Types of Cooperatives
Service cooperatives provide services to their members, and are owned and controlled by the users of those services. They range in size, meaning they can include both ‘small’ care centres and ‘large’ housing cooperatives. They may provide transportation services, housing services, electricity services, gas and energy services, funeral services, health care services, nursery services, and more. They include, but are not limited to:\
A recreation cooperative provides recreation services, either on a consumer-basis, where users-members share ownership and access to recreational amenities (i.e. pools, gyms, saunas…), or on a producer-basis, whereby member-users share ownerships of the cooperative, but offer recreational services to the general public by making them available for a nominal/membership fee.
Religious cooperatives provide members of a particular religious group/family the opportunity to collectivise funds and expertise as a means of offering religious services (i.e. mass, sermons, prayers…) to their members and/or to the public. Alternatively, they may be a collective of members sharing/aligned with a particular religious belief system dedicated to supporting cooperative activity on a social, economic, or political level.
Housing cooperatives are organizations developed to resolve a community’s housing needs. These cooperatives are member-controlled properties, home, and/or housing facilities, meaning that its members are responsible for managing, maintaining, and operating the cooperative property, and sharing its costs.
Shared ownership and duties translates to more affordable housing costs, and each member of the cooperative may vote on housing related-decisions (i.e. repairs, new members, events/activities, duties…) and every year, members gather together to elect a Board of Directors. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM), members of the cooperative vote on a budget, and if membership fees (rent equivalent) are expected to increase, they will reflect true costs and not profit margins.
Rural Electric Cooperatives
Rural Electric Cooperatives are member-user owned organizations established to provide electricity to their members (all of which reside in rural areas). This organization purchases its power wholesale and delivers it at-cost to its members. This is a kind of distribution cooperative responsible for building and maintaining electric lines, for purchasing electricity to meet members' demands, and for billing and providing information related to the cooperatives function/organization.
Rural Telephone Cooperatives
Rural telephone cooperatives are distribution cooperatives that provide telephone services to its members, and govern themselves in accordance with the Rochdale principles. This type of cooperative was first developed in rural areas mostly to fill in the service gaps left by private companies; which found rural telephone service not to be very profitable. Like rural electric cooperative, rural telephone cooperative build and/or maintain data lines, and provide local and long distance telephone exchange services, direct broadcast satellite, wireless phone services, television exchange services, mobile radios, cellular and key systems, and internet access.
Producer cooperatives provide supply chain services necessary for their members’ economic/entrepreneurial activities. Producer cooperatives are a vast and diverse segment; some can market, or market and process goods and services produced by their members. Others produce, add value, or create pools of resources for its member-users. No matter the type, they are member-controlled and operate under the principles of cooperation.
Producers cooperatives may include:
Agricultural Processing Cooperatives
Farm Supply Cooperatives
Seed Cleaning Cooperatives
Arts and Crafts Cooperatives
Taxi Industry Cooperatives
Government Procurement Cooperatives
Worker cooperatives are businesses/enterprises owned and controlled by its members. They are created to provide members with work through a collectively-owned organization. These cooperatives can be run on a day-to-day basis by managers and a board of directors, however decision-making in worker cooperatives ultimately falls on the worker-owners who all have one vote.
Worker cooperatives are designed to meet the needs of workers first, as opposed to maximizing profits in the short run; any surplus (after accounting for expenses) would be distributed amongst members (i.e. in the form of dividends) or reinvested into the firm itself (i.e. non-profits). They operate mainly in the small and/or medium enterprise sector, and are owned by worker-members.
The sectors within which we can find worker coops include: agri-food, natural food, arts and entertainment, manufacture and sale of clothing, communications and marketing, construction and renovation, education, forestry, printing and publishing, industrial production and manufacturing, ambulance services , business services, home care and nursing services, and more.
Worker Shareholder Co-operatives
Worker cooperatives are formed to acquire voting-share within the corporations that employ them. They are unique in that they are cooperatives that operate within both public and private enterprises.
A retail cooperative is a consumer cooperative that is engaged in retail of goods or services for the own benefit of their members. They are owned by the consumers themselves and they can range from small purchasing groups to large supermarkets. A key distinguishing factor that separates consumer cooperatives from other retailers is that they are created to meet the needs of the member-owner in terms of type of product, quality and price. Furthermore, they are not focused on maximizing profit, but rather providing products at the lowest price possible. Retail/consumer cooperative include:
Is an organization owned and operated by its members and committed to consumer education, service product quality, truth in advertising and democratic control. It provides goods and services at a lower price to an open audience (not only limited to members). However benefits of being a member include a voice in co-op policy, discounts or rebates for patronage and other specialized services.
Buying Club Cooperative
A buying club is formed by a small group of individuals who, together, purchase goods and services from a wholesaler for their own needs. They govern themselves according to Rochdale principles and its members typically share in the labour involved. This type of organization is usually a temporary solution to becoming a full-fledged cooperative.
New Wave Cooperative
This term describes most consumer cooperatives and buying clubs started in the late 1960's and early 1970's by anti-war and alternative society activists. These co-ops were originally designed for self-empowerment and later for economic reasons; they usually featured an emphasis on alternative diets.
Financial cooperatives offer financial, loan or investment services, and insurance services to their members. They are owned by user members or by subscribers to insurance.
Examples of financial cooperative include:
A credit union is an organization that provides financial services to its members (personal loans, checking accounts, etc.) and is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors under the principles of one-member one-vote. Typically, a credit union consists of members of the same group, club, union, or institution.
A cooperative bank operates quite similarly to credit unions - many banks and financial institutions operate as/similar to Cooperative Banks - meaning they are a financial organization owned cooperatively or formed to loan primarily to cooperatives. What differentiates cooperative banks from, for example, private banking institutions is how the bank is owned. Like cooperative banks, private banks offer shares to its members, however private banks may be owned by a single proprietor, two-or more proprietors, or a concentrated/limited number of shareholders.
Refers to insurance obtained by combining the economic forces of the member-owners for the purposes of obtaining the most beneficial services and rates.
Multi-stakeholder cooperatives are organizations that include more than one membership group united by a common interest and/or goal. They bring together, for example, consumer cooperatives, producer cooperatives, and marketing cooperatives to achieve a shared goal (i.e. the production, distribution, and promotion of a product/service). This type of co-op is usually found in health, home care and other social enterprises.
Some examples include:
Child Care Cooperative
A childcare co-op is an organization consisting of groups of families who jointly provide child care services to members of the organization. Three models have been developed for this type of cooperative:
Parent Model: composed of parents who have formed a co-op to provide quality care for their children.
Employee Model: childcare facilities within, for example, women's work sites owned and operated by the employees.
Consortium Model: consists of a group of employers or organizations to be owned and utilized by their combined employee groups.
Some food cooperatives are formed by consumer and producer members in order to have access to a wider variety of supplies.
Aina ya ushirika: Ushirikiano wa huduma hutoa huduma kwa wanachama wao, na inamilikiwa na kudhibitiwa na watumiaji wa huduma hizo. Wao kutofautiana katika ukubwa, maana wanaweza ni pamoja na wote "ndogo" vituo vya huduma na "kubwa" makampuni ya makazi. Wanaweza kutoa huduma za usafiri, huduma za makazi, huduma za umeme, huduma za gesi na nishati, huduma za mazishi, huduma za huduma za afya, huduma za chekechea, na zaidi. "Hii ni pamoja na, lakini si mdogo kwa: ""Mfuko wa burudani hutoa huduma za burudani, ama juu ya msingi wa watumiaji, ambapo watumiaji wanachama kushiriki umiliki na upatikanaji wa vifaa vya burudani.""" Hifadhi za kuogelea, sauna, na gyms ni sehemu ya ushirikiano wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika. Ushirikiano wa kidini huwapa wanachama wa kikundi au familia fulani ya kidini fursa ya kukusanya fedha na ujuzi kama njia ya kutoa huduma za kidini. Misa, mahubiri, sala...) kwa wanachama wao na/au kwa umma. Vinginevyo, wanaweza kuwa mkusanyiko wa wanachama wanaoshiriki au kuungana na mfumo fulani wa imani ya kidini iliyojitolea kuunga mkono shughuli za ushirikiano katika ngazi ya kijamii, kiuchumi, au kisiasa. Ushirikiano wa makazi ni mashirika yaliyoanzishwa ili kutatua mahitaji ya makazi ya jamii. Makampuni ya ushirika ni mali, nyumba, na vifaa vya makazi vilivyo chini ya udhibiti wa wanachama, ikimaanisha kwamba wanachama wake wanawajibika kwa usimamizi, matengenezo, na uendeshaji wa mali ya ushirika, na kushiriki gharama zake. Ukiwa na mali na majukumu ya pamoja, gharama za makazi zinakuwa nafuu, na kila mshiriki wa ushirika anaweza kupiga kura juu ya maamuzi yanayohusiana na makazi. Mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango, mipango. Katika Mkutano Mkuu wa Mwaka (AGM), wanachama wa ushirika hupiga kura juu ya bajeti, na ikiwa ada za uanachama (sawa na kodi) zinatarajiwa kuongezeka, zitaonyesha gharama halisi na sio faida. Shirika la umeme la vijijini (REC) ni shirika la ushirika wa umeme wa kijijini (REC) ambalo linasimamiwa na wanachama wa ushirika wa umeme wa kijijini (Wakazi wa kijijini). Shirika hili hununua umeme wake kwa wingi na kuutoa kwa gharama kwa wanachama wake. Hii ni aina ya usambazaji ushirika wajibu wa kujenga na kudumisha mistari ya umeme, kwa ajili ya ununuzi wa umeme ili kukidhi mahitaji ya wanachama, na kwa ajili ya bili na kutoa taarifa kuhusiana na kazi ya ushirika au shirika. Shirika la Telefoni ya Vijijini (RTC) ni shirika la usambazaji wa simu ambalo hutoa huduma za simu kwa wanachama wake na kujitawala kulingana na kanuni za Rochdale. Aina hii ya ushirika ilianzishwa katika maeneo ya vijijini hasa kujaza mapungufu ya huduma iliyobaki na makampuni binafsi, ambayo iligundua huduma ya simu ya vijijini haikuwa na faida sana. Kama vile ushirika wa umeme wa vijijini, ushirika wa simu ya vijijini hujenga na kudumisha mistari ya data, na kutoa huduma za kubadilishana simu za ndani na za umbali mrefu, utangazaji wa moja kwa moja wa satelaiti, huduma za simu zisizo na waya, huduma za kubadilishana televisheni, redio za rununu, mifumo ya simu na muhimu, na upatikanaji wa mtandao. Ushirikiano wa wazalishaji hutoa huduma za mlolongo wa usambazaji muhimu kwa shughuli za kiuchumi / biashara za wanachama wao. Makampuni ya ushirika ni sehemu kubwa na tofauti; baadhi ya wanaweza kuuza, au kuuza na usindikaji bidhaa na huduma zinazozalishwa na wanachama wao. Wengine hutengeneza, kuongeza thamani, au kuunda mabwawa ya rasilimali kwa wanachama wake-watumiaji. Haijalishi ni aina gani, zinadhibitiwa na washiriki na zinafanya kazi chini ya kanuni za ushirikiano. Makampuni ya ushirika ya kilimo, ushirika wa usindikaji wa kilimo, ushirika wa usambazaji wa mbegu, ushirika wa ufundi wa sanaa, ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika wa ushirika. Wao ni kuundwa kutoa wanachama na kazi kupitia shirika la pamoja inayomilikiwa. Ushirikiano huu unaweza kuendeshwa kwa msingi wa kila siku na wasimamizi na bodi ya wakurugenzi, hata hivyo maamuzi katika ushirikiano wa wafanyakazi hatimaye huanguka kwa wafanyikazi-wamiliki ambao wote wana kura moja. Ushirikiano wa wafanyakazi umebuniwa ili kukidhi mahitaji ya wafanyakazi kwanza, kinyume na kuongeza faida kwa muda mfupi; ziada yoyote (baada ya kuhesabu gharama) itagawanywa kati ya wanachama. kwa namna ya gawio) au reinvested katika kampuni yenyewe (yaani yasiyo ya faida). Wao kazi hasa katika sekta ya biashara ndogo na/au kati, na ni inayomilikiwa na wafanyakazi-wanachama. Katika sekta ambazo tunaweza kupata vyama vya wafanyakazi ni pamoja na: chakula cha kilimo, chakula cha asili, sanaa na burudani, utengenezaji na uuzaji wa nguo, mawasiliano na uuzaji, ujenzi na ukarabati, elimu, misitu, uchapishaji na uchapishaji, uzalishaji wa viwanda na utengenezaji, huduma za ambulansi, huduma za biashara, huduma za nyumbani na huduma za uuguzi, na zaidi. Wafanyakazi Shareholder Co-operatives Wafanyakazi cooperatives ni kuundwa kupata kupiga kura-share ndani ya mashirika ambayo kuajiriwa yao. Wao ni wa kipekee kwa kuwa wao ni vyama vya ushirika ambavyo hufanya kazi ndani ya makampuni ya umma na binafsi. Ushirikiano wa rejareja ni ushirikiano wa watumiaji ambao unajihusisha na rejareja ya bidhaa au huduma kwa faida ya wanachama wao wenyewe. Wao ni inayomilikiwa na watumiaji wenyewe na wanaweza mbalimbali kutoka makundi madogo ya ununuzi kwa maduka makubwa. "Kifungu muhimu cha kutofautisha makampuni ya ushirika wa watumiaji na wauzaji wengine ni kwamba yanaundwa ili kukidhi mahitaji ya wanachama-wamiliki katika suala la aina ya bidhaa, ubora na bei. """ Isitoshe, hawazingatia kuongeza faida, bali hutoa bidhaa kwa bei ya chini iwezekanavyo. Ushirikiano wa rejareja na watumiaji ni shirika linalomilikiwa na kuendeshwa na wanachama wake na limejitolea kwa elimu ya watumiaji, ubora wa bidhaa za huduma, ukweli katika matangazo na udhibiti wa kidemokrasia. Inatoa bidhaa na huduma kwa bei ya chini kwa watazamaji wazi (si tu mdogo kwa wanachama). Hata hivyo faida ya kuwa mwanachama ni pamoja na sauti katika sera co-op, punguzo au punguzo kwa ajili ya upendeleo na huduma nyingine maalumu. Kundi la Ununuzi (Club d'achat) ni kikundi kidogo cha watu ambao wanakubaliana kununua bidhaa na huduma kutoka kwa muuzaji kwa mahitaji yao wenyewe. Wao kujitawala kulingana na kanuni Rochdale na wanachama wake kawaida kushiriki katika kazi inayohusika. Aina hii ya shirika kwa kawaida ni suluhisho la muda ili kuwa ushirika kamili. New Wave Cooperative (New Wave Cooperative) ni jina la makundi ya watumiaji na makundi ya ununuzi yaliyoanzishwa mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1960 na mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1970 na wanaharakati wa kupambana na vita na jamii mbadala. Mashirika haya yaliundwa awali kwa ajili ya kujisaidia na baadaye kwa sababu za kiuchumi; kwa kawaida yaliweka mkazo juu ya vyakula vingine. Ushirikiano wa kifedha hutoa huduma za kifedha, mkopo au uwekezaji, na huduma za bima kwa wanachama wao. Wao ni inayomilikiwa na wanachama wa watumiaji au na wanachama wa bima. Mfano wa ushirika wa kifedha ni pamoja na: Shirika la mkopo ni shirika ambalo hutoa huduma za kifedha kwa wanachama wake (mkopo wa kibinafsi, akaunti za kuangalia, nk.) Mfumo huo unaongozwa na Bodi ya Wakurugenzi iliyochaguliwa na wanachama wake kulingana na kanuni ya mwanachama mmoja, kura moja. Kwa kawaida, shirika la mkopo lina washiriki wa kikundi kimoja, klabu, chama, au taasisi. Benki ya ushirika inafanya kazi sawa na vyama vya mkopo - benki nyingi na taasisi za kifedha hufanya kazi kama benki za ushirika - ikimaanisha ni shirika la kifedha linalomilikiwa kwa ushirika au lililoundwa kutoa mkopo hasa kwa ushirika. Kile kinachotofautisha benki za ushirika na, kwa mfano, taasisi za benki za kibinafsi ni jinsi benki inamilikiwa. Kama benki za ushirika, benki za kibinafsi hutoa hisa kwa wanachama wake, hata hivyo benki za kibinafsi zinaweza kuwa na mmiliki mmoja, wamiliki wawili au zaidi, au idadi ya pamoja ya wanahisa. Inahusu bima inayopatikana kwa kuchanganya nguvu za kiuchumi za wamiliki wa wanachama kwa madhumuni ya kupata huduma na viwango vya faida zaidi. Makampuni ya ushirika ni mashirika ambayo yanajumuisha zaidi ya kikundi kimoja cha wanachama waliounganishwa na maslahi ya kawaida na au lengo. Kwa mfano, makundi ya watumiaji, makundi ya wazalishaji, na makundi ya uuzaji yanakusanyika pamoja ili kufikia lengo moja. Uzalishaji, usambazaji, na kukuza bidhaa au huduma. Aina hii ya ushirika ni kawaida kupatikana katika afya, huduma ya nyumbani na makampuni mengine ya kijamii. Kwa mfano, shirika la usimamizi wa watoto (Child Care Cooperative) ni shirika linaloundwa na vikundi vya familia ambazo kwa pamoja hutoa huduma za usimamizi wa watoto kwa wanachama wa shirika. Mifano mitatu ya ushirikiano imebuniwa kwa ajili ya aina hii ya ushirikiano: Mfano wa Wazazi: iliyoundwa na wazazi ambao wameunda ushirikiano ili kutoa huduma ya ubora kwa watoto wao. Mfano wa mfanyakazi: vifaa vya utunzaji wa watoto ndani ya, kwa mfano, maeneo ya kazi ya wanawake inayomilikiwa na kuendeshwa na wafanyikazi. Mfano wa Consortium: inajumuisha kundi la waajiri au mashirika ambayo yanamilikiwa na kutumiwa na vikundi vya wafanyikazi wao walioshirikiwa. Baadhi ya vyama vya ushirikiano wa chakula huundwa na watumiaji na wazalishaji wanachama ili kuwa na upatikanaji wa aina mbalimbali ya vifaa.