With October approaching, the 65,000 co-ops in the USA are getting ready to celebrate the Co-op Month.
This year’s month is themed Co-ops: By the Community, For the Community, and will offer the sector an opportunity to showcase the difference it makes in local communities. The celebration dates back to 1948, when Minnesota became the first state to declare an official Co-op Month. Later in 1964 US secretary of agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed national October Co-op Month.
The theme was chosen by the Co-op Month Planning Committee, which was launched in 2016 at the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA). The committee is co-led by the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association and Cooperatives for a Better World and includes representation from numerous national, regional and local organisations.
US trade body for co-ops NCBA-Clusa will make available a series of resources for co-ops wishing to raise awareness of the month.
These include social media posts, writing samples, activity ideas and logo design files, which co-ops will be able to use to customise their own resources.
