Join we own it
About We Own It

History

Co-op leaders have called on members to reengage with the businesses we own. Here we are.

Co-op members across the nation are waking up to their role as owners

Our Mission

Catalyzing citizen action for democracy, participation, and excellence in cooperatives, through member education and organizing. Our vision is an economy that works for all of us, with many democratically-owned businesses working to build civic leadership and local assets, equity and economic security, and long-term sustainability.

In 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, leaders of the international cooperative movement and national cooperative business sectors called for a fundamental shift in how co-ops engage with their member-owners, and vice versa.

Whether to ensure that the co-op will still be in business in the face of changing markets, or to ensure that the co-op is well-run and serving the needs of its members and community, or to make cooperatives the preferred business model by the end of the Cooperative Decade, or to bring cooperatives into the movement for a just transition to a New Economy, the prescription is the same.

Members must rediscover their role as owners of a democratically-controlled enterprise.

Why We Founded We Own It
We Own It: the national network for cooperative member rights, education, and organizing was founded in 2015 to serve an unfilled need for a national association that represents co-op member-owners, rather than a trade association of cooperative businesses. We aim to bring the 130 million members of co-ops into the movement to build a cooperative economy, and to help both member-owners and their co-ops navigate the necessary transition in how they engage with each other.
Read a Message from our Founder

Our Values

We have a vision for a cooperative economy that works for all of us.  It starts with co-op member-owners being empowered to make change at their co-op.

  •  

    Pro-Cooperative

    Our vision for an economy that works for all of us requires co-ops to be strong, to be just, and to be everywhere.

  •  

    Pro-Democracy

    Our co-ops' greatest strength is their member-owners. Better democratic engagement will unlock the most valuable resource and competitive advantage our co-ops have. Co-ops must embody the diversity, representation, and equity we want to see in our larger democratic society.

  •  

    Pro-Member

    Before co-ops can take their rightful place at the center of a new cooperative economy, they must first recommit to their purpose as a problem-solving resource for their member-owners and their communities, including the fight to end systemic racism.

Learn About Us