Patricia Cumbie, Tami Bauers, and Stuart Reid
All businesses need some base capital to finance their start-up, and this is typically provided by the owner. In a cooperative, this means that the members of the association are responsible for providing this essential financial foundation to the business. Equity, also known as member shares, is one important way owners of the co-op provide capital in the cooperative. Whether you have an established group of committed volunteers already working on developing a food co-op, or just considering it, this toolbox should help you better understand what’s involved in making important decisions for the future of your co-op, including how to structure your member equity requirement.
