This past Monday, the 4th of August, a group of Tacomans descended on the fair state of Minnesota and visited The Wedge Co-op near downtown Minneapolis. It is a 13,600 member, 11,000 square foot store that brings in over 20 million dollars of revenue a year! Think about the fact that the majority of that money goes back into their community!One of the things that we learned and that stood out to me (Adam) is that there is a common misconception that Food Coops are non-profit. They are really just a different type of for profit. It takes a radical shift in understanding in a community. It takes a great deal of education from the Coop to its members and community. Once the bills are paid and paychecks cut, the profit of the Food Coop goes fully back into the community whether through dividends or other incentives.
I think one of the greatest examples of this concept at the Wedge is the fact that in 2007 the Wedge purchased a local farm. The former owners of the farm were retiring and their children did not want to take over. They though, "The Wedge has over 13,000 family members and most of them have children." Now The Wedge owns the farm. It has created incredible opportunities for job training, it has created more jobs for community members and amazing opportunities for its members to learn more about and experience organic farming.
We just wanted to give a shout out to our new friends in Minneapolis. The Wedge Co-op has been an inspiration to all of us in the process of developing our membership structure, incentives and even our bylaws. Thanks for all the help Wedge. We look forward to continued cooperation between our stores. Thanks for welcoming us into your store for a while!
(Look at their bike racks! This is only half the length!)
4 comments:
The Wedge looks like a great model, but one question: what's the point of dividends? Seems like a gimmick to me, more than anything (can anyone say: economic stimulus checks?). Why is that money not going directly into co-op projects/ grants?
Is the TFC planning to use a dividend model?
In response to your question of whether we will be using a "dividend model", the current, working draft of the bylaws has a provision for a patronage refund program for our member-owners. The co-op will return surplus revenues (income over expenses and investment) to members proportionate to their use of the cooperative. The reason that it is being called a “refund program” is that our priority will be to keep prices (margins) as low as possible and that after funding any expansion or capital needs of the co-op, any leftover profits will be redistributed to the owners as an “overcharge” refund. In essence, the prices were set too high in the first place and/or we came in under budget on our expenses at the end of the year– including donations and grants to community organizations – and thus able to refund a portion of our members purchases to them in the form of a dividend check. Additionally, profits can be allocated into members’ equity accounts – again, proportionate to their use in the co-op – to build additional capital (savings) in the co-op.
Additionally, it is important to point out that the bylaws can be amended at any point to reflect the desires of the majority of the owners.
Wow how nice it is to do what you love and make money at it. I know the feeling I work at a drug rehab and nothing gives me more pleasure than helping out the people with the same problem I used to have.
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