Task

Notes

• Conduct a survey
• Present findings
• Clarify a purpose

It’s a good idea to seek feedback on your business idea to gauge interest. Create a survey and check in with potential members. With the results, you can host a meeting to get more feedback. Work towards distilling the discussion to a clear purpose that the business
will help achieve.

• Identify start-up costs
• Create member equity plan
• Begin searching for grants

Strike a Finance Committee to crunch the numbers. Starting with our budgeting tool, begin compiling a list of start-up costs and potential sources of funds. It might be helpful to work with your local Community Futures office to get the data you need.

• Identify opportunities to secure funds
• Organize and hold
  fundraisers

Because the co-op isn’t incorporated yet the committee can’t take out a loan or sell
memberships, but you can raise money in other ways. Hosting fundraisers or
accepting informal donations can help cover the early costs of creating a
co-op.

• Identify ownership group
• Draft an org chart
• Present for feedback

Strike a 2 to4-person Governance Committee to tackle the tough questions of ownership, authority, and accountability. Work through our Governance resource to identify who the co-op’s members should be and begin putting
together an organizational chart that potential members can offer feedback on.

• Early market research
• Identify consultant/support
• Begin business planning

Rely on the Finance Committee to continue digging into the data. Consider hiring a
third-party consultant to help create a business plan— or start creating
your own using our online tool.

• Compile legal framework
• Engage potential members
• Select the best option

Task a committee member to organize a process for naming the co-op. They can check provincial regulations to find out what has to be in the co-op’s name then check in with potential members to get some suggestions. Have the committee vote on their favourite
using a dotmocracy exercise.

• Reserve a name
• File articles
• Draft bylaws

As the governance committee clarifies important organizational details, begin capturing this information in the articles of incorporation. Reserve the name with your government’s corporate registry and begin
thinking about other processes that need to be captured in the co-op’s bylaws. You will find more specific information about this in your province’s workplan.

Take a moment to celebrate the co-op’s incorporation.

Hurray!

• Create a membership agreement
• Set-up an e-mail
• Create a member
  registry

Have the board secretary set up an e-mail account and put together a member registry. Once there’s a system in place for accepting payment for memberships, the co-op can begin selling membership shares.

• Set up a bank account
• Incorporators deposit
• Compile a list of funders

Have the finance committee, led by the treasurer, set up a bank account and collect the
membership fees from the incorporating members. Monitor the new memberships the
co-op issues and begin researching and applying for additional start-up funds.