Start a Co-op
Start a Co-op
Cooperatives create opportunities for people to meet shared needs, build local wealth, and strengthen their communities. Whether you’re starting a new cooperative enterprise or exploring the transition of an existing business to cooperative ownership, these resources can help you understand the process and take the next steps.
Choose the pathway that best fits your situation:
Start a New Co-op: A step-by-step guide for groups creating a cooperative from the ground up.
Convert an Existing Business to a Co-op: A step-by-step guide for business owners and employees interested in transitioning ownership through a cooperative conversion.
Start a Co-op
The cooperative model can be an effective way for people to meet a common set of economic or social needs. Often a cooperative is organized in response to some adversity – individual farmers face falling dairy prices, for example, or a community loses its grocery store. Instead of operating to maximize investment returns, a cooperative operates to maximize member benefit by meeting member needs in a financially sustainable way.
Cooperatives can diversify and strengthen their local economic communities because of their local ownership, control, and operations. Profits tend to remain in the local economy because they are returned to members, or reinvested in the locally based cooperative business. When members patronize their local cooperative, they are supporting employment and business activity in their communities.
Members’ active participation in a cooperative can also benefit a community’s civic life. The empowering experience of self-determination through cooperation provides a perspective and set of skills that can be applied to other community activities.
Learn to Start a Co-op
Elements to Converting a Business to a Co-op
Considering a cooperative conversion? Learn about the key elements that shape a successful transition, from ownership and governance to financing, member engagement, and business planning. This resource outlines important considerations for business owners, employees, and advisors exploring cooperative ownership as a strategy to preserve local businesses, retain jobs, and build long-term community wealth.
Elements to Starting A Co-op
Starting a cooperative? This resource explores the essential building blocks of cooperative development, from identifying a shared need and engaging potential members to establishing governance, financing, and operations. Whether you’re launching a new worker, consumer, producer, or purchasing cooperative, it provides practical guidance for turning an idea into a sustainable, member-owned business.
Startup & Conversion Resources
Discover resources for starting a cooperative or converting an existing business to cooperative ownership. Explore guides, toolkits, and expert information on planning, governance, financing, and implementation to help build and sustain a successful cooperative enterprise.
Need help?
Starting a cooperative can feel like a big undertaking, but you don’t have to do it alone.
In Wisconsin
UWCC offers co-op development services to help groups navigate the process of starting a cooperative. Assistance is available on a fee-for-service basis, and in some cases, grant funding may help offset the cost of support.
Outside of Wisconsin
If you’re located outside Wisconsin, Co-op Development Centers across the country can provide guidance and technical assistance to help you get started.