Co-op Month is celebrated by cooperatives nationwide during the month of October, an annual opportunity to raise awareness of a trusted, proven way to do business and build resilient, inclusive communities. This year’s Co-op Month theme, “Owning Our Identity,” also provides an opportunity to reflect on what makes cooperative businesses unique in the marketplace. Guided by a set of shared principles and values – among them democracy, equity and solidarity – co-ops are hardwired for economic and societal transformation.

As businesses face inflation and supply chain challenges, cooperatives provide stability and opportunity. As employees question their role in the economy, cooperatives are creating dignified, empowering jobs with paths to ownership and wealth-building. As communities tire of rhetoric, cooperatives are creating the meaningful diversity and equity at the heart of an inclusive economy.

Cooperatives nationwide are encouraged to use this year’s theme and logo in their communication and outreach activities this October.

A BIT OF HISTORY

  • Minnesota was the first state to declare an official Co-op Month proclamation in 1948.
  • Co-op Month has been a nationally recognized celebration since 1964, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed October Co-op Month.
  • The first national theme in 1964 was “Cooperatives: USDA Helps Build a Better America.”
  • The U.S. Government sponsored Co-op Month from 1964-70.
  • Beginning in 1971, cooperatives, statewide associations, and the National Cooperative Business Association fueled their own events and promotions.
  • In 2016, a national campaign was developed by a Cooperative Network-led committee of diverse communication professionals through the Cooperative Communicators Association.

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