By Patricia Cumbie - From the Winter 2004: Volume 4, No. 1 issue.
In a study conducted last year by Livable Cities, an organization dedicated to understanding what constitutes livability in communities, they learned that for every $100 spent at a chain store, $13 went back into the local economy. For every $100 spent at an independent business however, $45 was retained. If one aspect of “livability” is a sustainable and vibrant local economy, then the cooperative ownership structure appears to have the advantage. Co-ops can contribute generously to urban and rural communities worldwide not only through dollars, but also through an empowering democratic governance system.
“It’s important for co-ops to understand this and the global role that plays,” said Jeannine Kenney, vice president for public affairs and member services at the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA). Kenney thinks co-ops could better tap into what’s dynamic about cooperative economics by developing cross-sector leadership that addresses how co-ops can have a greater impact.
Success in cooperatives is often defined by the level of industry competence demonstrated by its leaders, rather than its sector’s contribution to the success of the cooperative movement. Certainly each co-op’s industry acumen also seems to prove the case for cooperative economics—meet operational goals, maximize efficiency, and it is possible to compete as effectively as the competition. But cooperation is a symbiotic business arrangement, and the aspects relating to governance, member relations, and co-op development must be equally balanced with operational support. In order for the whole movement to thrive, each sector’s leaders must also balance their attention to these issues inside and outside their field.
“In many sectors, leadership development focuses on building leaders within a specific industry,” said Kenney. She noted there’s less attention to the democratic nature of cooperation and the fundamentals of governance by even its most exceptional leaders. “For example, too many leaders may view themselves as a company leader and not as a co-op leader,” she said. “I see this across sectors—people don’t see the need to be connected to the larger co-op community.”
Ann Hoyt, of the Urban Cooperative Initiative at the University of Wisconsin, points out that the movement also needs research capacity related to co-ops and not just industry concerns. “We need to study the unique nature of co-op governance, the role of ownership in co-ops, the nature of member capital. We don’t have anyone being supported to answer these questions. This is a broad-based leadership issue,” Hoyt said.
Perhaps the most important “capital” co-ops have to invest is being overlooked. Current co-op leaders perennially ask themselves where the emerging leaders will come from, especially now that member participation has declined from a generation ago. “Money moves quickly in a capitalist economy, but human capital—our vision and values—is hard to create and easy to kill,” said Kevin Edberg, executive director of CDS.
The founders of the New Wave natural food co-ops are aging, and there is a critical need to engage and develop younger leaders. “It’s important to build a professional class of managers, encourage growth and succession planning, and recruit the next generation of leadership,” Edberg said.
Food Cooperatives’ Role in Cooperation
_“Money moves quickly
in a capitalist economy, but human capital—our vision and values—is hard to create and easy to kill.”_
—Kevin Edberg, CDS
As the food co-op movement continues to expand its regional and national collaborative resources, Edberg believes there is a very compelling reason to expand its leadership capacity beyond the sector—to help each other. “There’s a huge opportunity for mentoring the ‘cooperation among co-ops’ principle,” he said. As an example, Edberg cited the tremendous public policy impact that could be made by food co-ops and credit unions working together. “Each of them have strategic interests that overlap,” he said.
NCBA’s Kenney agrees that cooperators learning about each other’s areas of mutual concern would be a very powerful alliance that can benefit co-ops and consumers. “By setting industry or political differences aside, co-ops can look at what unites them. Most co-ops share problems with capital, engaging members, and appropriate governance. Many creative things are going on to meet those challenges. Cooperators need to connect to find out about them,” said Kenney.
Dave Gutknecht, editor of the Cooperative Grocer, thinks that communication among sectors could be stronger, not only among cooperators but among the broad constituencies co-ops are trying to reach with the co-op message. “We need to develop channels of communication to get more participation,” he said. Gutknecht said this includes seeking out allies inside and outside of the co-op movement. “We could develop programs that interface with consumers and tap into thousands of people in terms of supporting our alliances or cooperative development.”
Gutknecht cited the 10 food cooperatives throughout the country that presently operate Cooperative Community Funds as an example of manifesting leadership in and by cooperatives. At the close of 2003, the combined endowment of the ten funds has grown to $330,000. Donations by Cooperative Community Funds generally fall into four categories: sustainable and organic agriculture, food and hunger issues, environmental action and betterment, social need and services and support for local cooperatives.
Food co-ops like Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, North Carolina, have also extended their vision to include thinking about the needs of their whole community, not just groceries, as they investigate housing and bookstore opportunities. “They are looking at what their community needs and using the co-op model as a solution. Those are the dynamic opportunities for all co-ops,” Edberg said.