The Cooperative Business Model

We have gathered three excellent resources for learning about the cooperative business model.

The Appalachia Cooperates Initiative (ACI)

The Appalachia Cooperates Initiative (ACI) is a learning network connecting cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia. The Appalachia Cooperates Initiative was born out of a collaborative dialogue between partners in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Learn more.

The OEOC through its cooperative development program has initiated several projects that focus on the support and development of a variety of cooperatives. The main initiatives of the Center include:

The Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC)

• Developing Employee Owned Cooperatives 
  • The Center promotes employee-owned cooperatives by providing technical assistance, advisory services, and complete feasibility studies. Entities can apply for up to 100% reimbursement for the cost of these feasibility studies. Training is provided via seminars, webinars, and participation in general small business events. Also available for those contemplating conversion to a cooperative is a manual on selling a business to an employee owned Co-op. Also visit our page on starting a cooperative to learn more about the cooperative business form.
• Targeted exploration of specific sectors and opportunities 
  • The Center links rural producer cooperatives with anchor institutions in large urban areas (locally owned/locally grown). We also are conducting a feasibility study for forming manufactured home park cooperatives in Ohio.
• Responding to general cooperative development needs 
  • We provide general support and technical assistance to existing and developing cooperatives, developed and provided as appropriate. For more information on the Cooperative Development Center at Kent State University, contact the OEOC at oeoc@kent.edu or 330.672.3028.
• Resources:
  • Starting a Cooperative Business
  • Archived Cooperative Webinars
  • Training for Cooperatives
  • What are Employee-Owned Cooperatives
  • Selling Your Business to an Employee-Owned Cooperative
  • The Union Cooperative Model

Co-Op Cincy

Founded in 2011, Co-op Cincy nurtures a resilient, interconnected network of worker-owned businesses in Greater Cincinnati. Our goal: an economy that works for all.

worker ownership = sustainable jobs

By expanding worker-ownership, we

• support family-sustaining jobs
• provide ownership opportunities to people from underserved and historically marginalized groups
• nurture businesses accountable to communities

What is worker-ownership? Unlike in traditional companies, workers in worker-owned businesses participate democratically in the profits, oversight, and often management of the business.

Worker-ownership is also known as employee-ownership. Learn more about the worker-owned business model here.