Nebraska Cooperative Development Center

NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Homemade, Homegrown, Hometown!!

Jim Crandall and Elaine CranfordCooperative Business Development [email protected] [email protected]

Brief Discussion Topics

Cooperative Businesses Enterprises (Multi-owner)

Characteristics of Cooperatively Owned Businesses

Programs Provided by the UNL Nebraska Cooperative Development Center

Business Entities in Nebraska Sole Proprietor General Partnership Limited Partnership Limited Liability Partnership Corporation

“S” Corp “C” Corp

Business Entities in Nebraska Limited Liability Company

Cooperative

Limited Cooperative Association

Cooperatives Are a Type of Corporation

Multiple owners who are user members

Variety of goods and services Physical facilities State chartered Members are investors Owned and controlled by

members who use its services

Cooperatives Have Unique Principles

User - Owner

User - Control

User - Benefit

User-Owner Principle

The people who own and finance the business are those who use it.

User-Owner Principle

Investment in the business is to provide access to services

Investment is not to realize a financial return on that investment

Business Functions

Three Core Functions Marketing - extend control of

members’ products through processing, distribution, and sale

Purchasing - providing affordable supplies and goods

Service - provide needed services

Cooperative Ownership in a community Provide critical services Capitalize on community pride Provide new entrepreneurship

opportunities Community ownership-cooperative

ownership Owners/consumers shop at home

Cooperatively Owned Businesses

Working together shares talents, skills, and resources of several individual owners

Working together spreads financial risk Working together broadens the market

access

Food Related business development

Mitchell Local Food Coop

FROGS-First Rural Organic Grocery Store

Nebraska Food Cooperative

Good Fresh Local, UNL Dining Hall

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center

Organizational hub at UNL Dept. of Ag. Economics-Extension

Mission: To help keep people in rural areas by helping them improve their income through group business creation.

NCDC Programs

Helping clients go through the steps in forming a new business Meet with individual groups from beginning

to end Connecting groups to resources

Technical resources Legal Financial

NCDC Programs

Providing technical assistance to groups Group Facilitation Business Planning Feasibility Market analysis Education and Training Business creation

Member recruitment

NCDC TEAM•Dr. Larry Van Tassell, UNL

Executive Director

Department of Ag Economics•Jim Crandall, NCDC

Cooperative Business Development Specialist•Elaine Cranford, NCDC

Cooperative Business Development Specialist•Billene Nemec, Buy Fresh Buy Local Coordinator•Linda Tesch, Administrative Assistant•Amanda Bergstrom, Graduate Assistant

NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Turning you Idea Into A Profitable Reality

Jim Crandall and Elaine CranfordCooperative Business Development [email protected] [email protected] 402-472-1748