Community Building

Cooperatives as a business and as a safety net

Co-ops are businesses designed to pool resources to serve a specific economic need of their current and future members. At the same time, co-ops hold a principle of Concern for the Community and often use those pooled resources contributed by individual members to serve as a social safety net for the membership collectively. This is a discussion guide that offers a few discussion prompts and some practices for balancing the tension between these goals.

NASCO Institute 2020 Session Recordings

Below, are the recordings for NASCO Institue 2020 sessions by room. Please share lessons learned with your cooperatives and communities. 

If you did not register for NASCO Institute and you'd like to support free and low-cost cooperative education, please consider contributing a donation amount that feels appropriate for you and/or your cooperative. Your donation makes it possible to offer cooperative education materials and resources free of charge. DONATE HERE.

 

Tools for Building Community in your Co-op

A Workshop for WestCo 2001- Eugene, Oregon
by Anjanette Bunce (former NASCO Member Services Coordinator)
 
Table of Contents
2  Statement of Co-operative Identity
3  Campus Co-operatives- A Brief History
4  NASCO Member Services
5  What is Community?
6  Ways to Create Community in Co-ops
7  Developing Community
11  Tips for Building Co-op Spirit

Group Decision Making Handbook

Table of Contents

Communication
1 What do you do when a dispute arises?
2 Communication Styles
Meeting Roles
3 Positive Group Roles
4 Negative Group Roles
5 Effective Meetings: Designated Meeting Roles
7 Influence in Groups
Meeting Process
8 Sample Agenda
9 Meeting Evaluation Sheet
Facilitation
10 The Four Roles of a Facilitator
11 Facilitation Tools