At CDS, we live and breathe Cooperative Principle 5–Education, Training, and Information–as part of our enduring commitment to helping people learn about co-ops. This includes everyone from existing co-ops to startups to simply the “co-op curious.” This year, CDS staff have already offered two introductory training series as well as individual webinars, with more on the horizon.
Producer Co-op Training Series, Part 2: We kicked things off in January with three new sessions in our Producer Co-op Training Series for startup farmer co-ops. Building on last year’s five-part inaugural series, we covered introductory accounting and finance, early-stage capitalization, and an overview of the Capper-Volstead Act led by CDS board member and attorney Jack Huerter of Dorsey & Whitney. This summer, we will be adapting several sessions from this series into on-demand versions through our new online learning portal, so stay tuned for that debut!
Minneapolis Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (CTAP): With support from the City of Minneapolis, last month CDS once again led the five-part CTAP course for Minneapolis residents in the initial stages of co-op development. We engaged with six creative and innovative startups looking to start cooperative enterprises of all kinds, from bicycle messenger/delivery service, to shared property management, to mutual aid fundraising via a queer motorcycle riding group. The breadth and depth of those seeking to cooperate never fails to inspire!
At the invitation of colleagues at the Georgia Cooperative Development Center, our executive director, Leslie Watson led a governance training for startup shared services co-op, as part of the Shared Futures Athens Cooperative Training Program.
On March 31, CDS hosted a record-breaking 350+ attendees at a Senior Housing Cooperative webinar focused on the perennially thorny topic of navigating the changing insurance landscape for housing co-ops.
On March 31, CDS hosted a record-breaking 350+ attendees at a Senior Housing Cooperative webinar focused on the perennially thorny topic of navigating the changing insurance landscape for housing co-ops.
On March 31, CDS hosted a record-breaking 350+ attendees at a Senior Housing Cooperative webinar focused on the perennially thorny topic of navigating the changing insurance landscape for housing co-ops.
