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Revised co-op development curriculum gets test drive in Madison workshops.

Article Excerpt
Editor's note: Livingston is a Maine-based freelance communicator and marketing consultant who specializes in cooperatives. mejane@gwi.net.

It may not be happening as rapidly as some would like, but it's happening. The co-op model is catching the attention of people outside 'the usual cast of characters.' In fact, the 21 cooperative development center-members of CooperationWorks! have seen requests for assistance triple in the past three years.

"Cooperatives may be one of the best kept secrets in America, but we're working to change that," says Audrey Malan, executive director of CooperationWorks!, whose member-centers serve people in 45 states.

Interest in the co-op business model is coming--as it always has--from entrepreneurial types who want to be in business for themselves, but who lack the capital or other resources to do it. Others simply prefer to share the risks and rewards of business ownership. Increasingly, interest in co-ops is coming from economic development loan funds, financial institutions, government officials, community nonprofit organizations, religious congregations and chambers of commerce.

"Too many development groups and business educators still don't know enough about the cooperative business model," Malan says. "Yet the potential for cooperative enterprise to play a role in economic development is enormous as communities struggle to find solutions to shared challenges in agriculture, energy, affordable housing, healthcare, childcare, senior services and the creation and retention of good jobs."

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