Our Mission
To promote and develop cooperatives to meet the economic and community needs of rural Montana.
What is a cooperative?
A cooperative is an organization that is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use its products, supplies or services. Cooperatives are formed to meet the specific objectives of members, and are structured to adapt to member’s changing needs. Working together as a group, members find they can accomplish more collectively than they could individually.
The benefits of belonging to cooperatives include:
- Access to quality supplies and services at reasonable costs
- Increased visibility and leverage in the marketplace
- Share in earnings based on use of co-op
- Effective political action
- Enhance local economy through services and job creation
Cooperatives around the World prescribe to the 7 Guiding Principles
- Voluntary and Open Membership
- Democratic Member Control
- Members' Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training and Information
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives
- Concern for Community