Southern States Corp

Southern States History

What is a cooperative?

Table of Contents

A cooperative is a business, but it is unique in several important ways.

Cooperatives-

  • Are owned and democratically controlled by their membership-the people who use the cooperative's services or purchase its goods, not by outside investors.
  • Elect their board of directors from within the membership.
  • Return surplus revenues to members proportionate to their use of the cooperative.
  • Are motivated not by profit, but by service, to meet needs of their members' needs for affordable and high quality goods or services.

Cooperatives follow seven internationally recognized principles:

  • Voluntary and open membership
  • Democratic member control
  • Member economic participation
  • Autonomy and independence
  • Education, training and information
  • Cooperation among cooperatives
  • Concern for community

Cooperatives are formed by their members when the marketplace fails to provide needed goods or services at affordable prices and acceptable quality.

For Everyone...

U.S. cooperatives serve some 120 million members, or 4 in 10 Americans. Worldwide, some 750,000 cooperatives serve 730 million members.