News and Updates

March 24, 2014
WestCo, an annual conference for members of cooperatives in the Western United States and Canada, will be held this year in Davis, California on May 02-04! WestCo is a space for local cooperators to build community, share skills, attend educational workshops and social events, and celebrate their common interests and experiences. For more info, click here.
 
March 12, 2014
The NASCO Cooperative Internship Network is accepting applications for interns - applications are due March 14, 2014! The Internship Network pairs cooperative youth/students with summer internships at cooperative organizations across North America. More information can be found here.
 
Organizations which are offering internships include:
  • Acorn Community, Mineral, Virginia
  • New Economy Coalition, Boston, Massachusetts
  • National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, Washington D.C.
  • Madison Community Cooperatives, Madison, Wisconsin
  • Green Worker Cooperatives, Bronx, New York
  • Philly Co-op Intern (Mariposa Food Co-op, LCA Land Trust, Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance,) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, New York, New York
  • Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Detroit, Michigan
March 12, 2014

At every NASCO Institute, an Active Member Representative is elected for a 1-year term on the NASCO board. This position is elected by the Annual General Meeting Representatives. Our outgoing Active Member Representative is Vanessa Toro. Vanessa has a few words to share before leaving the board. Read Vanessa's Letter below.

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March 12, 2014
Sneha Narayan is a PhD student at Northwestern University, and has lived in MOSAIC co-op in Evanston, IL for two years. Before moving to Chicagoland, she was a student at Oberlin College and a member of the Oberlin Student Co-operative Association (OSCA) for 4 years, during which time she served on the Board of Directors, and sat on the Finance and Education Committees. She has attended NASCO's Institute three times, and attended the Annual General Meeting twice. In addition to being really into co-ops, Sneha enjoys contra dancing, cooking, and juggling. Please welcome our 2014 Active Member Representative!
March 12, 2014

Your membership in NASCO provides your co-op with educational resources. With each newsletter, we will highlight new online resources available to you, and share updates on our work. We have a great selection of articles and materials on Anti-oppression education.  Check out our Shared Resource Library for more resources. For example, one article that we have for your reading pleasure is Cooperatives in the African American Experience by Doctor Jessica Gordon Nembhard (John Jay College, City University of New York; and Grassroots Economic Organizing Collective). Please read and share!

March 12, 2014
NASCO is the leading voice for youth and student cooperators in North America. As a result, many other Binational and National organizations communicate with us about updates and happenings throughout the cooperative movement. In the next issue of our newsletter, we will feature upcoming conferences, careers opportunities, and events that are occurring soon. For more information, please see our links page for more information.
March 12, 2014

NASCO is working with AORTA to conduct an anti-oppression audit of how power, privilege, and oppression play out in the areas of governance, staff, leadership development, and education. The Inclusion Committee is working hard to educate their membership on issues of anti-oppression and diversity, and in fact, two members of the committee made a trip out to Oberlin College this past November to facilitate a training for Oberlin Student Cooperative (OSCA) members.

March 12, 2014

We created a fundraising plan and calendar for this year, coordinated by staff and reviewed and evaluated by the committee, which will be a building block for development work for years to come. Going forward, staff will send out a monthly report describing their work and successes in regards to the milestones and goals outlined in the plan, and from which the committee will evaluate their progress and provide guidance. Now that a firm development plan is in place, FISUS is looking to determine what other issues fall under its "financial sustainability" umbrella.

March 12, 2014
We reinstated a monthly newsletter! We said goodbye to Vanessa Toro, our 2013-14 Active Member Representative, and welcomed our new 2014-15 Annual Member Representative, Sneha Narayan.
 
February 27, 2014

The NASCO Cooperative Internship Network is officially accepting applications for interns! The Internship Network pairs cooperative youth/students with summer internships at cooperative organizations across North America. This is a fantastic opportunity, and we welcome you to apply.

Applications from prospective interns are due by Monday, March 10 - click here for more information or click here to apply. Submitting an application is free for NASCO members and $10 USD/CAD for non NASCO members. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Morgan at morgan (at) nasco.coop.

Available internships: