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Co-op Day

The State of Our Cooperatives… Foundation for Stability in Uncertain Times

In celebration of the third annual Co-op Day a news conference and luncheon were held at The Ulmer Center, North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) building in Mandan on Oct. 13. Tours of the National Information Solutions Cooperative and NDAREC were also provided.

ND Gov. John Hoeven addresses the attendees of the third annual Co-op Day

ND Gov. Hoeven address attendees of the third annual Co-op Day.

Guest speaker Dr. Greg McKee of the Burdick Center for Cooperatives, North Dakota State University, reported on the significant economic impact that member-owned organizations have had on our nation and state in 2008-09. “There are 531,000 memberships of cooperatives in our state. As you reflect on the proportion of that as the size of our population, you will see that many of our state’s residents are served by cooperative businesses. Over 8,000 people are employed on a full-time basis by cooperatives. Many others are employed on a part-time basis. Together, these jobs inject over $325,000,000 into our economy each year,” he said.

Dr. McKee was joined by representatives of North Dakota cooperatives including Dennis Hill, NDAREC; David Crothers, North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives; Vern Dosch, NISC; Ron Harper, Basin Electric Power Cooperative; Woody Barth, North Dakota Farmers Union; and Dana Bohn, Farm Credit Services.

Governor John Hoeven also joined the news conference and signed a proclamation declaring October as Co-op Month in North Dakota.

The theme of this year’s Co-op Day was “The state of our cooperatives… Foundation for stability in uncertain times.” Touching on the strong roots of co-ops, Harper said, “We’re going to have our fights, brotherly love and all this other stuff, but ask somebody from the outside to try to come in a separate us. It’s very difficult. We have a culture. We have a belief that our whole existence is for that person at the end of the line.”

Check out the Co-op Day video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IDwmevTV48.

Cooperative principles

The third annual Co-op Day will give members an opportunity to share in recognizing the dedication and commitment demonstrated by cooperatives across the nation through their practice of the seven cooperative principles which include:

voluntary and open membership,
democratic member control,
member economic participation,
autonomy and independence,
education, training and information,
cooperative among cooperatives,
concern for community.

“Committed to Our Communities”

Cooperative businesses generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in income for their communities while also supporting local causes ranging from education to the environment, according to a series of case studies compiled to help mark October as National Co-op Month.

The 20-plus pages of case studies, put together by the National Co-op Month Planning Committee, show that co-ops take a back seat to no other sector when it comes to making economics and charitable contributions to their communities.

Among the highlights:

Nearly 3,000 farmer cooperatives account for as many as 300,000 jobs
nationwide and a total payroll of more than $8 billion.
Some 270 local, consumer-owned telecommunications cooperative employ an average of 47 people each and generate more than $2 billion in revenues annually.
In Minnesota alone, cooperatives of all types generate more than $10 billion in economic activity per year. In New York, credit unions alone contribute $4 billion annually to the economy.

Among community projects highlighted in the case studies:

East River Electric Power Cooperative, Madison, SD, helped fund an ethanol plant that today adds $50 million to the area’s economy.
Four credit unions combined to assist low-income New Yorkers with their tax forms, triggering $2.5 million in tax refunds that otherwise would have gone unclaimed.
An Arizona food co-op formed a recycling program that now includes approximately 100 businesses and was cited as the best in the state.
A co-op printer in Massachusetts donates 10 percent of its profits to the community in support of causes including labor and human rights, the environment, child development and the homeless.

The case studies are available on the National Cooperative Month Web site at www.coopmonth.coop.

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