Chapter 15 - § 15.5 • ORGANIZING A COOPERATIVE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 15.5 • ORGANIZING A COOPERATIVE

§ 15.5.1—Commencing the Organizing Effort

The impetus to start a cooperative organization usually arises in several ways: (1) a group of interested persons or independent organizational or business entities determines that joining efforts in a cooperative organization may help them to better achieve their common objective than if they had undertaken the same individually; (2) alternatively, a business, such as a restaurant, might bring together vendors and suppliers with regular customers and employees to all support the restaurant cooperative business model, or a business might provide for continuity by selling the company to its employees when the owners retire; (3) lastly, there are cooperative development organizations around the country that will sometimes lead in the development of a cooperative for a particular purpose.

However the organizational effort arises, the first step to organize a cooperative is to assemble the initial interested individuals to discuss how a cooperative enterprise could benefit them. A study of cooperative principles and development of a cooperative business plan is paramount. While a cooperative is democratic in nature, it is important to establish a leader for the organizational effort and to require that all individuals interested in forming the cooperative commit to developing and supporting the organization. Without these two factors, any cooperative development effort is unlikely to gain traction.⁵²

As more and more industries and sectors undergo transitions in ownership, there will be greater opportunities for the cooperative model to transform business models from centralized ownership to more democratic ownership. Already, the agricultural, farm land, urban housing, journalism, manufacturing, financial services, technology and data, and other small and medium size business sectors are looking to the cooperative model to support greater sustainability and access by larger numbers of stakeholders.

§ 15.5.2—Colorado Department of Agriculture Assistance and Special Provisions for Agricultural Cooperatives

If requested by three persons, the Co-op Act permits the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture to "supply a written summary of the most current survey prepared by the department of agriculture, if any exists, of the business conditions affecting the proposed purposes of the cooperative, particularly the commodities to be handled."⁵³ Although this provision does not appear to be limited by its language, its context in C.R.S. § 7-56-209 suggests this request for...