Food Coop

The food coop is looking like it really is going to happen. But in trying to raise money for it, I'm researching the business organization and IRS status that makes the most sense. There is an old church in our neighborhood that just closed that we are trying to buy. I think we could be successful in raising money through investments or outright donations.

We could organize as a 501c3 and buy the building. This way donations are tax deductible. We want to make the old church into a coop and a community center, so we could have the community center as a non-profit that rents out space to the coop. The mission of the community center would match the IRS guidelines for a 501c3.

On the other hand, the best organization for a coop seems to be something called a Sub T - but the details are complicated and there are a lot of choices to be made. Do you give the members a discount at the cash register, or at the end of the year determine how much of a dividend to pay out and how much to reinvest in the coop? These details shouldn't be worked out by me in a rush to have an entity to buy the building, but by a larger group of people that may wish to invest and/or be members. I don't think we have time to organize as a Sub T and buy the building right away.

We want to make sure no one else buys the building out from under us, so maybe a non-profit is the way to go. I don't want to set up a potential conflicting dynamic between two boards though. I feel like we need a coop lawyer and coop accountant to lead us through, but we only have $430 so far in funds for our attorney.

And....I have manure to move!

I'll call a meeting of some of the leaders of our buying group and those interested in the community center concept and let them decide what to do. They'll have great ideas I'm sure - and I shouldn't always be carrying the burden without asking for help. It isn't fair to the group or even productive to the process.