Types of Cooperatives

Any type of business can be organized as a cooperative. Co-ops can provide services for a wide range of social needs. Below are several general variations of cooperative structure.

Consumer Cooperatives – The membership consists of people who consume the goods and services provided by the co-op. These co-ops can provide services such as energy, housing, childcare, food, health care, savings and equipment. An example would be your local electric cooperative or credit union.

Producer Cooperatives – These co-ops provide goods and services for producers and are owned by the producers. A number of producer co-ops exist to serve the interests of food growers; two examples are Welch’s Grapes and Ocean Spray, which market farm products and are owned by growers.

Worker Cooperatives – The members and owners are the employees of the business. Worker co-ops are often small businesses and are found in areas as diverse as food processing, taxi services and crafts production.

Cooperative Organizations – These are co-ops with organizations as members rather than individuals. Examples are Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative, Basin Electric Power Cooperative and the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.