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The Next Economy Will You Be There? October 10–11, 2020 2 Days 20,000 Attendees 40+ Exhibitors

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The Next Economy Will You Be There? October 10–11, 2020 2 Days 20,000 Attendees 40+ Exhibitors National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International | Fall 2019 The Next Economy Will you be there? October 10–11, 2020 2 Days 20,000 Attendees 40+ Exhibitors Harrisburg, PA | Denver, CO | Billings, MT | Madison, WI Maple Grove, MN | Arlington, VA | Olympia, WA | Sacramento, CA www.coopfestival.coop THE COOPERATIVE BUSINESS JOURNAL NCBA CLUSA 1775 Eye Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington DC 20006 NCBA CLUSA - PUBLISHER CONTENTS Doug O’Brien President & CEO 3 Perspectives Valeria Roach Doug O’Brien Chief Financial Officer EDITOR IN CHIEF 4 Building the Next Economy John Torres Education. Advocacy. Policy. Vice President of Communication & Public Relations , NCBA CLUSA Doug O’Brien with Greg Irving MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Lechleitner Senior Manager, Communication & Public Relations, NCBA CLUSA SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Isabelle Shinsato 18 The Path to Shared Communication & Public Relations Associate, NCBA CLUSA Prosperity Insights from ESOPs reveal DESIGN the potential of employee Slice®Works ownership slice-works.com Janet Boguslaw and Lisa Schur EDITORIAL BOARD Emilia Istrate Vice President of Resource Development, NCBA CLUSA 28 Power in Purpose Leslie Mead Cooperatives and the Executive Director, Cooperative Development Foundation Sustainable Development Goals Rebecca Savoie Karen Miner and Sonja Cooperative Development Consultant Novkovic Jonathan White Director of Private Sector Partnerships & Foundations, NCBA CLUSA 38 A Solar Revolution Electric co-op technology innovations are reinventing rural America Russell Tucker, Joseph Goodenbery and Michael Leitman 43 Special Feature elevate your identity Elevate your cooperative identity with a .coop domain Lance Wolak FALL 2019 | 1 Your Choices Reflect Your Values. Your Bank Should, Too. 2www.ncb.coop | THE COOPERATIVE BUSINESS JOURNAL Your Choices Reflect Your Values. Your Bank Should, Too. www.ncb.coop FALL 2019 | 3 Perspectives Power in Purpose: Building the Next Economy Even while many indicators show a growing economy, more and more people feel excluded and disconnected from their economy and society. They are looking for ways to be locally rooted and engaged. By providing people the ability to own, control and benefit from the businesses they use, cooperatives are a natural vehicle to build an economy that works for everyone. Co-ops generate more broadly shared wealth through self-help and democratic governance. And, as people- centered, purpose-driven businesses, they are more likely to reflect the values of their members, resulting in more equitable and sustainable businesses. There is power in purpose-driven businesses. Our cooperative moment could not be clearer. “ There is power in purpose-driven We begin this issue by reflecting on what the next economy could businesses. Our cooperative movement look like, and the steps we need to take to get there—education, could not be clearer.” advocacy and policy. Next, new research on ESOPs provides insights that can inform worker co-op development and bring stability to an uncertain job market. We also explore how co-ops can embrace the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a tool to demonstrate their power in purpose and learn how electric co-op technology innovations are reinventing the economy in rural America. As your national association, we believe that there is power in our purpose; all our work is geared toward realizing the economic and societal power of an inclusive economy. We truly believe that cooperatives are the foundation on which the next economy must be built. To achieve this, NCBA CLUSA works to increase public awareness and educate grassroots and thought leaders on the success, diversity and impact of cooperatives. We advocate for co-ops to ensure the policy environment supports people who want to use co-ops to build more inclusive communities. Together we have an opportunity to empower and inspire each other through cooperative solutions. In Cooperation, Doug O’Brien President & CEO NCBA CLUSA 4 | THE COOPERATIVE BUSINESS JOURNAL Together we will reach new heights Our co-operative IT solution includes everything needed to run a food co-op. Our mission is to help the food co-op movement thrive. We do this by reducing your society’s costs and helping your co-op be as efficient as possible through technology. We are truly co-operative – with lower prices for all food co-ops societies as more co-ops use VME technology. FALL 2019 | 5 Building the Next Economy Education. Advocacy. Policy. By Doug O’Brien, with Greg Irving t critical moments throughout U.S. history, people have looked to cooperatives as a key strategy to solve major challenges—such as when farmers looked to cooperatives in the early 20th Acentury to access markets and gain market power, when rural people looked to cooperatives a generation later to access electricity, and when 6 | THE COOPERATIVE BUSINESS JOURNAL Representatives from the U.S. Federation millions of people looked to credit unions to gain of Worker Co-ops and other worker control of their financial future. These solutions ownership stakeholders join Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nydia Velázquez at occurred only when policymakers created laws a Main Street Employee Ownership Act press conference. Photo: Office of Rep. and regulations that supported the model. And Nydia Velázquez these policymakers created this policy only when people in the cooperative community educated and persuaded policymakers on the power of the cooperative business model. >> FALL 2019 | 7 Building the Next Economy Today’s environment represents another “cooperative Cooperatives must be part of any effective plan or moment.” As policymakers seek answers to today’s platform that addresses these challenges. greatest challenges, the cooperative business model poses proven solutions. And just as in the past, Cooperatives are a proven policy strategy. They the most effective way for policymakers to grasp deliver results. Co-ops have reduced poverty, the cooperative potential is for the cooperative improved food security, supplied rural electrification community to be active in educating and advocating and provided affordable financial services where for better cooperative policy. none existed. Cooperatives are a more stable form of business than their competitors, making their Recently NCBA CLUSA wrote an open letter benefits likelier to endure.2 Because they exist to addressed to the 2020 presidential candidates serve members that tend to live locally, they are from both major parties, urging them to consider more likely to lead efforts to create more sustainable how cooperatives can be a vital component of their local economies. This makes it easier for members policy platforms.1 The letter made the point that as of cooperatives and, indirectly, their communities to candidates seek solutions to some of today’s most attain economic security that extends to a greater critical challenges, they should look to cooperatives swath of the population. as a strategy with a record of empowering people in their businesses and communities. These facts demonstrate that co-ops should be an integral component of every policymaker’s A cooperative’s members drive its success and platform. One reason co-ops are not as prominent a supportive policy environment accelerates in community economic development policy is cooperative development and growth. Robust, co-op a lack of understanding of cooperatives by the friendly policies raise the likelihood that co-ops can broader public. Another is that policymakers do not thrive and enable them to solve problems that we realize how often cooperatives are successfully as a nation face today. People in the U.S. are eager employed to solve problems. Co-ops could benefit for a renewed debate about the issues that matter our communities more if policymakers were to them most and for an opportunity to participate better informed about current policy examples in their democracy. We are in a critical moment. involving co-ops. The best method for educating While multiple economic indicators are strong and policymakers has always been the advocacy work unemployment is low, many Americans are still of the co-op community. We should develop a sharp excluded from the economy as a result of growing curiosity for the work of our fellow cooperators, inequality, the changing nature of work and the finding inspiration and strategies to advance our increasing usage of new and disruptive technology. own efforts. To that end, this article amplifies some recent examples of policymaking that are creating a better policy environment for cooperatives. “ Increasing employee ownership will help Federal policymaking and cooperatives In recent years, there have been encouraging signs support a strong economy and promote that federal policymakers are taking a keener interest job security in communities across the in cooperatives. Particularly, many in Congress state” – Gov. Jared Polis have recently recognized the vital importance of cooperatives. Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including some 2020 presidential 1 “Co-ops should be on the policy platform of every presidential candidate,” NCBA CLUSA says in open letter.” NCBA CLUSA. June 19, 2019. Accessed on August 28, 2019 at https://ncbaclusa.coop/blog/co-ops-should-be-on-the-policy-platform-of-every-presiden- tial-candidate-ncba-clusa-says-in-open-letter/. 2 See, e.g., Gordon Nembhard, Jessica. Benefits and Impacts of Cooperatives. White Paper. February 2014. Accessed on August 21, 2019 at http://geo.coop/sites/default/files/0213-benefits-and-impacts-of-cooperatives.pdf.
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