Cooperatives

Cooperative A cooperative (also co-operative; often referred to as a co-op) is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. Cooperatives are defined by the International Co-operative Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity as autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprises. A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or by the people who work there. Cooperative enterprises are the focus of study in the field of cooperative economics. A cooperative is a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members. Members often have a close association with the enterprise as producers or consumers of its products or services, or as its employees. Cooperatives may take the form of companies limited by shares or by guarantee, partnerships or unincorporated associations.

History Cooperative efforts have occurred throughout history. Since early man cooperated with others to help kill large animals for survival, people have been cooperating to achieve objectives that they could not reach if they acted individually. Cooperation has occurred throughout the world. Ancient records show that Babylonians practiced cooperative farming and that the Chinese developed savings and loan associations similar to those in use today. In North America, clearing land in preparation for the planting of crops, threshing bees, and barn raisings all required cooperative efforts. In the United States, the first formal cooperative business is assumed to have been established in 1752, almost a quarter-century before the Declaration of Independence was signed. This cooperative, a mutual insurance company called the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, was organized by