Online Governance Course - Co-op Creator

Early Stages

How to start a co-operative: a step-by-step guide Creating an action plan What a steering committee is and does Choosing a business structure: A questionnaire How to name your co-op Transitioning a Business to a Co-operative Co-operative Shareholders and Governance Choosing a Co-op Type Hosting a Community Meeting Focusing Ideas for Your Co-operative Co-operative Business Model Comparison with Other Models Building Consensus

Incorporating

A Guide to writing Rules of Association in BC

A Guide to writing bylaws in Manitoba

Guide to writing Bylaws in Saskatchewan

Guide to Federal Bylaws

Provincial comparison: Incorporating a co-op in Western Canada Incorporation time frame Articles and bylaws (video) Choosing a name (video) Why incorporate? (video) Shaping your Co-op’s Identity Incorporation Checklist

Business Planning

Do a PESTLE Analysis How to find new members How to create a governance structure Creating a Preliminary Budget Building a Business Model Canvas Risk Identification and Management Legal Risks for Start Up Co-ops Why create a business plan? (video) Roles and Responsibilities Business Planning Pitch Practice Allocating Surplus in a Co-operative Business Co-operative Shareholders and Governance

Financing

How to handle share capital in a co-op Debt vs Equity (video) Tax Treatment of Co-operative Businesses Ongoing Capitalization Guide to Writing a Financial Plan Financing your Co-operative Business Budgeting and Co-operatives

Up and Running

Creating a Terms of Reference Creating a Strategic Plan Creating a Human Resources Policy Online Governance Course Creating a Conflict of Interest Policy Board of Directors Evaluation Board Member Recruitment Board Decision-Making Exercise

A Guide to Insurance How to Read Financial Statements Keeping track of members Member Onboarding and Engagement Guidelines for co-operative elections Filing your Annual Return Annual General Meetings and Co-operatives Ongoing Capitalization Allocating Surplus in a Co-operative Business

Additional Resources

Co-ops and charitable status

Back

Online Governance Course

Learn how to successfully govern a co-operative

Take our FREE online governance course. For a co-op to be successful, its members must be able to answer the basic governance question for their business: who gets to decide what?

This course examines how to do just that. In the course, we look at three key ideas:

Ensuring people work well together
Creating a successful view of the future
Building legitimacy

Using real world cases, we discuss how these ideas translate into practical features, such as board structure and shareholder or member engagement. Through it all, we explore how to get the right people making the right decisions.

“This course has greatly increased my understanding of what good governance could/should look like and how each part (boards, management, members) plays a vital role in the co-operative’s success.”

— 2017 PARTICIPANT

“This course was highly enjoyable, and relevant to working in not only the co-op space, but with any group that needs to make decisions.”

— 2017 PARTICIPANT

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