Thoughts and success stories

The most important thing to understand about being a member of a co-op is this: as a member, you are an owner of the business. …

Photo by Frederick Tubiermont on Unsplash When the economy takes a downturn, it’s hard on businesses — small to medium business (SMBs), in particular — and not every…

It’s Annual General Meeting time again — but this year AGMs will be a bit more complicated than usual. Co-operatives First has a lot of…

Strangely, the answer to “What’s a co-op?” can vary depending on where you live. From our perspective, a co-operative is a business model. In this…

Co-ops and the prairies share a history Much of western Canada was settled with the help of co-ops, but they are an often-overlooked (and misunderstood)…

In this episode we speak to three people about the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association’s annual youth Co-op Camp: an organizer, a participant, and a camp staff member…

Co-ops are great at giving back. In our recent Holiday Podcast, Aasa spoke with some amazing co-operatives in western Canada. Each of them gave us insight…

Co-ops are great at giving back. In our recent Holiday Podcast, Aasa spoke with some amazing co-operatives in western Canada. Each of them gave us insight…

Co-ops are great at giving back. In our recent Holiday Podcast, Aasa spoke with some amazing co-operatives in western Canada. Each of them gave us…

The holidays are a time of giving, when people often think about donating to charitable causes. As businesses rooted in their communities, co-ops are great…

Most people know grocery stores can be co-operatives. Some may have heard of daycare or housing co-ops. But the reality is the co-op model can…

Previously we’ve talked about the important role co-operatives might play in succession planning for rural businesses as baby boomer business owners begin to retire. The…

A conversation on the history of co-ops. Dr. Brett Fairbairn has been researching co-operatives for over 30 years; as a Fellow at the Centre for…

Succession planning is how business leaders answer the question of how their business continues without key players, like owners and high performance or essential skill…

The co-operative business model is versatile and being used successfully in every sector of the economy. Businesses using the model bring utilities, like power, water…

The Co-operatives First team is regularly asked “what is a co-operative?” and many of our posts display various uses of the co-operative model to explore…

Farming is expensive. The cost of the machinery and labour required to run a farm is daunting, and many farmers are having to take on…

As we’ve noted in past blogs, co-operatives operate in all industries, often going unnoticed. Many co-operatives have recognizable brands, but do not necessarily tout their business…

Choosing the business model for a venture, even a non-profit one, should be based on practical reasons. But, spotting the difference between models is not…

Giving Tuesday is a global charitable giving event that takes place every year just after American Thanksgiving. In 2017 the project collected over 1.64 million…

 (and one important way they aren’t)