March 2016 Newsletter

Year in Review: Annual Report

We’re pleased to announce that our 2015 Annual Report has been sent to print and will soon be mailed out. We’re excited to share this report with you.

In 2015 ...

NASCO had over 50 Active Member co-ops, hosted the most highly attended NASCO Institute and Staff & Managers Conference in several years, assisted the organizing of two regional co-op conferences, continued to grow our Cooperative Internship Network, created 40 new cooperative education videos, added 144 new resources to our online library, piloted a report on comparative cooperative financial data, increased revenue from grants and donations, provided free development consultation to 30 co-op groups, facilitated new co-op purchases in Baltimore, MD and Athens, OH, formed new partnerships, and strengthened existing relationships with cooperative movement organizations.

We head into 2016 on a solid footing, with increasingly strong programs and relationships and our boards preparing to create a new strategic plan that will shepherd us through the next several years.

You may view this year's Annual Report as a booklet here, as a poster here, and check out previous years’ reports here.

Hiring Announcement: Oberlin Student Cooperative Association

The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) in Oberlin, OH, is currently hiring for two staff positions. They are seeking a Business Coordinator (June 2016-June 2017, 35 hours/week) and a Financial Manager Intern (June 2016-December 2016, 32 hours/week), both with potential for longer term employment. Applications are due today, March 23, 2016.

Apply Today: Cooperative Internship Network

NASCO's Cooperative Internship Network is officially accepting applications for summer interns, due today, Wednesday, March 23rd!

NASCO's Cooperative Internship Network connects talented cooperators and cooperative organizations. Since the 1980s, this program has provided meaningful cooperative employment to subsequent generations of talented leaders.

Visit our website for more information, and apply today!

Celebrating Jessica Gordon Nembhard

On May 4, 2016, Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard will be inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame.

Jessica is a giant in our field - author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, tireless scholar-activist, co-founder of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy, active member of Grassroots Economic Organizing, and a mentor to many. Her work is groundbreaking, and her vision and principled leadership have positioned worker co-ops as tools for economic and racial justice in the 21st century.

This is a big moment for the Hall of Fame, honoring the centrality of racial justice in cooperatives, the role of public scholarship, and the momentum built by the worker cooperative sector.

Please join us in honoring Jessica Gordon Nembhard and thanking her in a small way for her all she has done to grow our movement. In true grassroots style, her allies are pulling together lots of small and medium donations ($25-50) to support her Hall of Fame nomination. Money raised goes to support the scholarship funds of the Cooperative Development Foundation.

Registration Open: WestCo, April 15-17

WestCo, an annual conference for members of cooperatives in the Western United States and Canada, will be held this year in Santa Barbara, CA from April 15th through 17th. WestCo is a space for local cooperators to build community, attend educational workshops and social events, and celebrate their common interests and experiences.

This year’s conference is organized by members of the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative. The event program, logistics, and registration are posted on our website. Register online by April 10th to secure housing.

Film: “Capitalish” Profiles Philadelphia Worker Co-ops

A new film, created by Haverford College students and released by the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance, profiles four worker co-ops in Philadelphia: Childspace Daycare Centers, Home Care Associates, Alliance Taxi Co-op, and W/N W/N Coffee Bar.

The film explores the ways that worker co-ops are challenging dominant logic about how businesses ought to relate to workers, consumers, the community, and other businesses. Watch it here.

Registration Open: Staff & Managers Conference

Registration is now open for NASCO's annual Staff & Managers Conference, which will take place in Boulder, Colorado on April 27-28, 2016. A full event program and registration details are on our website.