Appalachia Cooperates Initiative

A Successful “Food and Farm: Social Media” held in Fairfield County on March 19

The CFAES Center for Cooperatives, OSU Direct Food and Agricultural Marketing program at OSU South Centers, and OSU South Centers Small Business Development Center recently collaborated to present Food and Farm: Social Media at the Fairfield Agricultural Center in Lancaster, Ohio on March 19.  The free workshop hosted 13 participants with interests in learning and gaining information on marketing their food and farm businesses with different social media platforms.

Participants talking with Christie Welch at Food and Farm: Social Media in Fairfield County on March 19.

Christie Welch, Direct Food and Agricultural Marketing Team for OSU Extension, interacting with participants.

Attendees were introduced to connecting better with their customers. Christie Welch, who leads the Direct Food and Agricultural Marketing Team for OSU Extension, provided detailed information on best practices and keeping your profiles current and up-do-date. Understanding short videos, how to create them, and applications that can assist you with content was reviewed. Christie went over the importance of engaging with your customers on social media and how to make interactions meaningful.

Melanie Sherman and Melissa Carter, Business Counselors with the OSU South Centers Small Business Development Center, presented on how artificial intelligence can be beneficial for marketing and how to use AI content to assist with marketing needs. Different AI platforms were explored as a group.

During the workshop, attendees were able to review their social media profiles and update to make current. Different platforms were reviewed with the group and worksheets were provided that went over the necessities of what information should be included on social media.

Contact Ann Luther (luther.111@osu.edu) with any questions about the Food and Farm Marketing: Social Media.

Cooperative Means Community Event Held at Phat Daddy’s On Da Tracks

The Ohio State University CFAES Center for Cooperatives recently partnered with New Economy Works West Virginia to hold a worker cooperative educational event at the worker-owned restaurant, Phat Daddy’s On Da Tracks in Charleston, West Virginia.  Phat Daddy’s is a black, family owned, worker-cooperative business on the tracks in downtown Charleston.  It is a new, inclusive restaurant offering a variety of delicious choices for all taste buds.

The free workshop hosted 20 participants interested in learning more about the worker cooperative structure, ecosystem and financing.  Topics included ‘What is a Worker Cooperative,’ ‘Financing Your Cooperative,’ and ‘Democratic Management Practices.’  Participants worked with co-op experts to engage in activities meant to develop their knowledge, strengthen their businesses and promote networking.  John Holdsclaw, President and CEO of Rochdale Capital spoke with the group, answered financing questions, and provided helpful resources and options for more diverse lending solutions.

Presenters included: Melissa Whitt, Program Specialist CFAES Center for Cooperatives, Mavery Davis, CPA and Director of Lending New Economy Works West Virgina, Dr. Octavia Cordon, Phat Daddy’s on Da Tracks Worker/Owner, and Cherrelle Garnder, Co-Executive Director of Co-op Dayton.

Free Upcoming Webinar: 10 Questions to Ask your Attorney when Building Your Cooperative

A photograph with a person's hands, a wooden gavel, and bronze scales of justice with a wooden question mark in the foreground.People starting a cooperative have diverse and varied goals, from wanting to build democratic workplaces, to helping farmers or artists reach new markets, or finding ways for small businesses to save costs. Creating a business with the unique values, principles, and characteristics of a cooperative that serves members’ goals is not a one-size-fits-all structure. The frameworks that build a cooperative can include its legal structure, tax treatment, key partnerships, capitalization strategy, and more, which can take on a variety of distinct approaches.

This complexity can be overwhelming for groups new to the cooperative model and working to build their own cooperative enterprise. That is why building a team of competent advisors is an important part of the business start-up process. Those advisors can include attorneys, accountants, tax advisors, risk management and insurance advisors, industry experts, and others who can help the group build the frameworks that will help accomplish their goals.

How can different legal structures accomplish cooperative ownership?

 

That question, along with helping cooperative entrepreneurs prepare for meeting with an attorney during their pre-venture phase, is the subject of an upcoming learning program with the CFAES Center for Cooperatives’ Appalachia Cooperates Initiative.

On Wednesday, December 11, attorneys Jacqueline Radebaugh, Managing Partner and Shareholder with Jason Wiener p.c., and Mike Russell, Attorney with The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland will talk with entrepreneurs and business developers about legal frameworks that can accomplish cooperative business approaches and working effectively with an attorney, including how to prepare for working with an attorney who can best advise on the right structure for a business.

Staff from the CFAES Center for Cooperatives will share resources for locating professional advisors for a cooperative or other emerging business, with a particular focus on Appalachia.

Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Time: 1 – 2 p.m. Eastern

Location: Online via Zoom

Cost: Free

Questions: Ann Luther (luther.111@osu.edu or 740-289-1952)

REGISTER HERE

 

This online learning program is presented as part of the CFAES Center for Cooperatives Appalachia Cooperates Initiative, a learning and peer-exchange network connecting cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia to resources about the cooperative business model.

Event Details

Online events are hosted by the CFAES Center for Cooperatives at Ohio State via Zoom. Participants can join via the Zoom application on a computer or mobile device or by telephone. Unless otherwise noted, events will not be recorded. Registrants will receive Zoom connection details via email prior to the event. Events will be presented with automated closed captions. If you wish to request traditional CART services or other accommodations such as interpretation, please contact Ann Luther at luther.111@osu.edu or 740-289-1952. Requests made two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu.

Food & Farm Marketing Program Hosted in Meigs County, Ohio

The CFAES Center for Cooperatives, OSU Direct Food and Agricultural Marketing program at OSU South Centers, and OSU South Centers Small Business Development Center recently collaborated to present Food and Farm Marketing Basics at the Meigs County Fairgrounds on October 29th.  The free workshop hosted 10 participants with interests in learning and gaining information on marketing their food and farm businesses.

Attendees were introduced to marketing skills and how to better connect with their customers.  Christie Welch, who leads the Direct Food and Agricultural Marketing Team for OSU Extension, provided detailed information about how customers make buying decisions.  The importance of market analysis and how to understand the customer mix and developing customer profiles provided participants key takeaways from this session.

Melanie Sherman, Business Counselor with the OSU South Centers Small Business Development Center, presented effectively representing your brand through your food and farm business.  Attendees worked through the stages of brand and logo development and the importance of brand identity, while deciding what type of emotional response you want your brand to produce.

The team will host this free event again on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 from 12:00 pm- 3:00 pm in Lancaster, Ohio at the Fairfield County Agriculture Center.

Learn more and register here for the January 8, 2025 program.

A stall of vibrant, fresh vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, at an outdoor farmers market.

A Closer Look at Worker Cooperatives

Worker cooperatives are becoming a popular form of the cooperative business model and generating more attention these days.  A worker cooperative is a business where workers own most of the equity and control the voting shares of the business, while participating in profit sharing, oversight, in some cases, management, while operating by democratic cooperative principles.  The OSU Center for Cooperatives team recently spoke with area worker cooperative leaders to hear about how they got their start and navigate current worker co-op operations and trends to continue propelling their businesses forward to be successful today.

Grace Corbin, Vice President of the Board of Directors and Marketing Coordinator with Casa Nueva, shared with us about the start of the Athens based restaurant.  “Back in 1985 it was known as Casa K Pasa at the time and the owner split town.  So the workers decided to band together and found a way to make it a co-op so they could maintain employment.  Today Casa has more than 15, and less than 20 member, worker owners right now.  We also have between 35 and 40 employees that is complicated, confusing and fun.”

We also spoke with Octavia Cordon, worker owner from Phat Daddy’s On Da Tracks, to get her perspectives on starting a worker cooperative.  “One of the biggest things that attracted me to the cooperative model is the equalness between members.  We started out, myself, my husband and my daughter, and we have differences of opinions and stuff like that, but the cooperative principles help guide us.  Because we’re just three years in, and still building up the business, we learn something new everyday.  When we started out it was just 5 of us, with 3 worker owners and 2 regular employees, who are on track to becoming full members.  Now today, we have 22 employees total.”

Mavery Davis, CPA, Director of Lending with New Economy Works West Virginia, explained to us about what motivates him through the cooperative lens.  “People want an opportunity to do something different and have meaningful work.  They say whether or not they get to work during Covid, or if that’s somebody else’s decision to make.  It takes trust, and co-ops move at the speed of trust!”

We also learned about Casa Nueva’s embeddedness in the community and how they make a difference in giving back.  Grace told us about the nontraditional means of how the tipping process works at Casa.  “Since don’t accept tips, and haven’t been since 2012, what we do with that money that is left is to donate it to a different nonprofit in our community every month.  A lot of the organizations that we chose like to promote that any money left is going to them.”

Josh Brown, Live Entertainment and Booking Coordinator for Casa, explained to us about the importance of working cohesively together as a group of shared owners.  “It’s (worker cooperatives) definitely got an upside with lots of brains working to solve a problem, which is very helpful.  The downside though is that everything takes time, for us it’s usually matter of months before something actually gets done of any significance.”

This discussion is part of the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative, (ACI), led by the CFAES Center for Cooperatives, a learning and peer-exchange network connecting cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia to resources about the cooperative business model. The goals of the ACI are to:

  • Develop practitioners’ understanding of the co-op business model and development resources to better recognize and act on co-op opportunities 
  • Foster relationships among practitioners that will facilitate joint co-op development activities and allow practitioners to better utilize existing resources 
  • Raise awareness of the co-op business model as an opportunity for economic development and justice in the region 

To view this program recording in full please click here.  

Cooperating for Childcare

Rural Ohioans are more than two times as likely to live in an area without enough licensed childcare providers than their fellow citizens in urban areas of the state.[1] In West Virginia, 78% of rural families live in areas considered a “childcare desert.” A “childcare desert” is any census tract with more than 50 children younger than age 5 where there are either no childcare providers or where there are more than three times as many children as licensed childcare slots.[2]

Childcare providers in Appalachia may face challenges with profitability, even when they receive available public support, along with challenges around regulatory compliance and insurance.[3] The childcare sector across the county is projected to experience a decline in employment over the next eight years, despite estimates that there are projected to be approximately 153,000 openings for childcare workers each year, on average.[4]

Colorful children's toys like letter blocks, legos, and shapes on a multi-colored background.

Some communities, providers, and employers have turned to the cooperative model to help meet their childcare needs.[5] Cooperatives are businesses owned, controlled, and used by people with mutual needs using a democratic approach. Childcare cooperatives can take various forms, including:

  • Childcare worker cooperatives where providers jointly own and operate a childcare center, like Shine Nurture Center in or Beyond Care Childcare Cooperative.
  • Parent-led childcare cooperatives where parents cooperate to meet their childcare needs while jointly setting policies and democratically governing the group.
  • Early childcare providers working together to jointly purchase goods, provide resources like curriculum, and create leave programs, like CoRise Cooperative.
  • Employer-assisted cooperatives where employers help develop a cooperatively owned and operated childcare program to enhance the benefits available to their employees, like Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care.

For more information about and resource for cooperatives in the childcare sector, visit: https://uwcc.wisc.edu/resources/childcare/.

On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 10am-11am Eastern, the CFAES Center for Cooperatives at Ohio State will host a virtual roundtable focused on childcare in West Virginia. Kristy Ritz, Executive Director of the West Virginia Association for Young Children, will speak about the association’s work and challenges faced by childcare providers in the region. Staff from the CFAES Center for Cooperatives will share resources to explore cooperative models in the industry.

Register for the free, online event on March 25, 2024, at: go.osu.edu/wvchildcare

 

This virtual learning program is part of the Center’s Appalachia Cooperates Initiative, a learning and peer-exchange network connecting cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia to resources about the cooperative business model. Find more information about the Initiative and recordings of past learning programs at: go.osu.edu/appalachiacooperates.

 

Data Sources:

[1] “Expanding Child Care in Rural Ohio,” Groundwork Ohio. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://www.groundworkohio.org/_files/ugd/d114b9_0a1c37a29b9d46149e444fb3f46bd3a7.pdf

[2] “Childcare Access in the United States,” Center for American Progress. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://childcaredeserts.org/2018/#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%2051,enough%20licensed%20child%20care%20providers.

[3] “Appalachian Early Childhood Network,” (July 21, 2021). Mountain Association. https://mtassociation.org/business-support/appalachian-early-childhood-network-2/

[4] “Childcare Workers,” Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm#:~:text=early%20childhood%20education.-,Pay,was%20%2413.22%20in%20May%202021.

[5] “Childcare,” University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://mtassociation.org/business-support/appalachian-early-childhood-network-2/; “Early childcare and education cooperatives can help build economic power.” (December 13, 2022). U.S. Department of Agriculture and NCBA CLUSA. https://ncbaclusa.coop/blog/early-childcare-and-education-cooperatives-can-help-build-economic-power/

Exploring the Ways Cooperatives Support Sustainable Development at the 2023 Appalachia Studies Conference

The 46th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference, hosted on the Athens, Ohio, campus of Ohio University in the heart of the Buckeye state’s Appalachian region, celebrated the region’s resilience. From scholarly presentations to practitioner panels, arts performances, poster presentations, and more, the conference explored issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion, environmental challenges and reclamation, combating food deserts, honoring and sharing the region’s history, traditions, and culture, and much more via the theme “AppalachiaFest: From Surviving the Thriving.”

Picture of "AppalachiaFest: From Surviving to Thriving" button on green background with black font "Visit Athens County, Ohio."

The theme of the 2023 Appalachian Studies Conference was “AppalachiaFest: From Surviving the Thriving.”

Hannah Scott, CFAES Center for Cooperatives Program Director, joined a panel with colleagues from Pennsylvania and Kentucky around the theme, “Cooperatives and Sustainable Development in Appalachia.”

Dr. J. Todd Nesbitt, Professor of Geography at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania studies economic geography, including the history of economic development in Appalachia. Defining sustainable development simply as “growth that must be accomplished with respect for nature and humankind,” Dr. Nesbitt posited that “most cooperative enterprises achieve sustainable development by default,” through their commitment to globally recognized principles including democratic member control and concern for community, as well as values of self-help, democracy, and equity.

In 2020, Hannah Scott explored how sustainability is a part of being a cooperative in this article.

From farmers marketing their products to consumers accessing new or affordable goods and services to workers democratically owning their workplace, Hannah Scott shared how the cooperative model is being applied across Appalachia and how the CFAES Center for Cooperatives’ Appalachia Cooperates Initiative (ACI) is working to support a cooperative ecosystem in the region. ACI is a peer learning network. The main idea is to connect cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia. By helping build these connections and providing learning opportunities, the CFAES Center for Cooperatives’ goals are to build awareness and understanding of the co-op model, equip practitioners with knowledge and skills, and facilitate a connected network of co-op and community developers. ACI was born out of a collaborative dialogue between partners in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

The Center regularly hosts peer networking calls and learning sessions as part of the ACI. Find learning session recordings and sign-up to receive emails about the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative at: go.osu.edu/appalachiacooperates.

A slide sharing the goals of the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative: Develop practitioners’ awareness and understanding of the cooperative model and of cooperative development resources to better recognize and act on cooperative opportunities in their communities Foster relationships among practitioners that will facilitate joint cooperative development activities in Central Appalachia and allow practitioners to better utilize existing resources Raise awareness of the cooperative business model as an opportunity for economic development and justice in the region.

The goals of the Center’s Appalachia Cooperates Initiative include developing practitioners’ awareness, fostering relationships, and raising awareness about cooperatives as an economic development opportunity.

Myrisa Christy, Project & Development Specialist with the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) shared how KCARD’s team, along with partners like Kentucky Farm Bureau and others, were part of an effort to activate networks of cooperative farm supply stores to support post-tornado recovery in 2022. With financial support from community partners, cooperatively owned farm supply stores were able to pivot to help community members procure needed supplies like fencing and small equipment to recover from devastating tornadoes in the state. Christy also shared multiple examples of cooperative or cooperative-like efforts to respond to community needs in Appalachia, highlighting that cooperatives are focused on serving members’ needs in a way that builds equity and provides members with control over the enterprise, but recognizing that there are various barriers to cooperative development in the Appalachian region.

For more information about the Appalachia Studies Association (ASA), visit: https://www.appalachianstudies.org/.

Get Ready for Co-Op Month- Celebrate the History!

You may be aware that Co-Op Month is celebrated in October, but are you aware of some of the history behind the holiday? Several states across the United States began celebrating the holiday in the mid-1930’s, but it wasn’t until Minnesota declared the month ‘official,’ with a proclamation in 1948, that Co-Op Month was designated in that state.  It would take 16 years to gain national recognition, but in 1964 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman, also a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed October Co-op Month for the entire country.  The first theme of the national celebration of Co-op Month was “Cooperatives: USDA Helps Build a Better America.”

Since that time, co-ops have been excitedly celebrating Co-Op Month each October across the country working together to build, grow and be more resilient in their respective communities.  Many also use it as an opportunity to tell their stories and share the collective impact co-ops have throughout the country.

According to the Cooperative Network, “It is a time for cooperative businesses to reflect on their shared principles and to educate others about the value of belonging to a cooperative.”  Today, we continue to celebrate the over 40,000 cooperatives, that provide more than $25 billion in wages in the United States alone.  It is also estimated that there are 350 million members of cooperatives nationwide, including those members that belong to more than one cooperative.

According to a 2021 report from the USDA, “the largest number of farmer cooperatives are in Minnesota, followed by Texas, North Dakota, California and Wisconsin.  Farm cooperatives did the most business in Iowa ($18.3 billion) followed by Minnesota ($16.2 billion), California, Illinois and Wisconsin.”

This year’s theme, ‘Co-Ops Build Economic Power’ brings to light the power of cooperative business to strengthen the economy.  According to the National Cooperative Business Association, “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.”

Here at The Ohio State University South Centers, Center for Cooperatives, we plan to celebrate Co-Op Month all October long with informative articles and podcasts, information from our partners and much more.  Be sure and follow our Facebook page, as well as our Twitter account so you don’t miss out on how we celebrate!

Join Peer Learning Sessions to Grow the Cooperative Ecosystem in Appalachia

Each month the CFAES Center for Cooperatives team hosts Zoom “peer networking calls” as part of the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative. If you’re a community, business, or economic developer, or simply have an interest in supporting cooperative development, you’re invited to join the sessions. Read on to learn more about the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative and peer networking calls and register for calls on Friday, August 19, 2022 from 1 p.m.- 2 p.m. Eastern and Friday, September 16, 2022 from 1 p.m.- 2 p.m. Eastern.

A view of mountains and blue sky backdrop of a green meadow in Moorfield, West Virginia area.

Appalachia has a diverse and long-established cooperative community. For example, Casa Nueva, has been operating as worker-owned cooperative restaurant in uptown Athens since the mid-1980’s (check out this ‘virtual tour’ of Casa Nueva as part of the Youth Cooperative Leadership Experience online platform) while Unity Café is a newer worker-owned café and eatery in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Cooperatives are providing vital services to their communities across Appalachia. Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative provides electricity to over 18,000 consumer member-owners in Southeast Ohio and has since the late 1930’s. Today, some communities in Appalachia are leveraging the cooperative model to bring broadband to their rural areas – a topic we explored in the 2021 webinar, “Cooperating for Connectivity: An Appalachian Broadband Webinar” hosted by the CFAES Center for Cooperatives. To learn more about Central Appalachia’s cooperative community, check out “Exploring Appalachia’s Cooperative Economy,” a webinar where experts from our Center explored the region’s cooperative foundations and modern co-op efforts.

An Ecosystem Approach to Co-op Development

Since 2019, the CFAES Center for Cooperatives has led the Appalachia Cooperates Initiative (ACI), a learning network connecting cooperative, community, business, and economic developers and advocates in Central Appalachia. The goal of the ACI is to contribute to the development of a thriving co-op ecosystem in Central Appalachia by building awareness of the co-op model, equipping practitioners with knowledge and skills, and facilitating a connected network of co-op and community developers. The initiative was born out of collaborative dialogue of partners in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

In a 2016 report, lead authors Hillary Abell and Melissa Hoover advocated for an ecosystem approach to building worker cooperative communities, pointing out elements in thriving cooperative ecosystems like access to quality and affordable technical assistance providers and cooperative developers, business advisory services and industry peer networks, cooperative awareness, and integration of cooperatives into entrepreneurship education. Learn more in the report, “The Cooperative Growth Ecosystem: Inclusive Economic Development in Action.”

Learning and Peer Networking Opportunities

As part of the ACI, our team at the CFAES Center for Cooperatives has hosted learning sessions like community workshops, film screenings, and educational webinars where experts and developers from across the region have shared their knowledge on topics like the Mondragon cooperative model, conversion of existing businesses to cooperatives, and more. You can find recordings of selected past ACI learning sessions and learn how to sign up for emails to receive details about future events on our Center’s website.

Graphics of people connected in network graph styleIn 2020, we started hosting monthly Zoom sessions for community, business, economic and other developers interested in the co-op business model. The idea was to build connections among people spread across a wide geography, and potentially working in distinct spaces. Each month, our team hosts a Zoom meeting where practitioners from across the region gather as their schedules allow in an informal but dedicated space.

All participants are encouraged to share updates, ask questions, and engage with the group. Peers can meet one another, share their current projects or expertise, ask for resources, or best practices, and identify opportunities for potential collaboration.

Those who are interested can register for sessions as their schedules allow. Registration details for upcoming calls in August and September 2022 are below. To receive emails with details of future ACI events and peer networking calls, sign up for the Center’s email list here. There is no cost to attend, and sessions will NOT be recorded.

Upcoming ACI Peer Learning Calls

Friday, August 19, 2022, 1-2 p.m. (EST)

To register for this event, click here.

Friday, September 16, 2022, 1-2 p.m. (EST)

To register for this event, click here.

Cooperating for Connectivity: Cooperative Approaches to Rural Broadband

Almost one year ago, as we were still in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes the public health emergency created in our work, home, and social lives, I wrote an article highlighting the cooperative community’s attention to the lack of reliable broadband in rural America. In that article, “Broad Thinking: Why the co-op model could be a key to closing the broadband gap,” I highlighted the work of rural electric cooperatives who are expanding their services to include broadband. These same co-ops were vital to bringing electricity to rural Americans in the 1930’s. I also highlighted new, grassroots community groups who are pooling their resources and time to bring broadband access to their community, like the Southeast Ohio Broadband Cooperative in Washington County, Ohio.

Recently, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Center for Cooperatives hosted a webinar with guests Mike Keyser, CEO of BARC Electric Cooperative, and David Brown, co-founder of Southeast Ohio Broadband Cooperative, who shared their experiences bringing connectivity to rural, Appalachian communities using cooperative approaches. Although the two are approaching broadband access using different infrastructure, at different scales, and with different histories, their mutual-ownership, cooperative model is similar. Brown shared, “The dedication of a cooperative to the community, rather than to making a profit and that representation of the membership in the decision-making process – those were all elements that led us to adopting a cooperative model.” Southeast Ohio Broadband Cooperative formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic after realizing that many community members could not effectively participate in remote schooling, work, and other opportunities and has since started providing broadband to members using a mixed-technology approach.

While BARC Electric Cooperative has a longer history – the co-op formed to provide electricity services in the 1930’s – and connects over 12,500 meters to the electric grid, the co-op model is also vital to their efforts to bring broadband services to their community.  Keyser shared, “We’re all about service to the membership, and as long as we’re recovering our cost of services, we don’t have shareholders that have to have a return [so] we can live with a longer payback on this investment…” The co-op has installed almost 800 miles of fiber in a project that will eventually bring broadband access to their entire customer-membership base.

To learn more about these cooperative approaches to building rural broadband access, you can watch a recording of the webinar, “Cooperating for Connectivity” here.