Strategic Co-op Seminars

Please join us for a day of conversation focused on strengthening our co-ops and building a cooperative economy.

March 3 – Region: Southeast, Seminar location: Raleigh, N.C.
March 17 – Region: Minnesota / Wisconsin, Seminar location: La Crosse, Wis.
March 31 – Region: Northeast, Seminar location: Brattleboro, Vt.

The events will run from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with light breakfast and mixer activities beginning at 8:30 a.m.

This regional event offers you an opportunity to engage in compelling conversations with directors and top managers from other co-ops, thus enriching your own thinking and advancing your conversations when you’re back home.

Presenters, both in-person and via high quality recorded video, will address:

The value of gathering for strategic conversations to advance our understanding of what’s possible
Strategic concepts for strengthening our co-ops and building a cooperative economy
Cooperative history, cycles and innovation
The value of cooperatives in community

Conversations will be highly interactive and focused. Using the World Café conference format, participants will contribute to small group conversations inspired by the speakers and framed by a few powerful questions.

“Bring it home” discussion guides and other resources, including short high quality video recordings, will make it easy for the conversations to continue among the board, with co-op members and with the broader community. Resources will be available in the CBLD Library.

This regional seminar is a pilot project. The concept is to hold a seminar in your region on an every other year basis to continue introducing and advancing conversations that matter for building a thriving cooperative economy. Your participation and feedback will help shape future events.

A fourth seminar will be held on October 6 in Seattle.

Conference costs:

To encourage high turnout from your co-op, the costs for the seminar have largely been covered by sponsors. The cost to your co-op will be $45 per person, with a cap of $300 total per co-op. Light breakfast, lunch and snacks are provided. You are responsible for your travel expenses.

For more information, including information for reserving sleeping rooms, visit the page for your specific regional seminar.

The seminars are produced by the CDS Consulting Co-op, as part of its CBLD program, as a way of supporting co-ops getting stronger.

For more information contact Mark Goehring.

Can’t make it to one of these seminars? The seminars will be webstreamed here.