6 Excellent Resources for Cooperatives
December 7, 2025
By Nadia Cabrera-Mazzeo, Esq.
Co-ops are starting to have a moment in the U.S. and it’s, hopefully, only the beginning. While there are still many barriers to cooperatively structuring an organization, more and more amazing resources are becoming available to fill the growing need for information and support.
Here are 6 excellent resources for folks curious about the world of co-ops:
This California-based nonprofit is a great resource for the legal side of cooperatives and other forms of community ownership and decentralized governance. SELC walks the walk. Their website has a detailed description of their unconventional governance and employment structure. SELC also has several in-depth resources and legal guides for folks with a spectrum of skills and backgrounds, including legal practice guides for lawyers, sample co-op bylaws, and a guide to creating an employee handbook for a worker cooperative.
This Canadian nonprofit focuses on co-op education, especially governance, in an effort to promote cooperatives in rural and urban areas of Canada. Their resources are worth a look for Americans embarking on a cooperative journey, too. Cooperatives First has free online courses and an excellent podcast called The Common Share, which can be accessed on any podcast platform
Project Equity is a nonprofit that focusses on promoting employee-ownership of businesses. Co-ops are one of 3 main vehicles for employee ownership employed by Project Equity. The other two are employee ownership trusts and employee stock ownership programs. This is a great resource for exploring worker co-ops and other ways to achieve employee ownership. With headquarters in California, Project Equity works directly with business owners across the U.S. who want to give all or part of their business to their employees. Project Equity has free and paid resources available on their site.
In the same vein as Project Equity, Exit 2 Community provides resources for businesses looking to transition to employee ownership. When business owners are ready to retire, they either sell their business or wind it down. Exit 2 Community presents a third option: sell to the existing employees. E2C provides case studies and resources for starting an employee-owned business or transitioning to one.
Wisconsin is a major player in the world of co-ops as the home of over 683 cooperatives. If you listen to The Common Share, the podcast by Cooperatives First, you’ll hear a few interviews with folks from Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives has a rich resource library for all types of co-ops and in-depth information on what co-ops are and how to start one.
5. Start.Coop
This nonprofit based in Massachusetts provides resources and support for co-op entrepreneurs. You can feel the excitement for co-ops jump off the page on their resource site. Start.Coop has several incubator and accelerator programs for co-ops based in the U.S. and Canada. They also have programming options tailored for specific groups like rural or black-led co-op initiatives.
Ready to start a co-op? If you’re in New Mexico, Honest Contracts is here to help. Schedule a consultation to discuss your co-op dreams and the path ahead.
Law office of Nadia Cabrera-Mazzeo, Esq.
Small business and contracts lawyer
Based in Taos, serving clients throughout New Mexico
505 427 2025
nadia@honestcontracts.com
The information on this website is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The rates and fees listed on this website may not be the most up to date.
