Co-Op

A co-op is an enterprise or organization that is democratically owned and managed by its members. It’s an organizational structure and legal entity that’s different from both traditional for-profit and non-profit structures. 

Whereas companies and nonprofits are typically owned and influenced by their biggest investors or donors, in a cooperative model, ownership and decision-making power is shared by all members of the co-op—and is distributed democratically, regardless of the amount of capital an individual invests or donates. The economic and social value generated by the members of a co-op is reinvested into the co-op’s membership, rather than extracted by an organization’s executives, shareholders, or donors. The co-op structure is therefore more equitable, sustainable, and representative of the community it serves. 

There are many different types of co-ops, including worker co-ops, consumer co-ops, and producer-co-ops. Happy Family is becoming a multi-stakeholder co-op, which is a combination of all three.