Want Well-Being for Yourself, and for Others as Well

In an interdependent age, where nuclear weapons, disease, conflict, and global travel and communications make us truly interconnected, the well-being of others directly affects our individual well-being.  In a word, we are all in this together and the world really is a small place.

It is important, and possible, to decentralize wealth.  It will take a global social movement to accomplish it, like the profound social movements that have gone before.  The 1960s saw a cultural revolution that sparked with the Free Speech movement in Berkeley and became a widespread peace movement. Historically there were the American and French revolutions, and more recently the Prague Spring, the Velvet Revolution, and the Arab Spring.

Buy Local, Buy Worker-Owned

We can build on the momentum of the “Springs” around the world, and work to shift the global social system from a competitive to a cooperative footing.  It all depends on how people spend their money, and what they expect of governments.

To decentralize wealth, people need to have an ownership interest in their work and goods need to be produced much closer to home.  It used to be, before the Reagan Revolution, that people owned their own businesses – the corner grocery, the neighborhood coffee shop, the local auto repair place – but now, 93% of people are “employees.”  Walmart, Starbucks, and other corporations are the beneficiaries of this “employee” norm.

In addition, wealth is created through the “value-added” process of manufacturing.  Most of the world’s basic goods are made today in a few far-away places, put on ships, and spread across the world.  This concentrates wealth, adds to environmental destruction, and lessens people’s security and resiliency by making them dependent on distant production.

To make the needed changes, we can buy from worker-owned, local or regional companies – a “buycott” rather than a boycott.  If worker-owner companies don’t exist yet, help to create or convert them.  We don’t need fewer “capitalists,” we need many, many more.

Expect Public Functions to be Noncommercial

Not only can we change where we spend our money, we can change what we expect of governments.

The global economy has been at sea since 1980, when the Reagan Administration created a doctrine of “privatization” that changed the face of society in a profound way.  Before that time, basic public functions in the US – police, fire, education, healthcare, military, foreign assistance, basic research, and transportation, for example – were performed on a noncommercial basis, largely by governments and sometimes by not-for-profit corporations.  Today still, some public functions like police and fire are performed on a noncommercial basis without a profit involved.

The problem is that when a “profit” is included in the performance of public functions, they are too expensive to afford on a society-wide basis and levels of public well-being are lowered dramatically. And as we see today, if we try to pay for public functions that include a profit, the federal budget soars.  Privatization as a social operating concept is now so deeply entrenched in the US that popular discussion paints any activity that is performed without a profit incentive as “socialism,” despite the fact that public functions have been performed efficiently without a profit incentive for years in a “capitalistic” society.

There is a strong presence of unyielding self-interest in the commercialization of public functions currently, and the job falls to the public to demand that profit be taken out of basic public functions. Performing public functions on a noncommercial basis is not socialism, and no one should fall for the spin.

Shun the Unethical Accumulation of Wealth

Not all wealth is accumulated equally.  Some of it is acquired through hard work and innovation, and some is garnered by walking all over the fundamental interests of others.  If you have to hurt people to get your money, it is unethical – easy examples are making and selling cigarettes and soda, but there are other ways to walk all over the interests of others that are not as obvious.  There’s nothing wrong with making money, as long as you don’t have to hurt anyone to get it.  It’s important to separate the ethical wealthy from the unethical wealthy.

Expect Governments to Help Their Citizens to be Self-Reliant

Putting people “on the dole” isn’t good for the economy, and neither is leaving people to “sink or swim.”  The role of government should be to help its people to satisfy their fundamental human needs, and if they need assistance to be self-reliant, it should be provided.  Whether this is helping people start their own businesses, get educated, or break an addiction, there should be a social expectation that it is the government’s job to help people to help themselves.

And it’s not just the US that should be concerned about whether the American government is meeting the social needs of its people – American military spending can be as high as it is because the American people don’t have an expectation of mutual obligation.  Extreme American military spending adversely affects all corners of the world.

Deposit Your Money in Non-Profit Banks

The nine largest banks in the world hold most of people’s deposits.  That, by definition, makes them “too big to fail,” and also gives them too much power and influence.  There’s an easy solution – move your deposits out of commercial banks and put them in credit unions.  Plus, push Congress to raise the cap on the percentage of business loans that credit unions can make.

Join the Campaign to Decentralize Wealth

You can help us get started, by crowdfunding an advertising campaign, a revolving fund to establish cooperative businesses, and a certification system for labeling corporate ownership structure.

Find us online at:  www.TheGlobalSpring.org

We here at Coop.org feel that Earth Day is part of the embodiment of what we stand for.   Cooperation and collaboration can help the world in tremendous ways.  Simply connecting with others, communicating and increasing your knowledge is a great start!  Beyond that, joining in the festivities and making even more meaningful contributions can also make a very positive impact.  As EarthDay.org states…

“Over one billion people in 192 countries are participating from London to Sao Paolo, Seoul to Babylon City, New Delhi to New York, Rome to Cairo; people everywhere are taking action in their communities…”

Be a part of your world now and in the future.  Join our Facebook discussion to share what you are doing to help the world today, tomorrow and the whole year.

https://www.facebook.com/coop.org

Enjoy the earth.

~ The Cooperators at Coop.org

The joy and thrill of boating is only matched by the painful reality of owning a boat.

First, there’s the expense of buying one.  Then insurance.  Fuel, storage and gear all add up (life jackets, fire extinguishers and foulies don’t come cheap).  There’s the upkeep ­­­­— repairs and maintenance, licenses and park entry fees, and the money you pay that diver to scrub the crustaceans off your hull.  Storage, moving and slip fees only increase the burden — and all the while, your boat is depreciating.  That’s sinking – financially.

When you consider these costs along with the fact that, in most parts of the world, boating is seasonal — requiring full participation to make the investment worthwhile, it’s hard to justify taking the plunge.

So why do people do it?  Because family memories are made on boats.  Because they give us access to a whole host of activities, from snorkeling to fishing to water skiing.  But mostly, because there’s nothing quite like the thrill of being out on the water.

These costs and rewards aren’t likely to change anytime soon.  But what has changed is the way technology can bring like-minded people together faster and more effectively than ever before. And in the case of boat ownership, the peer-to-peer model could hardly be more fitting.  That’s why we started GetMyBoat.com, currently the largest peer-to-peer boat rental site on the internet, attracting thousands of listings in over two dozen countries, just months after launching.

We’re building a robust boating community where users have access to a full range of watercraft — from 100-foot yachts to kayaks and canoes — all on a hassle-free, rental basis.  It’s a fun and flexible way of enjoying those cherished aquatic adventures, without the commitment of ownership.

And for boat owners who pay all the requisite fees and expenses, it’s an opportunity to help offset that overhead. If you know your boat will just be sitting vacant in the harbor, why not recoup some of those costs by renting it out to trustworthy, boat-savvy people? It’s a win-win scenario.

Ten years ago, if you suggested a captain turn over his helm to a total stranger from the Internet, you might get an invitation to walk the plank and jump overboard.  But the web has since evolved into a sophisticated digital marketplace, where advancements in technology allow us to shop for homes, make bank transfers and sell our cars with ease.  In each of these cases, our initial fear and trepidation was overcome by unique tools, services and controls built into the experience. GetMyBoat delivers security through insurance, social media monitoring and reviews.  But on a more basic level, we help facilitate a level of communication that builds trust and confidence.

We’d LOVE to credit our success to the striking interface we’ve created, our brilliant marketing strategy or the matching Sperry’s we all wear to work (just kidding).  The truth is, however, that GetMyBoat happens to be a good idea that addresses the love of boating and the cost of ownership all at once.  That’s what we’re all about.

Bryan Petro is Head of Product at GetMyBoat.com, the world’s largest peer-to-peer marketplace for watercraft rental.  Launched in San Francisco, California in 2013, GetMyBoat serves renters and owners of every type of boat across the world, from California to Croatia and from kayaks to catamarans. For more information, visit www.getmyboat.com.

Neighborhood Bonds are one way to raise community money for something like a food co-op.

Having  grown up in Ft.Collins a recent article about a Food Co-op expansion in Ft. Collins, Colorado caught my eye. What I found extremely interesting is how they are looking to finance the new project. The Co-op is currently located at 250 E. Mountain Avenue and has limited parking and room to grow. To service the needs of its member-owners, the co-op must triple its retail space. To do this, they are considering a new downtown site with enough room to accommodate its expansion and long sought-after community market and kitchen. The Co-op is looking at fulfilling a vision conceived by the Downtown Development Authority for a community marketplace and kitchen.

A feasibility study released in 2011 showed the desire for a project anchored by both the co-op and a community marketplace that could provide space for a year-round farmers market, kitchen and demonstration area. Now, the co-op might be able to take the lead on bringing that project to fruition. The co-op is eyeing a new method of funding that would allow the community to buy bonds for as little as $200. A Co-op in Madison, Wisconsin used this financing tool to help raise $600,000 in 60 days. I have never heard of this type of method of fund raising in the cooperative space, but can see how it could be very effective.

When I think of bonds, I either think of my 101.5 year grandfather who just passed away, and was a big fan of Treasury Bonds, as they provided a low risk, and low interest bearing investment. On the flip side, my brother works in the commercial real-estate field and has educated me a bit on how mortgages are packaged and sold as bonds to investors. With these two examples, I would be curious to learn more about how exactly the Neighborhood Bond is structured and presented to the community of investors and stakeholders?

The idea that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts repeated itself over and over. Sometimes my basketball team would execute a perfect fast break, other times my journalism class would produce an issue far better than any of us had thought possible before; but it wasn’t until I discovered Gangplank in Arizona that I understood exactly what it took to achieve synergy.

Synergy requires collaboration. It’s not something that can be achieved through traditional trade (either goods, services or money) and certainly isn’t possible via unfriendly competition. True, lasting collaboration that changes lives is only possible when both sides gain and grow from the experience.

At Gangplank, headquartered in Chandler, AZ, collaboration is part of daily life. The HQ itself provides space for anywhere from 7-15 companies — from freelancers to small businesses of up to 8-10 — and charges no rent. Funded through a private-public partnership with the city and founders Jade Meskill and Derek Neighbors (whose company Integrum works out of the space), Gangplank wouldn’t work unless everyone worked together.

In the past three years, Gangplankers have helped run city programs, offered space for religious groups, produced world-class tech events, hosted networking parties, constructed slingshots, live-streamed Microsoft events and built companies and products from scratch.

But there’s no set system or framework facilitating such things, each person simply speaks up when they overhear something worth doing. Need staff to work an out-of-town event on short notice? That’s how I started working with EventDay. Want a write-up on a small, but complicated, healthcare piece? That’s how I partnered with Marketing Press.

There are no NDAs, few secrets and zero soundproof enclosures at Gangplank; true collaboration requires openness. While I couldn’t take any Gangplankers with me when I moved away from AZ and to Portland, that same mentality has opened up doors faster than possible through traditional business means.

Good things happen when people and groups don’t worry about who gets credit.

(Hello! I’m new here, and excited to be writing about collaboration and cooperation here at Coop.org. Above is my audition piece that got me the gig, and serves as a background of sorts for who I am and what I’ve been up to. If you have any questions, ideas, story pitches, criticism, grants, kind words, mean comments or just want to talk, feel free to leave a comment. I’ll be writing Tuesdays and Fridays from today on. Thanks for reading.)

In Cebu, Philippines on Mactan island there is a group of bikers who have been contributing to various activities helping children in the surrounding area and throughout other areas as far south as Mindanao. Such activities have included school materials(books, pencils, pens, paper, drawing materials, chairs, computers, etc…) and medical supplies focused soley on children.  http://igg.me/p/343948

Link to original:

Collaboration creates affordable green homes

Ashley, Ally, and Dave have each worked as pedicab drivers for the last year and are excited to finally start their own business in Providence. Rhode Island. They are a dynamic team excited to launch a new and creative venture that will sustain them and provide sustainable transportation for the people of Rhode Island.

When to use a Strategic Cooperation Agreement?

A Strategic Cooperation Agreement is drawn up by organizations looking to create strategic partnerships and work together. The agreement looks to uphold “mutual trust, common development, mutual benefit and win-win” principles. The document is also used to safeguard both organizations. The signing of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement can be a milestone in the cooperation of two sides, and opens a new chapter for the two sides’  to further exchange and cooperate moving forward.

Here is a recent example of a Strategic Cooperation agreement getting signed between two organization in recent news.

Read more:

Corporations Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Cooperative Ideals

This is my proposal: Let everyone who understands the benefits and believes in the power of cooperation join together in building the worlds largest democratic cooperative on earth. This should be the goal anyone who truly understands the following statements:(1) The sum of the parts as a whole; is greater than their sum individually.(2) Two are better than one; for they have a good reward for their labor; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. If two or more people agree on anything they can then work together which multiplies both the velocity and chances of success through the power of cooperative action. For thousands of years the rulers of this world have perverted the principles of voluntary democratic cooperation; into inferior forms such as fascist corporate dictatorship, and divisive winner take all competition, seizing an inordinate amount of control over the earths material resources and defeating the popular democratic will of the people. Voluntary non-profit democratic cooperatives are simply the only way to combat and overcome the corrupt domination that for-profit corporations have over our economy and social institutions. Cooperatives seek the greatest good for both the producer and the consumer; while corporations seek to provide goods and services by minimizing cost in labor and materials, sacrificing quality, monopolization of markets to deny consumer choice, and inflation of overhead and to create excessive profits for a small minority of middlemen who sacrifice the least amount of time and work. This world cannot continue to oppress and persecute eighty percent of the population so twenty percent can live an unsustainable fantasy life while their fellow citizens live in a hell on earth existence. If we are willing we can begin building the cooperative(s) necessary to transform ourselves, and change our reality; thereby avoiding the catastrophic disaster which is inevitable if we fail to take proper action. In conclusion: God created cooperation for the good of all; while the devil himself invented corporation to divide and conquer humankind by taking away their equal rights and freedoms. Which side are you on?

Submitted by John Keister