Ivp-ownership-cooperative

Considering the cooperative form of ownership

From Merriam-Webster dictionary.com

co·op·er·a·tive Pronunciation Key (k-pr--tv, --rtv, -pr-) adj. Done in cooperation with others: a cooperative effort.

Marked by willingness to cooperate; compliant: a cooperative patient.

Of, relating to, or formed as an enterprise or organization jointly owned or managed by those who use its facilities or services: a cooperative department store; cooperative apartment buildings.

n. An enterprise or organization that is owned or managed jointly by those who use its facilities or services.

co·oper·a·tive·ly adv. co·oper·a·tive·ness n.

\Co*["o]p"er*a*tive\, a. Operating jointly to the same end.

Co[\"o]perative society, a society established on the principle of a joint-stock association, for the production of commodities, or their purchase and distribution for consumption, or for the borrowing and lending of capital among its members.

Co[\"o]perative store, a store established by a co["o]perative society, where the members make their purchases and share in the profits or losses. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Home page of International Cooperative Information Center

(University of Wisconsin) UWCC 230 Taylor Hall, 427 Lorch Street Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608) 262-3981 Fax:(608) 262-3251 Email: grinnell@aae.wisc.edu http://www.wisc.edu/uwcc/icic/def-hist/def/community.html LIBRARY: 608-262-9988

The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) was established in 1962 as the International Cooperative Training Center. Funds to establish the UWCC were provided by a grant from USAID. Although international cooperative education remains a responsibility of UWCC, our programs now touch all types of domestic cooperatives.

The UWCC is housed within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, Madison, Wisconsin.

CAlling the Hyde Park (Chicago neighborhood) Cooperative Society

Julius Draznin, former board member of Hyde Park Cooperative Society, 773-684-0895 Atty Leon Depres: try him too.

Government publication on how to start a cooperative

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir7/cir7.pdf

News coop -- The Associated Press

Founded in 1848 by six New York newspapers to cut costs and get the news more efficiently and quickly. It is owned by its U.S. newspaper and broadcast members and serves more than 1,700 newspapers and 6,000 TV and radio stations in the U.S.

Home page of the International Cooperative Alliance

http://www.ica.coop/al-ica/=

Rural Nebraska farmer-coop owned radio station KRVN

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/may01/allag.htm

Cooperatively owned newspaper in Greenbeld, Md.

Greenbelt News Review 15 Crescent Road, Suite 100 Greenbelt, MD 20770 Tel: (301) 474-4131

The Greenbelt News Review is a community newspaper which is coooperatively owned. It was established in 1937 by the residents of the "Green Town" one month after they moved to the new town. The paper is owned by the reporters, editors, and other staff who put out the community's news on a weekly basis. The president emeritus, Elaine Skolnik, received the Co-op Month communications award this year for her work on the paper. In addition to spreading the word about Greenbelt's many cooperatives, she was a central figure in a lawsuit against the News Review which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and helped establish Freedom of the Press.

The paper, published by the Greenbelt Co-operative Publishing Association Inc., was established in 1937 as a volunteer organization shortly after the construction of Greenbelt, one of The New Deal green towns. It has been published without interruption since that time and is currently delivered free to all Greenbelt residents. Our office is in the Community Center next to the City Office.

Office Hours: Monday 2-4 p.m. & Tuesdays 8-10 p.m.

Volunteer
Mary Lou Williamson 

Editor Barbara Likowski

Assistant Editor

Eliane Skolnik

News Editor Ron Wells

Business Manager Diane Oberg

President Jim Giese

Vice President

Jane Rissler

Treasurer Eileen Farnham

Secretary Board Members

Virginia Beauchamp
Altoria Bell Ross
Joanne Tucker

Home page of the National Cooperative Business Association

http://ncba.coop/

NCBA 1401 New York Ave. NW Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 Ph: (202) 638-6222 Fx: (202) 638-1374 E-mail: ncba@ncba.coop Paul Hazen President and CEO

From the NCBA site:

Cooperatives may be organized to provide just about any good or service such as:

• Business services
• Child care
• Credit and personal financial services
• Employment
• Equipment, hardware and farm supplies
• Utilities and cable T.V. services
• Food and food services
• Funeral planning
• Health care
• Housing
• Insurance
• Legal and professional services
• Marketing of agricultural and other products

Over 120 million people are members of 48,000 U.S. cooperatives. These people have organized to provide themselves with goods and services in nearly every sector of our economy. Their cooperatives may be organized in a number of ways and for many purposes.

Legal issues

Formation, voting rights and governance Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and securities Antitrust/Capper-Volstead Act Tax issues Financing Labor, employment and employee benefits Environmental, land use, and permits Litigation International and trade regulations Intellectual property and licensing FCC, telecommunications regulation

http://www.lindquist.com/ Michael L. Weaver Direct Dial: (612) 371-3987 Fax: (612) 371-3207 E-mail: mweaver@lindquist.com Service group:

Agribusiness and Cooperatives

Michael Weaver provides general business representation to farmer-owned associations on start-up, capital structure, debt and equity financing, governance, mergers and consolidations, acquisitions and joint ventures.

He specializes in cooperative law and choice of entity matters. He helps his clients achieve their business objectives with extensive experience in:

• Partnership

• Limited liability companies

• Tax and securities law

He also represents numerous lending institutions in the Farm Credit System, provides leadership on state and federal legislative matters affecting agriculture and is a frequent presenter on agribusiness and cooperative law topics.

Michael heads up the agribusiness and cooperatives’ ethanol industry specialty. He works extensively with ethanol companies in all stages of development, from initial organization to equity and debt capitalization to refinancing and expansion.