October is Co-op Month in the U.S.!

Read on to learn more about how NASCO member cooperatives in the U.S. fit into the cooperative sector.

Co-ops are tackling some of our most intractable national problems, helping people of all income levels.

• Housing - Cooperatives are providing solutions to a variety of housing problems. Cooperative ownership is upgrading manufactured housing parks around the country, while an increasing number of housing cooperatives are catering to retirement-age residents. Limited-equity co-ops, which preserve moderately priced housing, make it possible for low- and middle-class families to stay in gentrified urban neighborhoods in cities like New York and Washington, D.C. Group-equity co-ops, like most NASCO members, gain equity that can be used to sustain and expand the co-ops over time.  A few housing cooperatives also provide services that allow seniors to "age in place" near friends and relatives.

• Health Care - Cooperatives are bringing down the cost of prescription drugs and other health services, and improving patient care. Consumer-owned and governed HMOs like Group Health Cooperative in Seattle are improving care and lower costs by focusing on the needs of their member-owners, rather than on maximizing profits. A growing number of states, groups of states, and local governments are also lowing health care costs with volume pricing through drug and health care purchasing cooperatives. Finally, VHA, Inc., a Hospital purchasing cooperative based in Irving, Tex., , is keeping the doors open at small, community-owned hospitals across the nation by negotiating lower prices for equipment, supplies and other services.

• Financial Services - Credit unions, or member-owned financial institutions, help Americans of all income levels with their finances by offering lower interest rates on loans, higher interest on savings, and better service than for-profit banks. Consumer Reports recently said credit unions offer consumers "the best ... deals around" for financial services. Credit union-issued credit cards also scored high in a recent Consumer Reports survey. In addition, credit unions offer financial services to recent immigrants and others whom the investor-owned banking system ignores.

• Rural America - Cooperatives are helping rural America survive and thrive. Electric and telecommunications co-ops serve rural areas that investor-owned utilities often ignore. Telecommunications cooperatives are also helping to bridge the digital divide by offering reasonably priced high-speed Internet and satellite and cable television services. Farm co-ops are helping small farmers stay on their land, while many other co-ops are bringing jobs and income to rural areas.

• Saving Main Street - Small business purchasing cooperatives are helping local, independent businesses compete with the big boxes and mega-chains by negotiating group purchases of supplies, advertising, warehousing, and more. The savings and other services offered by these cooperative give their member-owners the ability to withstand intense competition from chains like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Among others, purchasing cooperatives are serving independent hardware stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, bicycle shops, and wholesale distributors of construction supplies.

• Employment - Some worker-owned cooperatives offer both jobs and ownership opportunities for those with few or no job skills. One such cooperative, Cooperative Janitorial Services, launched in 1995 by Interfaith Business Builders in Cincinnati, now does $14,000 in business per month. The worker-own co-op model has also been adapted for taxi drivers, restaurant workers, and home health care workers.

• Community Assistance - Cooperatives offer a hand up to the disadvantaged in their communities through programs that help children, the elderly, the poor, and the homeless. Across the country, co-ops raise money for college scholarships, conduct community cleanups, and help low-income workers with their taxes. Others encourage energy conservation and lead recycling programs. Still others - especially electric and telephone cooperatives -breathe life into ailing communities through economic development programs that attract new businesses and create jobs.

• Education - Cooperatively structured preschools are part of the good news in education, requiring parent-members to participate in every aspect of the school's operation, including governance, finances, curriculum, administration, and maintenance. Purchasing cooperatives of public school systems across the country are also saving taxpayer dollars though joint purchasing of services and supplies. These cooperatives also provide much-needed professional development opportunities for teachers and school administrators.

• International Development - Co-ops' helping hands even extend overseas. Eight international cooperative development organizations representing various co-op sectors manage projects in more than 70 countries. These projects do everything from creating credit unions to bringing electricity to remote areas. The involvement of cooperative organizations overseas began more than 40 years ago. It grew from co-ops' conviction that their business model, which has helped millions in this country, could be adapted to help people in developing countries achieve a better life.

Cooperatives are Innovators

• In the 1970s, retail food cooperatives pioneered the natural and organic food market. Food co-ops also were the first to offer nutrition labeling.
• In the 1980s, Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative, pioneered the Fair Trade coffee movement.
• In 2000, cooperatives won approval for .coop, one of the first restricted top level domains on the Internet.
• Cooperatives have been in the forefront of the ethanol movement since its earliest days. Today, the majority of ethanol is still produced by cooperatives.
• Now cooperatives are playing an equally prominent role in the biodiesel revolution and in advancing other renewable energy sources, including wind and solar energy.

Sources: National Cooperative Business Association, Cooperative Development Foundation, National Cooperative Month Planning Committee, organization websites

Visit go.coop for co-op facts, information, and stories.  Two members of NASCO are featured in the housing section!

Visit the Co-op Month website for information on how you can help promote cooperation in your area.