Cooperative

A cooperative is an organization owned and democratically controlled by the people who use its services or work in it. Members share its benefits and responsibilities.

International Cooperative Alliance: A global organization that defines cooperative principles and represents cooperatives worldwide. Its internationally recognized principles describe how cooperatives govern and serve members.
Consumer cooperative: A cooperative owned by customers who use its goods or services. Customers collectively own the organization that serves them.
Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers: An English consumer cooperative founded in Rochdale in 1844, known for principles later adopted by cooperatives. Its practices became a major reference point for modern cooperative organization.
Corporation: A legal entity separate from its owners, with rights and obligations defined by law. Many corporations allocate control and returns according to shares, unlike member-centered cooperatives.
Cooperative governance: The systems through which cooperative members make decisions and oversee an organization. Member voting and accountability put democratic control into practice.
Worker cooperative: A business owned and democratically governed by its workers. Workers combine employment with ownership and workplace decision-making.
Robert Owen: A Welsh social reformer and industrialist who advocated cooperative communities and improved working conditions. His experiments and advocacy helped shape nineteenth-century cooperative thought.
Partnership: A business arrangement in which two or more people jointly own and operate a business. Partnership ownership does not necessarily include cooperative principles or democratic member governance.
One member, one vote: A voting rule that gives each member equal voting power regardless of capital invested. It separates cooperative control from influence based on investment size.
Producer cooperative: A cooperative through which independent producers jointly market, process, or purchase supplies. Producers gain shared services while retaining their separate businesses.

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