How-To Guide

Indivisible Reserves: unallocated equity as a way co-ops can help fortify their future

Author(s): 
Bruce Reynolds
Year: 
2013
One practice in particular deserves more attention in the United States cooperative community: the use of indivisible reserves (IR). The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) specifies IR as a component of its 3rd cooperative principle: “member economic participation.” This co-op principle addresses several financial policies, including allocation of surpluses or residual earnings. A few alternative uses of surpluses are recommended, such as distribution of member dividends and “….setting up reserves, part of which, at least, would be indivisible” (ICA).

A Technology Freelancers' Guide to Starting a Worker Cooperative

Author(s): 
Jim Johnson and Brent Emerson
Year: 
2009
this guide is about worker cooperatives: businesses owned and controlled by the people who work in them. The worker-members own the business and return its profits to themselves based on how much they work for the co-op. They control the co-op, perhaps by electing a Board of Directors which makes policy and hires managers to organize their work. This hierarchical structure is common in medium and large worker co-ops, just like the other co-op sectors. But small worker co-ops are usually run collectively.

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