Benefits of Incorporation
There are a lot of reasons why coop groups decide to incorporate. This document lists some of the main areas where your group will benefit from being an "official" corporation.
Most Popular Resources
The Fair Housing Act and Your Co-op - 5 of 5 - Recommended Policies - Video
In this series, Daniel Miller, NASCO’s Director of Properties, provides an overview of the Fair Housing Act and how it is relevant to housing cooperatives in the United States.
Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance
Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance: A new model grounded in the cooperative difference
by Marilyn Scholl and Art Sherwood
Published in "Cooperative Grocer," Winter 2014
"Great leaders demonstrate how to be a force for good in local communities and beyond. Our cooperative heroes—the Rochdale Pioneers—were
Bylaws - Qumbya Co-op
These are the bylaws for Qumbya Housing Cooperative (Chicago, IL). Qumbya is a multi-house system with 3 houses and about 50 members. It has one part-time staff person.
File:
Understanding White Supremacy: Challenging White Privilege and Working for Social Justice
Understanding White Supremacy: Challenging White Privilege and Working for Social Justice
(A speech given at the White Privilege Conference in Memphis, TN in April, 2009)
Paul Kivel, social justice educator, activist, and writer, has been an innovative leader in violence prevention for more than 35 years.
Consensus 101
This handout is from Laird Schaub's (Fellowship for Intentional Community) workshop titled "Consensus 101" at NASCO Institute 2013.
File:
The Importance of Communication for Cooperatives - Video
Laurent Levesque of l'Unité de travail pour l'implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), discusses the importance of communication for ensuring the success an organization, using UTILE's experience as a model.
Learn more about UTILE here: http://utile.org/
Recorded for the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) Shared Resource Library - http://www.nasco.coop/resources
White Privilege Checklist
A checklist of privileges that apply to people of white/anglo/European descent.
Developing Your Vision
Tools for developing your vision
Rent Payment Policy - Qumbya Co-op
The is the Payment Policy from Qumbya Housing Co-op (Chicago, IL) as of 2013. This policy was created in 2008 out of a response to series of siginificant member debt losses. The policy is relatively strict by co-op standards. It does allow for payment plans, which may be up to 2 months in duration, and must be approved before a debt is accrued, not after. The wisdom gained from the series of losses which we attempted to base this polic on are:
* If a member gets more than 2 months behind on rent, they are very unlikely to ever catch up.