, and providing more of the opportunities that people need to succeed,” said Ellis Carr, President and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, both of which are part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations.
The 51st is D.C.’s first worker-led nonprofit newsroom. But we’re part of a larger system of cooperative organizations working to build a better world.
I got to see what that meant more tangibly this past week, when I spoke on a panel at the 2025 Cooperative IMPACT Conference alongside Jasper Wang. He’s one of the co-founders of Defector, a newsroom our team looked to for inspiration — and advice — before we launched last year.
The Ralph K. Morris Foundation now accepting applications! Spread the word!
The Ralph K. Morris Foundation is accepting applications for scholarships from the Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies Program.
This program provides two scholarships of $2,500 each and honorary awards to graduate students or law students interested in agriculture and cooperatives. These scholarships are funded by the CHS Foundation.
This joint ILO–ICA policy brief clarifies that cooperatives are neither non-profit nor for-profit institutions, but limited-profit institutions grounded in cooperative identity and values. Proper understanding and accurate legal and statistical classification is critical to their sustainability and contribution to decent work and sustainable development. In line with cooperative principles, surplus may be distributed to members in proportion to their transactions, while profits from non-member transactions must be transferred to indivisible reserves.
In our competitive, fast-paced, globalized world, being a small business owner isn’t getting any easier. Increasingly, small business owners have to compete with multinational corporations with deep pockets while navigating increasingly complex and unreliable supply chains. Plus, suppliers aren’t always willing to accommodate requests from small shops, which can drive up your input costs.
I have been a witness to how worker ownership tends towards humanisation. In the lead up to Christmas 2014, Ingham Poultry announced that it was planning to shut its turkey processing facility near the town of McLaren Vale just outside of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The plant was represented by my union at the time — the National Union of Workers (NUW).
