The group of 18 African-American and Latino men and women who crowded around the pair of ceremonial scissors on May 10 were embarking on a trailblazing experiment in collective ownership.  The gran

Young professionals are becoming a key demographic driving the bottom line of a credit union.

Mother's Day is May 12 and many of us struggle with what to give mom on her special day.  Why not shop your favorite co-op?  Try tasty cheese from Cabot, delicious chocolates, tea or coffee from Eq

For 25 years, Organic Valley has been cultivating goodness and keeping farmers on the land.  Organic Valley is America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the nation's leading organ

They shared an active, outdoorsy lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. They shared a talent for creative work.

CADIAI is one of Italy’s most established social services cooperatives. It was founded in Bologna in 1974 by 30 people, 27 of whom were women.

In a resolution passed by the U.S.

Richard Wolff, a prominent economist in America argues there’s a better way to run the economy that’s in the interests of the 99%, instead of the 1%.

In a recent article in YES! magazine, Marjorie Kelly write about "how cooperatives are leading the way to empowered workers and healthy communities".  Emerging in our time—in largely disco

In countries around the world, family farmers are growing the food that supports two billion people on what is often called marginal or limited land.

Co-operatives are businesses run by the people, for the people; so it makes sense that all those connected to co-operatives are more likely to be much happier.

Like a team of super heroes, the members of the Lluke coop respond to the needs of communities and cooperatives throughout Chile.

Confused about the definition of "local food"?  Read about an innovative program in Alberta Canada that assigns a score and helps customers determine just how "local" a product really is.

Why support the co-ops in your community? The benefits might be further-reaching than you think.

The role of cooperatives as a mainstay of the social economy in Bulgaria was discussed at an international conference held in Sofia on 4 December 2012 to mark the conclusion of the 2012 UN Internat

Real Pickles - what a cool name!  Real pickles produces raw naturally fermented pickles made from local, organic and sustainably farmed produce. 

In 1998 Rwanda, the country was recovering from a brutal civil war that had badly damaged the economy.  As Africa’s most densely populated country, land is a precious resource in Rwanda, particular

HUBs are uniquely designed spaces that provide a creative environment as well as a professional infrastructure to work, meet, learn and connect.

Small savings, big development is the motto of Koboko United Cooperative, a savings and credit co-operative (SACCO) in northern Uganda, an area that is still recovering from the effects ci

In 2013, Red Sun Press will be celebrating its 40th anniversary as Boston’s Green Commercial Printer.

CHS recently announced the introduction of the CHS Center for Cooperative Growth, an online platform that gathers and shares diverse viewpoints.

Even in parts of the world torn by strife and war, cooperatives are flourishing.  In celebration of the International Year of Cooperatives 2012, ACTED hosted four National Cooperative Fairs in the

A new study published by Enery Transition reveals how the shift towards renewable energy or “Energiewende” in Germany is driven by co-operatives. 

It's not too early to start thinking about Farmers Markets.  Each month, SNAP benefits  brings over $122 million dollars into our state to help low-income families get the food they need for good h

Via Sign Language Sector Cooperative offers high quality Finnish sign language interpreting and teaching services nationwide. Via is owned by its 47 interpreter members.

Two home care agencies are taking the lead in publicly committing to the triple bottom line—people, planet, and profits—through their certification as B Corporations.

What would the world be without cooperatives?

In 1955, the Andalucían province of Almería, in southeastern Spain, was a drought-ridden area with little infrastructure and a GDP per capita of less than half the national average.  Today the syne

There are many famous film festivals including Sundance, Heartland, Cannes,and Telluride. Now there's a new film festival featuring cooperatives.

The Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade is a framework which will take the global co-operative movement through to the end of the decade with a plan to see co-operatives grow as financially and env

The 32 volunteers of the "Hoosiers Powers the World" project received the 2012 Cooperative Community Service Award at the Indiana Cooperative Summit on Nov.

Golden Steps is a worker-owned cooperative which provides non-medical elderly companionship services.

In celebration of the International Year of Co-operatives (IYC), The Co-operators is donating a total of $220,000 to deserving co-ops across Canada through their National Co-op Challenge.  The chal

According to FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva , "Whether you are in the UK, Brazil, Kenya, Thailand or Nepal, cooperatives help to generate employment, boost national economies and reduc

Thousands of co-operators from around the world have descended on Manchester Central for Co-operatives United, the largest gathering of co-operatives in modern memory.

Entrepreneurs around the globe are being urged to form cooperatives.  One such example is from Tanzania.  Tunu Pinda, wife of the Tanzanian Prime Minister, urged women entrepreneurs to form groups

NCB recently released their annual Co-op 100 List and Indiana has five co-ops on the list.  Congratulations! to the following Indiana Cooperatives:  Do-It-Best Corp., Ft.

Madeleine K. Albright was the featured luncheon speaker in Quebec last week at the 2012 International Cooperative Summit.  According to Ms.

Join us on November 9 at the Indiana Cooperative Summit to celebrate Indiana’s 2012 Cooperative Hero – Bruce Ingraham, retired, from Beacon Credit Union in Wabash, Indiana.

The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) has announced the launch of its official book, Building a Better World:  100 stories of Co-operation, in commemoration of the United Nations I

The Fragokov cooperative, one of the largest engineering companies in the Prešov region and regularly listed as one of the top 200 best Slovakian companies, was founded in 1949.  By the late 1980s

The Co-cyclists have returned to Amherst, MA, completing their 4,000 mile journey. Co-cycler Riko Fluchel made some reflections along the way. Below is a short excerpt:

CooperateUSA.coop and the CooperateUSA app are free resources developed by the National Cooperative Business Association

What a great idea!  The Co-operative Workers' Museum in Copenhagen does not tell the traditional story of land and glory or the rise and fall of kings of the past.

The curtain was about to come down for the final time at the Aron Theatre, an iconic cinema located in the town of Campbellford, Ontario.  With the owners ready for retirement, this meant Campbellf

Want to learn more about how your cooperative can appeal to the twenty-something-and-under crowd? Join us on November 9.

From banners to buttons, flags to flash mobs, cooperators across Canada are showing their IYC colours, but a worker coop in Guelph, ON is showing its IYC flavour: the 2012 Coffee Blend.

On Aug. 21,  Inc. Magazine released its 2012 500/5000 List of fastest growing private companies in America.

The TICE cooperative aims to help children, families and schools reach their educational goals by DOING something effective.

By providing a forum for children to express their artistic talent through drawing, SICREDI, one of Brazil's credit union organizations and the Texas Credit Union League's (TCUL) "People to People"

As the energy crisis of the 1970s caused home heating costs to skyrocket, a group of Boston residents decided to help their neighbors who were living in drafty, uninsulated homes.

I am constantly amazed at the wonderful variety of cooperatives around the world.  Common Thread is a cooperative with both an economic and social purpose.  Common Thread is a group of sewing co-op

Though few in number, telephone cooperatives still play a very important role in their communities.  McDonough Telephone Cooperative (MDTC) is a 61 year old company that is evolving and changing wi

The Indiana State Fair started today and runs through Aug.

Cooperatives are about economic empowerment and opportunity.  Learn how Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security has provided opportunities for immigr

Do you love shea butter products?  Read on to learn how a Togolese shea butter cooperative is helping improve the lives of women and strengthen communities in Togo West Africa.

I just saw this program on the Young and Free Indiana website and thought it was terrific.   It's called "Spark Tank" and it's an effort to get Millennials engaged in their community.  In this case

If you're a chocoholic like me, this story is for you.  The Grenada Chocolate Company is a tree-to-bar organic chocolate-making cooperative on the cocoa-producing Caribbean island of Grenada.

For a completely different twist on housing cooperatives, read this story about Sue Dolman.   Sue had lived for 25 years in a wonderful house in the Welsh countryside.

In a year when Spain turned to the Eurozone for bailout assistance, there has been one sector of the Spanish economy which is inspiring in troubled times.

What a great idea - eBooks about cooperatives!

July 7, 2012 marked "International Day of Cooperatives.  The International Cooperative Alliance released a press release quoting President Dame Pauline Green,“Co-operatives put people at the center

Last September brought the launch of Scoop: a student food co-operative project in partnership with Food Co-ops experts

At a conference last month, Irish President, Michael D Higgins, welcomed the role that co-operatives have played in Ireland and praised them as “vibrant example of creative communities”.  He contin

Here's another example of how cooperatives seek to empower people and bring about economic equality and stability.  This time the story is from Cambodia - a county once ravaged by t

Blue Read, Chairperson, New Zealand Cooperatives Association, recently gave a speech at the symposium '2012 International Year of Cooperatives - Cooperatives Boosting Sustainable Development', in B

Hello from Philadelphia!  I'm having a great time meeting new food cooperators and learning from them.  During lunch today, Benjamin Franklin addressed the group and talked about the first U.S.

A recent article in the online Namibian discusses the importance of cooperatives in helping lift youth and women out of poverty in the Karas and Hardap regions of Namibia. 

The time is ripe for cross-sector collaborative projects to create win-win-win outcomes for co-ops, the cooperative movement, and the community at large.

The numbers are dismal.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that exist to serve their members, not to make a profit.

Given Iran's history, who would have dreamed that cooperatives could flourish in this country.

I tell anyone who will listen that any business idea can be structured as a cooperative.  Ethics Girls Cooperative, a fashion design cooperative, proves my point.

On May 4th, for the first time in US history, the White House held a national briefing for the widest range ever of US co-op leaders.

The Mississippi Council of Cooperatives (MCC) truly practices the Cooperative Principles, especially P7 - Concern for Community.  The MCCA has endowed a scholarship memorializing  longtime Mississi

Cabot worked with Chalo, Inc., a Vermont-based startup, to create the Reward Vo

Following Community Empowerment, a sophomore Leadership Fellows class taught by adjunct professor Patrick Harman during Winter Term, four Elon students came up with ideas for cooperatives in the Bu

A recent article by the Capital Institute, discusses how an unusual partnership in Cleveland, OH, is serving as a model of job creation, and wealth-building in an impoverished urban nei

In celebration of the United Nation's 2012 "International Year of Cooperatives" and to honor those who volunteer their time, Cabot Creamery Cooperative created Reward Volunteers®, the nation's firs

According to experts,health care costs in this country are spiraling out of control.  One big-picture indicator is that the United States annually spends nearly $8,000 per capita on health care, ab

Ever wonder if your business idea would make a good cooperative?  Take a stroll on your favorite search engine and you'll find a number of amazing cooperative businesses.  Think - beer (

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives.

The United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of the Cooperative, but you don’t have to travel the world to see how successful the cooperative business model can be. In Indianapolis on October 28, leaders from a variety of cooperatives will gather for the fifth annual Indiana Cooperative Summit.

Want to recognize your favorite cooperator for their efforts in your cooperative and/or community?

The Miami Oxford Organic Network (MOON) is a member-owned cooperative natural and organic food store planning for a July/August, 2011, opening.