News and Updates

May 4, 2015
The Michigan State University Student Housing Cooperative (MSU SHC) in East Lansing, Michigan is hiring a full-time fellowship position that will split its time between office and membership management and project deveopment and execution between the cooperative and broader community. You may view the full job posting here. Applications are due May 15th or until the position is filled.
March 23, 2015

The Madison Community Cooperative (MCC) is a nonprofit housing cooperative governed by its 200 member-residents who collectively manage our 12 cooperative houses in Madison’s downtown and near-east side. Their mission is to improve the Madison community by providing low-cost, not-for-profit cooperative housing for very low- to moderate-income people and to be inclusive of underrepresented and marginalized groups of the community. They have made a commitment to work for social and housing justice.

MCC is currently hiring two (2) Maintenance Coordinators (MCs) to facilitate and/or implement the decisions, projects, and policies of MCC on behalf of its members as they relate to the maintenance of MCC’s properties. The two MCs will work cooperatively with the MCC’s Maintenance Committee, Board of Directors, individual members, and one another to advance MCC’s mission. The position is 30-40 hours per week. Compensation and benefits include competitive salary, health, dental, retirement, and paid time off.

February 27, 2015
Are you looking for a job this summer? Would you like to work in a cooperative? NASCO’s Cooperative Internship Network places talented cooperators in jobs with cooperatives and cooperative organizations. The Internship Network provides a great opportunity to develop new skills, gain experience, and begin developing a career in the cooperative sector.
 
Most internships are paid, some also include room & board and a moving stipend. We encourage you to check out our internship listings and learn more about the process on our website. If you choose to apply, NASCO will support you in the application and internship process.
 
Please visit NASCO’s website for the most current internship listings and instructions to apply. The application includes an online questionnaire, a résumé, and three references. The deadline to apply is March 23rd at 11:59pm PST.
 
Applying is free for current/recent members of NASCO co-ops, recent attendees of NASCO Institute, Individual Members of NASCO, and individuals who are sponsored by a NASCO member organization.
February 27, 2015
For the past year, in partnership with the Toolbox for Education and Social Action and with the support of the CHS Foundation, NASCO staff have been creating cooperative educational videos on a variety of key topics. We’re quite happy to announce that forty videos have been produced to date and are now available on our website. You can access these original videos here.
 
The videos, which were produced with the support of many cooperative organizations, cover a variety of topics including: board roles and responsibilities; cooperative development; conflict resolution; meeting planning and facilitation; staff evaluations; the cooperative principles; the Fair Housing Act; managing growth; forming community agreements; conflicts of interest; and the cooperative movement. If there are topics that you’d like to see included, or if you would like to work with us to create a video, reach out to our staff!
February 27, 2015
WestCo, an annual conference for members of cooperatives in the Western United States and Canada, will be held this year in Berkeley, CA from April 24th through 26th. WestCo is a space for local cooperators to build community, attend educational workshops and social events, and celebrate their common interests and experiences. This year’s conference is organized by members of the Berkeley Student Cooperative. More programming details will be released in March.
February 27, 2015
Recently, NASCO staff have been very busy working on a variety of projects: we’re accepting applications for at least 10 exciting summer cooperative internships; programming has been finalized for the 2015 Staff & Managers Conference; 40 original cooperative educational videos were recorded and posted to our website; we’re supporting local organizers in Berkeley, CA to plan WestCo 2015, a conference for West Coast cooperatives; NASCO Properties is in the process of evaluating potential sites for expansion; we’re working with co-ops on development/expansion projects in 8 states across the US; planning for NASCO Institute 2015 is gearing up; and all of our staff are busy traveling to visit our members.
 
The NASCO, NASCO Properties, and NASCO Development Services boards are all working hard to prepare for their spring in-person meetings, which will all be within the next month.
February 27, 2015
The 2015 Staff & Managers Conference will feature a walking tour of local co-ops, a group dinner at a cooperative brewpub, a film screening featuring Austin-area co-ops, special guest presenters, and sessions focusing on expansion projects, regional cooperative associations, board governance, cooperative management structures, zoning, university relations, member certification programs, sharing cooperative data/resources, and getting people to pay their rent. This is a fantastic opportunity to network with other cooperative leaders, share knowledge, and gain new skills. You can view the full schedule here, and register online. We hope to see you in Austin this March!
February 27, 2015

The BSC is proud to announce its 4th annual Cooperative Development Grant! The Berkeley Student Cooperative’s $10,000 Co-op Development Fund is for cooperatively-run business projects only. Only one project/program will be awarded the fund. Preference will be given to projects that serve students or underserved members of low-income communities within the San Francisco Bay Area. The two part application can be found here. Applications must be submitted via email to vpea@bsc.coop by 11:59pm on Monday, March 16th, 2015. Finalists will be invited to an interview on the week of April 6th-10th, 2015. Please email Zury Cendejas at vpea@bsc.coop with any questions.

February 18, 2015

Host applications for the 2015 Cooperative Internship Network are due on Friday, February 20th by the end of the day. Please see this page for more information, and reach out to Morgan Crawford (morgan@nasco.coop) if you have any questions. We look forward to supporting your work.

February 2, 2015
We are excited to announce the results of the 2015 NASCO Board of Directors election. We had nine candidates for five seats (four three-year terms and one one-year term), and ballots cast by more than twenty members.
 
The following people have been elected to the board:
 
Maya Menlo - ICC Ann Arbor (three-year seat)
Bradley Hunt - Berkeley Student Cooperative (three-year seat)
Scarlett McIntosh - Berkeley Student Cooperative (three-year seat)
Dan Newton - Michigan State University Student Housing Cooperative (three-year seat)
Lana Wong - Waterloo Campus Residence Inc. (one-year seat)
 
Thank you to everyone who participated in the election process!