cooperatives
Member-owned businesses
Cooperatives are businesses or organizations owned and operated by their members, who share in the benefits and decision-making.
Members might be workers, consumers, or producers: worker cooperatives divide profits among employees, food cooperatives give members access to bulk goods, agricultural cooperatives help farmers market crops collectively.
The dairy cooperative negotiates better prices than individual farms could.
Often shortened to co-ops.
Shared community resources
- redistributionSharing out again differently
- microfinanceSmall loans for poor entrepreneurs
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
barter · kibbutz · socialism · syndicalism
Unity among allies
- self-helpUnassisted personal development
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- voluntarismWill-based action philosophy
- egalitarianismPhilosophy of universal equality
collectivism · mutualism · reciprocity · stewardship · sustainability · transparency · accountability
Member-owned financial cooperative
- federationUnion of semi-autonomous states
- allianceFormal union of parties
- associationGroup with shared aim
- guildProfessional mutual-aid society
union · league · society · network · consortium · confederation · club · assembly
Commercial undertaking or initiative
- partnershipShared business arrangement
- corporationLegally separate business entity
- firmSolid or resolute
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
franchise · startup · incorporated · holding · affiliate · equity · dividend · profit-sharing
commons
Shared community resources
- redistributionSharing out again differently
- microfinanceSmall loans for poor entrepreneurs
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
subsistence · barter · kibbutz · socialism · syndicalism
solidarity
Unity among allies
- self-helpUnassisted personal development
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- voluntarismWill-based action philosophy
egalitarianism · collectivism · mutualism · reciprocity · stewardship · sustainability · transparency · accountability
credit-union
Member-owned financial cooperative
- federationUnion of semi-autonomous states
- allianceFormal union of parties
- associationGroup with shared aim
guild · union · league · society · network · consortium · confederation · club · assembly · syndicate
enterprise
Commercial undertaking or initiative
- partnershipShared business arrangement
- corporationLegally separate business entity
- firmSolid or resolute
subsidiary · franchise · startup · incorporated · holding · affiliate · equity · dividend · profit-sharing · stakeholder
co-tenancy
Shared occupancy agreement
- bulk-buyingAcquiring goods in volume
- American SocialismSocialist Party, democratic socialism, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, socialist
- ethical shoppingfair trade coffee, ethical sourcing, sustainable sourcing, ethical shopping, buy local
- mutual aidteamwork, helping, sharing, lending, solidarity
- worker democracyworker control, worker councils, workers councils, workplace democracy, self-management
- agriculturefarms, crops, farm, farmers, farming
- dairymilk, butter, cream, cheese, yogurt
cooperativessole proprietorships
Businesses with single owners
corporations · conglomerates · private companies · proprietorships · sweatshops
- cooperative spiritWillingness to work together
- cooperative livingShared household with joint responsibilities
- cooperative playShared activity toward goals
- cooperative housingCollectively owned dwelling
- cooperative gamesGames with shared victory
- housing cooperativeMember-owned residential organization
cooperative, uncooperative, cooperatively, noncooperative, uncooperatively, cooperativeness