New at NASCO

Staff Transitions

On June 30th, Morgan Crawford stepped down as NASCO's Director of Education. Please join us in thanking Morgan’s contributions the past five years on the NASCO Board and as a part of the NASCO staff collective. We have been proud of the progress that has been made with Morgan with us. It is with deep appreciation that we share that Morgan has stepped down as the Director of Education.

At the same time, we are proud and delighted to share that we have hired Liz Anderson as NASCO's Director of Education. Liz’s work with worker cooperatives and experience living in community have spurred a dedication to grassroots movement building in the cooperative sector. Liz starts this week in Chicago, and is ready to jump right into planning this year’s Institute! You can reach Liz at liz@nasco.coop. Read more about the transition here.

Apply to Lead a Session at NASCO Institute - Deadline THIS FRIDAY 8/4

We are inviting proposals for presentations at this year's NASCO Institute. The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, August 4, 2017. If you are unable to meet this deadline, please reach out to us at institute@nasco.coop.

Have feelings about our current website?

Share them here. In an effort to better serve your cooperative, we’re working with volunteers to conduct a survey to learn more about how you use our website, www.nasco.coop.

Movement News

Canadian housing co-op wins national award for fostering inclusion via a Women’s Circle

Women members of a Canadian housing cooperative in Calgary have created a group to exchange experiences and build new friendships within the local community. Read the full story here.

Re-imagining housing – how are co-op models helping to tackle the housing crisis?

At the Co-operative Congress in Wakefield, delegates heard from community land trusts, co-housing initiatives and student housing co-ops on how to rethink housing. Read on.

House FY18 Ag Appropriations Bill preserves RCDG funds at reduced level

“We are encouraged that the House bill continues to support the only federal program dedicated to advancing cooperative businesses,” - Judy Zeiwacz, President and CEO of NCBA CLUSA. Full story here.

Celebrating Our Alumni

Pictured above are Stephanie Weiner and Rose Baldwin, two former members of Madison Community Cooperative. Over the past couple of months, our intern Sophia has been hard at work collecting alumni histories and stories of past NASCO members. We hope to share and celebrate the generous contributions to the movement in years past. Here is a sneak peek. Contact ratih@nasco.coop if you are interested in being interviewed!

"We were proud our co-op had elders like this. We were considered a cohort. One lesson about housing co-ops, we were very influenced by being a cohort, the Class of 1980. You get welcomed as a group and you’re welcomed… we were constantly being told “you’re wrecking the co-op it used to be so political,” but then by the time we moved out, we were the crabby ones!"

Stephanie Weiner, Revolutionary Lemonade Stand Owner

"Sunday nights were co-op meetings, there were 32 of us, you would come down after dinner and sometimes there was a fire and we would have a meeting. We took notes in the black composition notebooks."

Rose Baldwin, Certified Nurse Midwife

Internship Network Spotlight

Sadie Sutphin, Archives Intern at Madison Community Cooperative.

From Sam Link at Madison Community Cooperative:
We are lucky to have Sadie's skills and passion devoted to our archives this summer. No longer shall our unique cultural history languish in a basement…not if we can help it, anyway. The project has already proven useful to our simultaneous campaign to launch an alumni network and stands to invite more of our members into connecting with perspectives from the past and the breadth of the co-op movement.