Strategic Planning Final Report

September 1st, 2011

Table of Contents

Overview

Interim Board ElectionsThe Process so Far

MissionValuesYear One GoalsYear Two Goals2 Year TimelineOrganization OverviewBudgetBudget NarrativeStart-up Programming OverviewServices for Existing Co-ops OverviewStaff Job Descriptions2012 International Year of Cooperatives

APPENDICESAppendix A: CoFed Bylaws DocumentAppendix B: Membership OutlineAppendix C: Programming

OverviewThank you and welcome to the final episode of CoFed’s strategic planning process, where you’re the star! We’re hoping that you’ll take time to grab some Equal Exchange hot chocolate, curl up with the PDF, and read through the contents below.

There are 39 pages of high level information for you to review. We’ve put more detailed information into the appendices. As you read through, please choose which appendices relate to your expertise or interest and take the time to read them carefully. We’re hoping that you’ll give yourself plenty of time to read and digest this: CoFed has spent the last two months creating it and the last week synthesizing it, making it as concise and readable as possible for you!

On August 24th and 28th we’ll host conference calls to answer any clarifying questions you might have about the content, go over next steps, and then invite you to offer some of your most poignant feedback verbally. Please have this packet read through before you jump on the call. We will also send a quick online survey to capture your feedback. Please allow 30-60 minutes to respond to this between August 24th and 28th. Once we receive your digital and verbal feedback we’ll incorporate it into this report and pass the final version off to an Interim Board of Directors.

Interim Board ElectionsCoFed will hold Interim Board elections this September and will instate the Board on October 1st. The Board’s first annual meeting will take place in person at an allied organization’s conference. All candidates will be voted on by the strategic planning advisers, as well as by a group of students who have attended a CoFed training or are operating an allied cooperative. Students who were not part of our strategic planning process must also attend an orientation call. Through a simple majority, we’re electing to the Board:

○ 3 student representatives from campus start-up groups or cooperatives○ 1 core staff member○ 1 regional organizer ○ 2 advisers

Our Interim Board will, then, consist of 7 Board Members total. Please consider serving on our Board of Directors! Contact: planning@cofed.org The Board of Directors will be responsible for passing our budget and major policies like membership and hiring our core staff. The Board will be responsible for roughly 10 hours of work a month, which includes at least 1 Skype meeting a month, some homework, and a contribution to committees. Special committees will be headed by a board member and will include expert volunteers from the community. These committees will lead the development of policies around : Finance, Hiring/Personnel, Outreach/Partnership, Visioning and

Membership. Board members are expected to travel (with financial support) to at least one board meeting a year, which will take place at either our own National Conference, a CoFed training, or during a conference of an allied organization.

The Process so FarA diverse array of over 30 students, staff and advisers were sent an orientation packet - initial feedback from advisers based on that packet and an accompanying feedback form was synthesized here. Minutes from our two orientation calls are here.

After this orientation, the steering committee (Andrew, Yoni, Karisa, Cory, and Ava) had three planning meetings over six weeks. The 2nd and 3rd meetings included East and West Coast Regional Organizers, student cooperative representatives and student retreat attendees. Here are the minutes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day-long strategic planning meetings.

Mission“CoFED cultivates a sustainable, community-oriented culture through college campuses. We support and equip emerging leaders to become active owners of thriving, cooperatively-run food enterprises.” Note: The term we’ve chosen to describe the projects we’re supporting is cooperatively-run food enterprises. We chose this because, while we encourage student projects to adhere to the International Cooperative Principles and we provide education around the cooperative model, some may not legally be incorporated as cooperatives or take member equity. They may be, at the moment, organized as non-profits or student enterprises.

ValuesCoFed’s internal operating values will guide how we work together internally, as well as how we express our work externally. You can think of them as a rudder that, along with our mission, will guide major decisions. They are:

Cooperation| Empowerment | Transparency | Joy | Impact

Year One GoalsIn Year One CoFed will:

● Assess feasibility of earned income sources via market research ● Offer clearly defined Memberships to existing and start-up co-ops● Sell member shares to 10 co-ops and 22 start-up teams in exchange for Membership

● Launch The CoFed Academy1, an educational web portal, by June 2012● Support doors opening for two co-ops by September 2012 (potentially UC Santa Barbara and UW

Seattle)● Create a manual with clear best practices around key issues for operating cooperatives● Create, test, and formalize new policies that support our values for new staff● Promote and leverage the International Year of Cooperatives through our organizing as well as a

National Conference with mission-aligned organizations in Fall 2012

1The CoFed Academy will be a virtual, participatory resource designed to supplement and enhance our trainings. Please read more about it in Appendix C.

Year Two GoalsBy Year Two CoFed will:

● Support doors opening for four cooperatives by September 2013 ● Publish a best practices document based on the first operating year of the two co-ops that opened the

year prior● Organize and execute a National Conference for CoFed Member Co-ops and other stakeholders by Fall

2013● Support CoFed Co-ops to ensure they collectively operate with $100k profit by September 2013● Have involved roughly 770 students in the process of creating a co-op. (We will have trained 150 students

leaders at our summer retreats over the course of two years of continued operation. These student leaders will ed secure funding for 12 student teams to have started their projects

2 Year Timeline Here is a visual outline, listing our goals and programming for the next two years.

Year Five GoalsIn 2016 CoFed will:

● Have trained 400 new student leaders who, with the support of 2,000 peer organizers, will launch 24 cooperatively-run food enterprises. These 24 newly opened food enterprises, in conjunction with 18 existing student-run co-ops, will offer powerful, educational experiences around food to 700,000 students nationally

Organization Overview

Legal StatusCoFed is currently operating as a project of the non-profit organization, Inquiring Systems, Inc. and will remain so for the foreseeable future. CoFed staff will work with a lawyer to redraft our agreement with our fiscal sponsor to include bylaws that reflect our cooperative principles and democratic decision-making process. GovernanceStarting with the election of an interim Board of Directors in October 2011, CoFed will operate as a democratically-run organization, with the board of directors as the official decision-making body. The board’s scope will be far-reaching in that it will have final decision-making power over major programming, hiring, and budget issues, but its powers will not extend to the day-to-day decision-making of the CoFed staff. Board of Directors DetailsBoard elections, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, will be dictated by our operating bylaws (see appendix A). These operating bylaws will be amended and passed by the interim Board of Directors at their first official meeting, in October 2011. Although not legally binding, the Board agrees that these are the guidelines to be followed until official incorporation as a membership-based or traditional non-profit status change takes place. At that time, a lawyer will be hired to review and officiate these bylaws with the consent of the Board in Spring 2012. MembershipCoFed is a membership-based organization and will extend memberships to groups of two or more students who are committed to opening a cooperative, or any other cooperative food enterprise (i.e bulk buying buying club, food truck, cafe, etc.), to serve fellow students on their campus. Student groups will be asked to sign a contract with CoFed at a summer retreat and then form a student group or a non-profit on their campus in Autumn. Once a group achieves official status as a student group or non-profit organization, and the first payment towards the $500 lifetime fee is received, the group is officially considered a Member with full access to our staff and resources. Payment plans will be discussed in advance. Membership will also be extended to existing student store-fronts in exchange for an initial membership buy-in of $500 and then 1% of sales or net profit after the first trial year of our services. Details concerning membership agreements, membership services and payment plans can be found in the Membership Outline, Appendix B) Membership Values CoFed Membership entails embracing the following values: Ethical Food: Work towards an ethical food system through community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food as defined by the Real Food Guidelines Inclusive Empowerment: Create systems to engage all students, from consumers to career organizers, in paths of long-term growth and leadership Cooperative Economics: Exemplify the financial power of equitably and ethically pooled resources through

operating cooperatively according to the ICA principles Sustainable Action and Advocacy: Implement action plans that sustain and grow themselves, with an attention to inspirational, viral messaging Movement or Mission-Focused Strategy: Support collaboration by focusing on network driven strategies that utilize all resources and benefit all stakeholders Vision and Theory of ChangeThe steering committee recommends that the Board pursue the creation of a clear, ambitious and coherent vision, and theory of change in the next two years when clear results are seen from current programming.

BudgetSee link here for a spreadsheet of the below budget. Click on the tabs at the bottom to see our Worst Case Budget, as well as a budget (Master with IYC2) that takes into account funding we hope to receive to develop programming around the International Year of Cooperatives.

Budget NarrativeDetails are provided below for each line-item in our budget, with spreadsheet column numbers. CoFed’s FY11, or fiscal year 2011, is September 2011 through August 2012. Revenue (total) / FY11 = $181,300 , FY12 = $213,500 2) Misc. and Monthly Donors / FY11 = $24,800, FY12 = $30,500CoFed secured monthly contributions from 115 individuals in February and March. We plan on expanding this to 200 donors by the end of FY12, since it’s both mission-aligned (grassroots) and sustainable. We’ll also ask successful food cooperatives for donations.

2IYC refers to the United Nations’ 2012 designation as an International Year of Cooperatives. There may be funding from the National Cooperative Business Association for conferences and other programs in 2012 that CoFed could participate in, hence the formulation of a budget that incorporates said funding.

3) Founders Circle Campaign / FY11 = $70,000, FY12 = $50,000Last year we raised $30,000 from our Launch Committee, a group of people giving gifts of over $2,500. Our private lunch event with Bill McKibben September 9, 2011 will kick off our Founders’ Circle - a group of people who commit to giving large gifts each year, for at least 3 years.3

4) Grants / FY11 = $70,000, FY12 = $110,0004

Our biggest question mark. Our initial attempts at securing medium-sized, 30-60K grants have been mixed. Our work doesn’t match up with most foundation funding priorities, even in the sustainable food and environmental worlds. It’s too early to say whether the contacts made, positive media and the quick programming results will translate into significant foundation funding. However, early conversations with Organic Valley, Nell Newman, foundations have been positive and these estimates are conservative. 5) Retreat sponsorships and registrations / FY11 = $5,000, FY12 = $5,000With a conservative estimate of 50 students paying an average of $100 (registrations are between $150 and $250 and many will be on scholarships), we estimate $5,000 for retreat revenue. Occasionally we also receive small contributions from businesses. 6) Member Grants and Consulting / FY11 = $7,500, FY12 = $10,000Our two Lead Trainers will be seeking out consulting gigs with start-up teams that have secured funding - our first $5,000 is based on a relationship with Western Michigan University. We hope to use this early experience to help train our Leads to do further consulting, and estimate they’d secure one contract averaging $2,500 per quarter. 7) Cooperative Member Revenue / FY11 = $2,000, FY12 = $4,000We are asking for a one-time, lifetime fee of $500 from operating student-run food co-ops who voluntarily and openly choose to join CoFed as Members. This fee will be payable all at once or according to a payment plan worked out between each Member Co-op and either the Team Facilitator or Lead Trainer. This fee is in exchange for a single share in CoFed, including access to an array of services, programming and resources. Since there are approximately 20 student run food co-ops that exist right now, and a handful have already paid CoFed Member dues, the $2000 projection indicates that we will sign on four existing co-ops who have not worked with us previously in FY11 ($2,000) and eight co-ops in FY12 ($4,000). 8) Start-up Member Revenue / FY11 = $3,000, FY12 = $6,000Members will purchase a $500 share with payment plans created by our Lead Trainers. The $3,000 projection for FY11 indicates that we’ll sign on six student teams as Members who were trained in 2010 and 2011, and the $6000 in FY12 indicates that twelve student teams trained at Summer 2012 Retreats will purchase shares following that.

Core Staff / FY11 = $57,050, FY12 = $70,1005

3 We have $25,000 committed so far. Although we’ll receive the money every August beginning in 2012, we’ll receive these first gifts September 2011, bringing the FY11 total to $70,000.4Organic Valley, Cedar Tree, Henry P Kendall, Nell Newman and Equal Exchange are all small-medium sized foundations with a good relationship and high probibility of supporting CoFed.5Salaries for Q1 are lower since staff will be hired in November 2011, 2/3 through the quarter.

14) Team Facilitator / FY11 = $24,833 FY12 = $34,800The Team Facilitator will act as the project manager or “Executive Director” for CoFed’s various internal projects. A seasoned professional in the non-profit world, this position would be the highest paid staff person in the organization. Depending on availability and quality of applicants, this position could be part time (20 hours a week) or a full time position, earning $25,000 for year one and $30,000 in year two. Benefits will be offered year two. 15) Development & Fundraising Coordinator / FY11 = $10,800, FY12 = $19,200This position will be tasked with cultivating relationships with outside organizations and individuals to secure grant opportunities for CoFed. This is a full-time position (with benefits starting in year two) that will start in December 2011. 16) Interim/Strategic Planning Staffing Costs / $10,000We’ll be paying our current staff (our Steering Committee and several Regional Organizers) to build programs, do fundraising, organize Board elections and create a hiring process before formal positions are hired. Contracts are with current staff and outside consultants based on hourly work. 17) Programming staff and expenses / FY11 = $80,200, FY12 = $106,700 18) Staff - Lead Trainer East / FY11 = $16,400, FY12 = $22,200 19) Staff - Lead Trainer West / FY11 = $16,400, FY12 = $22,200 20) Staff - Regional Organizers / FY11 = $21,000, FY12 = $45,000Part-time for recent graduates or students receiving credit (full-time during training road-trips and retreats) for $500 a month. 21) CoFed Academy, Tech Support, Video Support, Expertise / FY11 = $8,400, FY12 = $4,800In the first year, we’ll contract someone to create a video platform and shoot our first videos, build our website, and organize document databases. In the second year we’ll pay for content creation and a moderator for the site. 22) Programming Consulting / FY11 = $3,000, FY12 = $2,000We’ll be hiring someone on a contract, hourly basis to update our “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual and to write a “How to Run a Student Food Co-op” guide. 23) Staff and Fellows Training / FY11 = $3,000, FY12 = $3,000All CoFed staff will need to be trained on internal policy, organizational culture, and areas such as cooperative economics, food justice, and business planning. This includes food, travel and training space. 24) Summer Student Trainings / FY11 = $9,000, FY12 = $9000The two regional retreats (East and West coast) on average cost $3,000 each for the location, plus $1,500 for materials, food, travel scholarships, etc.

25) Printing, Manuals, and Merchandise / FY11 = $3,000, FY12 = $4,500Manuals cost roughly $5 each. We’d like to have a manual for each student. 26) Benefits, taxes, payroll, etc. / FY11 = 0, FY12 = $21,900We will pay staff as independent contractors the first year. For the second, we’ve budgeted 25% of their salaries for taxes and basic benefits. 27) Miscellaneous / FY11 = $33,224, FY12 = $26,175 28) Fiscal Sponsorship/Legal / FY11 = $8,704. FY12 = 04.5% of our income in return for basic accounting and independent contractor support. Included in this line are legal fees. 29) Offices (East and West), Software and Services / FY11 = $5,000. FY12 = $5,000Office space on both East and West coast will be shared and include some work-trade with staff time. 30) Staff Coaching, Mentorship / FY11 = $2,000. FY12 = $2,000CoFed will pay 1/3 of fees for work-related trainings that RO’s, Leads or Core staff attend. In special circumstances, we may pay for a larger portion of highly specialized training. 31) Staff Conferences / FY11= $2,000 FY12 =$2,000We have identified national conferences around cooperative development, sustainable food issues, and other topics pertinent to Staff Development that we’d like to be able to fund (in part only) for all staff. 32) Board Retreat / FY11=$2,000 FY12=$2,000$2,000 will be spent all at once in Quarter 1 of FY11 to provide space, training and supplies for the orientation and professional development of our volunteer Board of Directors. 33) Staff Travel / FY11=$5,400 FY12 = $5,400Travel expenses will cover fuel or transit costs; CoFed will not pay the federal or state mandated vehicle-use reimbursement rate. A Few Notes on Principle: Transparency CoFed’s budget will be posted publicly on our website in an easy to understand fashion by January 2011. All of our earned income streams will be justified - imagine seeing a tiny little “Why” hyperlinked next to prices. When a student scrolls over the registration fees for our retreat, there is an explanation of what the costs are to us. Presentations to the board or membership regarding dues and payment schedules will be well-prepared. We will train all our organizers and fellows to understand our budget and to be able to speak about our business model. This will mean longer trainings and additional work for our operations staff. Sustainability through success

We will focus our earned income strategies on building solid relationships with successful teams and signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) that ensure ongoing support for them once they open their cooperative enterprise. After we complete our market research, we may want to secure loans in order to be able to demonstrate our value before asking our members to fully fund our programming through fees. As the budget reflects, it may take longer than two years to gain significant traction on earned income, since year one is spent building and getting buy-in on programs and year two is mainly a trial period where teams receive subsidized services. As our market research overview shows, we may need to be creative if we are serious about making earned-income a part of our strategy.

Start-up Programming Overview“Start Up Programming” refers to CoFed’s programs that inspire student leaders to begin organizing food cooperatives, and the assistance we provide them with up until they open their doors. There were four facets of this programming that this Working Group engaged: the Regional Organizer Program, Retreats, Start-Up Consulting, and The CoFed Academy. The programs themselves and the logic behind the below recommendations are described in more depth in Appendix C. For job descriptions for the leads and ROs, please skip down to Staff Job Descriptions. Regional Organizer Program

● Maintain CoFed’s presence in four regions of the United States. There is demand for CoFed’s services all across the country, and we’re now running programming on both the West and East coasts. We’ll grow our ability to serve two regions on each coast by placing Regional Organizers and Lead Trainers in four cities.

● Privilege face-time as well as virtual communication. We’ll team up Regional Organizers with other ROs or Lead Trainers so that at least some of their work is done collaboratively and in-person. This was stressed by members of the Steering Committee and current ROs as a way to increase effectiveness, prevent burn-out, and honor one of our operating values: Joy.

● Give ROs more time to plan retreats. Under our new RO lifecycle, our organizers will have a whole year to recruit students and thus increase participation, improve programming quality and deepen the experience for all.

Retreats● Recreate the two successful retreats of 2011. This year, over 40 students converged in California and

New York. Now they’re back on campus and on their way to sourcing local produce for themselves and their peers! We’ll follow the same model next year, with minor updates.

● Run retreat-style workshops all year long. Summer only happens once a year, yet students are hungry to learn all year long, and often need follow-up support after the retreat. As you can see below, our Start-Up Consulting will give our Lead Trainers the ability to support teams constantly, and our Academy will offer virtual workshops for students who live outside of our regions, those who get involved after summer, or as a refresher for those already trained with us.

Start-Up Consulting● Let students customize their consulting package. We’ve only consulted with a couple schools so far,

and they paid $5,000 each, but most schools can’t afford that. Students told us they’d like to be able to choose from a buffet of services tailored to their team’s specific needs.

● Pair start-ups with an established sister co-op that will mentor their members in store-front operations, cooperative decision-making, and any other skills the start-up may be struggling with before or after they open their doors. This mentorship could include a co-op exchange program, where start-up members work for a short time at the established co-op to gain knowledge and experience in being an effective store-front manager.

● Make our consulting collaborative. What we do is leverage students’ already-existing passions for sustainable food, cooperative decision-making and community, and channeling it towards a tangible

goal: a brick-and-mortar cooperative. So we’d like our consulting service to reflect the shared nature of the project between CoFed and students. We’re asking you the question: How can we make our “co-op facilitation” as cooperative as possible?

The CoFed Academy● Participating in our vision should be fun, straightforward, and exciting, even virtually. We want any

student with passion to be able to learn who we are and what our movement is, effortlessly. And we also want our members to be able to be able to build strong skills around starting and running a co-op, on a shoestring budget. Enter the CoFed Academy, a web portal that will feature an intuitive interface, colorful videos, and a document database that makes connecting and learning with CoFed easy.

● Programming we create should reflect our values. Most importantly here, we’ll empower students to create and upload their own content, to be accessed by their peers. Tough concepts will be translated from text to video for maximum impact. And website visitors will be greeted with intro videos that are playful, passionate and motivating, bringing joy to the viewer.

Services for Existing Co-ops Overview Where we areProviding Services and Programs to existing co-ops has yet to play a prominent role in CoFed’s programming. A few attempts have been made at connecting food collectives nationally by launching an underutilized listserv and conducting informal consulting in the form of emails or phone calls, when called upon. In January 2010 CoFed trained Liz Ciavolino, a worker-owner of the Maryland Food Collective. After going through our trainings and receiving consulting from our advisers, Liz participated in shifting the UMaryland Food Collective’s financial state: from losing money to making a profit of $50,000 in less than a year. Though CoFed wasn’t the only factor involved in this turn around, we hope to replicate this model of inspiring worker-owners to become a part of something larger than themselves by equipping them with basic skills and connecting them to advisers. The Services for Existing Co-ops Work Group was tasked to begin to understand what needs, then, may exist for student-run co-ops, and how CoFed can meet those needs. Through this work, we explored whether CoFed could create a revenue model based on expertly providing these services and programs. Where we’re going

We will hire two full-time Lead Trainers6, one on each coast, who can fully understand existing co-ops’ needs and create a strategy in the form of Business and Consulting Services and Vendor Discount programs, to meet those needs.

6Lead Trainers are new positions that we hope to fill on both the East and West Coast. We’ll expect our Lead Trainers to hold a fair amount of experience operating a student-run grocery store or food business, as well as the ability to communicate and deliver multiple programs and services for Member Co-ops. Please read more about these Programs, Services, and Lead Trainer positions in Appendix C

We will establish an on-going Fellowship Program7 - a year-long academic track for Member Co-ops’ student-worker-owners who are interested in turning the study of, or participation in, cooperatives into careers. Fellows will work at two different student run co-ops over the course of the year, create an independent project that examines a related issue of their choice, help organize and participate in a National Conference, and more.

We will build a comprehensive online infrastructure that instructs, advises, and creates access to information around how to own and operate a student food enterprise cooperatively. We will build The CoFed Academy, a virtual, participatory resource, that helps us achieve these goals. Please read more about the detail of the CoFed Academy in Appendix C

We will deliver a National Conference every other year that celebrates students’ work, allows them to consult with one another around challenges and successes, and that builds skills. Please read more about the National Conference in Appendix C

In 5 years this Work Group envisions CoFed:

● As a Member-Owned Cooperative that identifies the challenges and needs of its members by creating innovative services and programs that meet these needs plus further support the success of each autonomous member

● As a cooperative career development resource● Creating, distributing and training our members to use a transparent POS system that allows our

cashiers to be beacons of education around sustainable culture in general● Contributing organizationally and structurally to local food systems through service coordinating

(cooperatively-owned transportation methods between farms and markets, for example), and innovative ordering and communications methods (like cloud technology that efficiently communicates growers’ bounty and buyers’ needs more directly)

● Cooperatives doubling as autonomous Leadership Labs - i.e. classrooms, workshop spaces, safe-havens, performance and/or art spaces on campuses

7The Fellowship Program was originally conceptualized as one supported by a Member, Education and Outreach Coordinator. This staff position was designed to support Fellows and the CoFed Fellowship Program in every way, as well as to create trainings and support toward the educational needs of all staff. Because this position is not currently in the budget we are examining ways to launch the Fellowship program with support from other staff, or organized and run by students themselves. The Fellowship program is described in full in Appendix C.

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Staff Job DescriptionsFor details on specific tasks each position will have, see the sections describing them in Appendix C. Team FacilitatorImplements policies, provides direction, supports project timing, is the liaison between staff and the Board. A rudder to the ship. Has experience with non-profit start-ups, is mature, analytic, supportive. The Team Facilitator will act as the project manager or “Executive Director” for CoFed’s various internal projects – a seasoned professional in the non-profit world, this position would be the highest paid staff. The Team Facilitator will manage multiple projects including: managing lead trainers, bottom lining the development of the CoFed Academy, managing a communications intern, and an operations intern. The team facilitator will be expected to use and manage systems such as SalesForce and WordPress to supplement the work of the operations intern. Full Time Position, 40 hours a weekYearly Salary:

Year 1: $24,833Year 2: $34,800, plus benefits

Broken down, pay comes to $15.60/hour

Lead Trainers (2)Provides consulting services and implements services and programs for Member Co-ops. Supports ROs and Member Co-ops in all areas of operation. A bridge, connecting people to resources and challenges to solutions. Has experience working at and/or opening a cooperatively-owned cafe or market, is energetic, supportive, patient with others, and is a clear communicator. The Lead Trainers will act as liaisons between CoFed Core, CoFed Member Co-ops and ROs. They will have experience with more technical aspects of running a successful grocery/food business as well as possess general knowledge around cooperative history, the cooperative model, Communication Facilitation and Strategic Planning Facilitation techniques. Must be able and willing to play several varied support roles and willing to be trained on diverse aspects of operating a food co-op. We are looking for a long-term commitment and are willing to fully train and support the right individuals. This position is full-time with benefits offered in year two. Full Time Position, 40 hours a weekSalary: Year 1: $16,400Year 2: $22,200 plus benefitsBroken down, pay comes to $10.00/hour Regional Organizers (6)

These part-time youth organizers will be tasked with spreading our model across the nation and inspiring students to join us. These recent graduates or upperclassmen will recruit student teams for regional yearly retreats, equip them with the skills they need to start a co-op, then support them over the next year as they make progress towards opening their doors. The ROs will be expected to have excellent communication skills, as they will be often working with multiple groups long-distance. They’ll facilitate our regional caucuses, which is how students elect members to serve on our Board. The ROs will also document best practices to upload to the CoFed Academy, and will mentor succeeding ROs during each summer. Monthly Salary: $500Monthly Hours: 60Broken down, pay comes to $8.33/hour

Development and Fundraising CoordinatorThe Development & Fundraising Coordinator position will be tasked with cultivating relationships with outside organizations and individuals to secure grant opportunities for CoFed. This person will work with a grant-writer to manage grant applications and seek out new grant opportunities. This person will also organize special fundraising events and campaigns including benefit dinners, phone-banking, and online crowd funding campaigns. Monthly Salary:

Year 1: $1,450Year 2: $1,683, plus benefits

Monthly Hours: 120Broken down, pay comes to $12.00/hour Operations InternThe Operations Intern will be responsible for running the back-end technical services for CoFed, including website management, managing SalesForce contacts, and drafting internal operating policies. The operations director will work with a professional with accounting and to reconcile our books on a monthly basis, along with an IT specialist for major restructuring of our website and online learning portal (the CoFed Academy). Weekly Hours: 20 Communications Intern(s)The Communications intern is responsible for coordinating all outward-facing media including social media outlets, press releases, newsletters, and article coverage. This person will work with Lead Trainers, Regional Organizers, and students to promote CoFed’s various projects across the country. The Communications Director will seek out new media outlets for CoFed, including magazine articles, interviews, and promotional campaigns

(virtual and otherwise). This position could be broken into two internships- one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. Monthly Hours: 52

2012 International Year of CooperativesCoFed plans to participate in the 2012 Year of Cooperatives by aligning our regional organizing with the 2012 efforts. Funding from the National Cooperative Business Association: On September 10th, the steering committee for the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) in the US will meet and review an overall youth outreach proposal. If funding is secured, our organizing will broaden and deepen significantly, our educational materials will sync with other national cooperative education groups, and we will organize youth towards a 2012 national conference. Teaching Modules: The Toolbx for Education and Social Action (TESA) is compiling educational materials related to cooperatives to do education for youth. Staff that is overseeing The CoFed Academy will work with TESA to include their materials in our academy and vice versa. If funding is secured for IYC programming our organizers will work to distribute these materials. Regional Organizers and Fellows: Inspired by the cooperative movement’s moment in the sun, as well as informed by the above modules and general IYC messaging, our regional organizers will do outreach, education and leadership development on college campuses. They will commit to organizing through 2012 and into the following summer. We may also recruit a group of student cooperative managers to receive academic credit for work around existing cooperative best-practices. If funding moves forward, CoFed will hire a full-time coordinator for this program to organize the trainings and support 10 upperclassmen and recent graduates. These IYC fellows will be trained as CoFed regional organizers or participate in a learning program focused on improving existing student-run food coops. One fourth of their time would spent on cross-sector cooperative work and the remaining time spent on cooperative education, outreach and leadership development within the food sector. In addition to doing cooperative development as a CoFed regional organizer, or research and education as a CoFed fellow, they will:

○ work on and promote IYC programs such as Co-cycle, My Co-op Rocks, parade organizing and others

○ engage social media related to IYC messaging○ volunteer at various professional cooperative sector conferences○ network and present at allied youth conferences○ recruit 500 youth leaders to come to a youth IYC national conference in the fall of 2012

National conference: If funding is available for travel stipends and programming staff, we will piggy-back with NCBA’s 2012 national conference, draw big name speakers and have small group trainings at which attendees will gain skills and take action by moving their money to a credit union, finding cooperatives in their area and signing an ambitious pledge to start or join a cooperative in the next two years. Our organizing and summer training programs will mobilize hundreds of student organizers to bring their peers to this gathering.

APPENDICES

Appendix A: CoFed Bylaws DocumentCoFed Bylaws Document These operating bylaws will be amended and passed by the interim Board of Directors at their first official meeting, in October 2011. Although not legally binding, the board agrees that these are the guidelines to be followed until official incorporation as a traditional or membership based non-profit takes place. At that time, a lawyer will be hired to review and officiate these bylaws with the consent of the Board in Spring 2012. Alternatively, the Board may decide that it is in CoFed’s best interest to legally remain a fiscally sponsored project of the non-profit organization, Inquiring Systems, Inc. If this is so, the Board will consult a lawyer to help re-negotiate the contract with Inquiring Systems, so that our agreement gives more autonomy and democratic control to the members of CoFed.

I. Articles of IncorporationII. MembershipIII. Board of DirectorsIV. Special CommitteesV. AmendmentsVI. Dissolution

I. Articles of Incorporation

Must comply with state attorney specifications

II. MembershipA.Eligibility

1. Any legally recognized student organization incorporated with the expressed intent to launch or operate a student cooperative project8 capable of entering into enforceable agreements that meets all of the following stipulations eligible for membership:

1a) Is made up of at least three members who have attended a general CoFed run training or retreat 1b) has formally committed to starting or operating a cooperative food project aligned with CoFed’s mission.

Recognition: A student group officially becomes a member after signing a contract and charter with a Lead Trainer and has made their first payment towards the $500 membership fee.

8Student Cooperative Food Project: Any project that adheres to the cooperative principles, sells food compliance with the law and is primarily student owned and operated. This can include bulk buying programs, food boxes and other community food projects.

(see appendix B for Membership Outline)

B. Rights and Responsibilities

1. Student groups may elect one member from their group to represent them at a regional caucus (to take place during a summer retreat), which will in turn nominate a representative from their region to serve on the board of directors

a. A region is defined by 3 or more active student groups in one geographical area.92. Any student who is part of a member group will then vote online for the entire Board of Directors in Spring

C. Rules regarding suspension or termination of membership

1. Member groups may come up for review by the board if they become a liability;a. If agreed upon payment schedule has not been complied withb. or if the group becomes a legal liability

2. Termination of contracts will be decided upon on a case by case basis by the Board III. Board of Directors

A. Composition1.Initially, a 7 member Board of Directors shall govern this organization. As of the date of the first annual meeting of the directors, the authorized number of directors shall be no less than 9. As membership grows, the number of directors may be changed by amendment or revision of these bylaws, or by repeal of these bylaws and adoption of new bylaws.

2. The composition of the Board shall be approximately: 50% student members, 25% staff, and 25% outside advisers. The exact weight will be voted upon by the interim board once a new number of directors is established during spring elections.

B. Election and Term of Office

1. The entire membership10 shall nominate and elect the staff and advisor positions to the board. Student representatives to the board will be elected by the students in their region through regional caucuses. Exact voting procedures are to be determined by the interim Board of Directors.

2. Each regional caucus, defined by 3 or more active teams identifying as a single region, elects a representative, the staff will hold between 1 and 3 elected positions, and 1-3 advisers are selected by the membership.

3. Term of Office

a. At the first board meeting, the directors shall be divided into two (2) approximately equal groups and designated to serve one (1) or two (2) year terms by a random

9Exact definition of a geographical region is TBD.10 The membership in this case includes all student-members and staff, as well as advisers currently serving on the board or other committees.

method determined by the Board of Directors. Thereafter, the term of office of each director shall be 1 year. Directors may serve any number of consecutive terms.

C. Rights and Responsibilities of Board Members

1. Board Members shall hold a regular meeting once a month in person and/or on a conference call, lasting one to two hours.

2. Board members will be expected to commit 10 hours per month to board duties including: monthly meetings, reporting, and working on special committees

3. Board Members commit to attending an annual in-person meeting to pass new programming and other major decisions. This meeting will take place in the fall at our annual national gathering, or another major conference.

4. Board shall appoint a President, Secretary, and Treasurer at their first initial meeting

a. The President is responsible for synthesizing notes and reporting to the membership.

b. The Secretary is responsible for calling the meeting to order, recording votes, and keeping meeting minutes.

c. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping an updated version of the budget and informing the board on the financial status of the organization.

D. Rules concerning voting

1. At least 80% of the Board must be present to pass any action2. The Board will strive to reach consensus on all decisions, but will default to a ⅔ majority if consensus cannot be reached3. Board members may vote by phone, skype, or by email

E. Rules regarding the notice of meetings

1. The Board Secretary shall notify Board Members of regular meeting through email,no less than 2 weeks before the proposed meeting.

a. To call an emergency meeting, the Secretary must contact each member by phone at least 7 days before the proposed meeting is to take place.

IV. Special CommitteesA. Powers and duties

1. The Board may appoint temporary committees made up of the board members to carry out special projects like elections and hiring.

a. The final decision-making power of each committee will be decided on a case by case basis

2. The Board shall appoint a recruiting committee to select future board members for the board.

V. Amendments

A. Operating Bylaws1. Amendments to the bylaws may be made by a ⅔ vote of the Board

B. Legal Bylaws

1. If non-profit status is achieved, amendments to the bylaws will require a ⅔ of the entire membership.

VI. Dissolution The properties and assets of this nonprofit corporation are irrevocably dedicated tocharitable purposes. No part of the net earnings, properties, or assets of this corporation,on dissolution or otherwise, shall inure to the benefit of any private person or individual, orany member, director or officer of this corporation. On liquidation or dissolution, allremaining properties and assets of the corporation shall be distributed and paid over to anorganization dedicated to charitable purposes which has established its tax-exempt statusunder Section 50l(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Appendix B: Membership OutlineMembership Outline A CoFed membership is offered to any student group who has attended a CoFed-run training and has committed to starting or operating a cooperatively-run food enterprise aligned with CoFed’s mission. Members of the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive have taken a pledge to enact organizational solutions to the problems surrounding their food system that are both financially and environmentally sustainable. While we encourage student projects to adhere to the ICA cooperative principles, students make the ultimate decision on the legal structure of their cooperative, based on the needs of their campus and community. Membership will not be restricted solely to cooperative operations. The economic and cultural needs of students vary greatly from campus to campus and each will need to craft solutions that take into account their unique circumstances. Not every campus will have the capacity to launch a profitable cooperative within two years (two years being the average rate of turnover within student groups). Few operational food cooperatives started out as proper food co-ops. Many grew out of successful bulk buying operations or other community food projects. As such, CoFed will build capacity to support a variety of solutions to the above outlined problem. This means supporting projects beyond launching strictly worker-owned and consumer cooperatives. Membership Requirements:Three or more students who commit to opening a cooperative or any other cooperative food service to serve fellow students may sign a contract with CoFed. CoFed will require student groups to be a registered student group with their college or incorporate as a non-profit before signing a contract. Once the contract has been signed and the first payment made, the group is officially considered a member with full access to our staff and resources. Payment PlanA payment schedule will be negotiated by a Lead and written into an agreement. Start-up groups that are not yet operating a cooperative or food service, will be asked to buy a share of $500 over a two year period. Once the cooperative opens, CoFed will take 1% of sales. This amount will be collected at the end of the co-ops fiscal quarter. This amount may also be renegotiated at any time. Existing cooperatives may join CoFed as a Member by purchasing the same $500 share. They will receive their first trial year of service in exchange for the purchase of this membership. All subsequent years of membership will require them to contribute 1% of sales to CoFed at the end of each fiscal quarter. Member VotingStudent groups may elect one member from their group to represent them at a regional caucus, which will in turn nominate a representative from their region to serve on the board of directors. A region is defined by 3 or more active student groups in one self-identified geographical area.

TerminationPolicy for non-payment and membership termination is determined on an as-needed basis by the Board.

Appendix C: Programming ProgrammingBelow are descriptions of new programs and those we are improving. The CoFed AcademyThis is a new online learning portal that connects interested students to CoFed’s services and programs - both groups of students who want to organize a co-op, and for existing co-ops. Through professional-quality videos, interactive guides, and template libraries, all archived and organized in an easily accessible way, students and members can learn how to further become involved with CoFed, find local and national resources, and the precise consultants or information they are searching for. Some content will be available for free, such as introductory videos and many documents, and the rest (longer webinars, additional documents) will be available with membership. Policies will be created to determine what should be offered as public content and what is membership content. Possible topics for our first few videos are the organizational structure of the larger cooperative world, an overview of CoFed and our history, and an overview of our Game Plan for starting food co-ops. Quarter 1 (September - November 2011)

● Define content for CoFed Academy, create wire-frames for building website○ Meet with information architect and community builder, sign contracts with them, decide

whether a moderator/administrator will be needed once site launches, and what their job description/salary/contract would be

● Explore various options for videos (animated, live-action, drawn) and choose one or multiple● Review all CoFed documents and templates, getting them ready for the website

Quarter 2 (December 2011 - February 2012)

● Create initial videos and pilot website (sign contract with video producer/animator if necessary).● Test student reactions to videos and site interface● Investigate a document repository/asset management system● Design, with students, a systems for sharing their school’s documents on the Academy

○ Train the Leads to teach students how to create institutional memory systems that sync with the Academy

● Create forums● Film first membership content (workshop webinars) at the RO training in January; edit content for web

Quarter 3 (March - May 2012)

● New edition of “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual is complete, ready to be publicized and

downloaded on Academy● Launch the Academy to the public

○ There is a free public section, and a section accessible to members, containing the webinars filmed in January

Quarter 4 (June - August 2012)

● Regional Organizers train students on how to use the Academy (and how to add content) at the summer retreats

● Workshops at the summer retreats are filmed and edited● Initial bugs are fixed on Academy site● Advertising campaign begins for site (we could use our Google ad credits)

Quarter 5 (September - November 2012)

● Based on a student feedback survey and comments in our forums, an FAQ is created (or a previous basic FAQ is enhanced)

Regional Organizer ProgramWhere we areThe centerpiece of our start-up programming is our Regional Organizer Program. We currently employ four ROs, independently contracted: one based in Santa Barbara, CA, one in Amherst, MA, and two in Philadelphia, PA. Earlier in the year we also had an RO in Davis, CA, and in Espanola, NM. Each of these organizers recruited students in their region to participate in our summer retreats. The ROs then support the student teams on their road to opening the doors of their co-op. Regional Organizers were hired for the first time in January 2011, and their contracts expire in September 2011. Problems with the program that we’re addressing are: an unclear payment system, isolating work conditions and an overly ambitious timeline for planning retreats. What we’re changingOur organizers will still technically be independent contractors, but we’ll have a clear payment plan (a monthly stipend) and clear responsibilities, which will ensure our organizers are comfortable (and excited!) committing to 15 months of work with us, instead of eight. This will allow them to gain skills and experience befitting their role; they’ll attend two summer retreats, the first as observer and the second as organizer; and they’ll be able to mentor their successor RO. The longer timeline will mean they’ll plan even better retreats and not experience exhaustion, like some did this time around. Before we implement the new 15-month life-cycle in 2013, we’ll hire our next batch of six ROs for 20 months (January 2012 to August 2013). ROs will be based in four cities, two on the East Coast and two on the West Coast. We have recognized the need for in-person collaboration amongst these ROs, so in two cities a pair of organizers will work together, while in two other cities an RO will be paired with their Lead Trainer. The Lead Trainers are a new addition to our staff. Each of the two leads will oversee either the West or East Coast and the three regional organizers on that coast. Note: We strongly recommend that our Interim Board consider adding a Midwest region in fiscal year 2012. New Regional Organizer LifeCycle to commence in 2013 - 2014 Year 1 Year 2

J F M A M J J A S O N D | J F M A M J J A S O N D --RO #1--(ret)-----------> *---(RO ret)------------------RO #2-------------------(ret)-> *--(RO ret)--RO # 3->

● (*) indicates the beginning of an RO’s term, which includes the summer retreat.● (ret) indicates the student summer retreat.● (RO ret) indicates the RO Training Retreat● Regional Organizers commit to at least one 15-month cycle

New LifeCycle Achieves:

● If ROs are recent graduates or graduating seniors, they can take one year (15 months) off before graduate school to participate in program.

● Incoming RO experiences a retreat before having to organize one, and can meet the teams they’ll be supporting right away.

● Training for Regional Organizers, held after the student retreats, can be tailored to the specifics of the teams the RO will be mentoring.

● Outgoing RO has three months to mentor new RO. Start-Up Programming Monthly Goals - September 2011 - August 2014Includes goals for regional organizers, Lead Trainers, and consulting 2011September, October

● Hiring process and job descriptions are finalized for Leads and 6 new ROs - ROs will commit from January 2012 - August 2013 (20 months), and Leads for longer. Students will have a say in hiring ROs, who will represent Southern California, North West, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

● TOAs for ROs are written by leads and staff, with input from advisers● Plan and staff is in place for updating “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual, and the Regional

Organizer Guide.November, December

● Leads and ROs are hired, TOAs are approved● RO Training Documents are reviewed and updated, Training is planned● Applications for student interns for ROs are publicized, hiring process is created● Plan and staff is in place for updating “How to Run a Retreat” guide; work begins● The Regional Organizer Guide is completed, ready for RO training next month

2012January, February

● RO training occurs in January, and plenty of heat is provided at the site● Work begins on updating the “How to Run a CoFed Retreat” manual, with the new part-time nature of

the RO position in mind● Door-Opening Consulting is publicized and made readily accessible to students visiting our website● Student interns are hired● Locations for summer retreats are secured

March

● Guest speakers for retreats are contacted● Rough draft of new “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual is sent to advisers for content review

and editingApril

● Guest speakers for retreats are confirmed● Donations are solicited● Applications for summer student interns are publicized● “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual is completed, photos and new cover added, bound, and

printed, ready for summer retreatsMay, June

● Donations for retreats are confirmed● Summer interns are hired● Summer retreats occur

June, July● ROs support new and existing student teams and empower students to organize 1-2 follow-up retreats

in their region.● ROs identify emerging student leaders from amongst their groups who may be interested in becoming

interns for the Fall semester.August

● Internship applications go out early in the month. Interns are interviewed and hired by the end of the month to support incoming RO.

September● RO and intern(s) begin working closely with campus teams to push them through the busy start of

school, especially assisting with recruitment.● Student teams work with RO to set up 1-2 dates during the semester when the RO or an intern

will make in-person visits to the campus. These in-person visits will allow the students to learn additional skills, brainstorm with RO, and have RO participate in or sit in on important meetings with administration, funders or other stakeholders.

October, November● ROs help campus teams wherever they are in the Game Plan.● ROs assist schools in putting on major fundraisers or events coordinated with Food Day.● ROs begin searching for locations for summer retreats.● ROs meet up in person with other ROs in their regions and strategize about next year’s retreats.

Refreshed from this face time, they launch into planning their recruitment drive for the retreats.● Internship applications for Winter / Spring semesters are publicized.

December● Anticipating the nearing winter break, ROs evaluate campuses’ progress and re-tool their strategies

for next semester.● If needed, new interns are interviewed and hired.● Locations for retreats are secured.

2013January

● Multiple ROs from nearby regions meet up with their Lead Trainer for a Mid-Year Retreat. Here, they launch into full retreat-planning mode. Additional and more detailed training not provided around retreats the previous summer is now provided.

● Revisions are made to hiring policies for ROs and to TOAs, based on experience of current long-term ROs

● “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual is reviewed and work begins on updating itFebruary, March

● Applications for RO program are publicized to campuses in desired regions.● Rough draft of new version of “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” is sent to advisers for content

review and editingApril

● Incoming ROs are interviewed and then hired, with students owning part of the decision.● The Regional Organizer Guide is reviewed and updated if necessary● “How to Start a Student Food Co-op” manual is completed, photos and new cover added, bound, and

printed, ready for summer retreats● Applications for summer student interns are publicized● Donations for retreats are solicited

May, June● Incoming ROs attend and assist at summer retreats organized by outgoing RO.● Summer student interns are hired● Donations are confirmed

June, July● Incoming ROs attend Regional Organizer Training, organized and run by Lead Trainers and outgoing

ROs.● Outgoing ROs mentor incoming ROs throughout the summer.● Together, outgoing and incoming ROs support new and existing student teams and empower students

to work with incoming RO to organize 1-2 follow-up retreats in their region.● Outgoing and incoming ROs identify emerging student leaders from amongst their groups who may be

interested in becoming interns working with incoming RO for the Fall semester.August

● Transition of responsibility completely to incoming RO.● Outgoing and incoming ROs have identified any changes that need to be made to TOA based on the

number and type of student teams the incoming RO will be supporting.● Internship applications go out early in the month. Interns are interviewed and hired by the end of the

month to support incoming RO.September - December

● Same as 2012 2014January

● Multiple ROs from nearby regions meet up with their Lead Trainer for a Mid-Year Retreat. Here, they launch into full retreat-planning mode. Additional and more detailed training not provided around retreats the previous summer is now provided.

February, March● Applications for RO program are publicized to campuses in desired regions. ROs will encourage interns

and outstanding student leaders to apply.● Guest speakers for retreats are contacted.

April● ROs are interviewed and then hired, with students owning part of the decision. ● Donations for retreats are solicited.● Guest speakers are confirmed.

May - August● Same as 2013

Retreats: Our two annual regional retreats will occur again in 2012, with only a few changes. Each retreat (East and West) will attract 20-30 students, who will pay registration fees that will cover more than 50% of the costs of the retreats. We will again aim to locate the retreats in beautiful outdoor sites owned by mission-aligned individuals or organizations who can impart wisdom to our participants. The East coast retreat will be held earlier (May) to accommodate the region’s school calendar. We will consider making both retreats shorter (4-5 days) so that more students can commit. At the end of 2012, ROs who’ve already planned one retreat will be planning another one for the following June (ROs hired in January 2012 are committing for 20 months), meaning they’ll have much more time to recruit students and solidify programming, which will ensure the retreats run smoothly. In April 2013, our new 15-month RO lifecycle will kick in to repeat this timeline, meaning ROs will start planning summer retreats every December, far more effective than the current start date of February. Finally, in preparation for the next set of retreats, we’ll update our Regional Organizer Guide so that new ROs can benefit from past successes and failures. Start-Up Consulting: So far, we’ve engaged with students mostly through our summer retreats. But sometimes geography or the school calendar make it difficult for folks to participate. Therefore on a few occasions we’ve worked with teams in different ways. Our most in-depth effort was with Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, MI. Yoni flew out to their campus, where he spent a weekend sharing our vision with the students and helping them build skills and momentum. WMU paid CoFed $5,000 for this in-person “consultation.” CoFed will not yet have staff in every region of the nation, yet there are students all across the U.S. who would like assistance in launching co-ops. Thus we’re hoping to expand this consulting program so that we can facilitate co-op launches wherever they’re needed. What this will look like is a “consulting offer,” a one or two-pager with a customizable payment plan, that will be sent to students who wish to work with us. They’ll be able to choose from a wide variety of workshops to learn whichever skills they need most, and tailored to their price range. We expect that Lead Trainers will do most of this consulting work, supported by experts (our “Consultants Cabinet”) in various fields (accounting, cafe merchandising, cooperative business, facilitation, food justice, local food systems, etc.). In addition to serving student organizations, we hope to consult with existing co-ops as well, be they CoFed Members who need help with a specific area of their business, or co-ops who are not yet a part of our network but want access to our expertise . Please see these additional consulting services below. Business, Strategic Planning and Communication Facilitation Consulting Services: CoFed Leads will create and deliver a buffet of Services for Existing and Start-Up student food cooperatives. These Services and Programs will include:

● Merchandising Coordination and Support: creating purchasing contracts with UNFI and Green Cafe Network, perhaps other vendors, and communicating them fully, with implementation support, to Member Co-ops. Also involves helping member co-ops make better use of store space, understanding what products or items sell best and why, designing end-caps, cold case, produce and other displays, helping member co-ops create a seasonal marketing plan, more to be determined.

● Department Reset Support: Leads will share their working knowledge of store, department, or product area resets as deemed necessary by Member Co-ops

● Financial Consulting: projecting and balancing budgets, understanding margins, communicating and

training business basics to all team members ● Accounting Consulting: balancing books, hiring or training an effective bookkeeper, accurately

reporting sales, paying taxes, etc. ● Strategic Planning Consulting: understanding when and how Strategic Planning is useful for diverse

entities, understanding and communicating the process, advise on hiring a Facilitator if need be● Cooperative Model Training and Education: how to legally incorporate as a Cooperative, how to create

an understanding of, and buy-in from, all co-op staff around Cooperative Principles, how to elect and work effectively with a Board of Directors or various working Committees

● Communication Facilitation: methods for cooperators to better communicate with one another including Non-Violent Communication methods, Cooperative Communication, and Consensus Building

Member Support Network: This refers to the member-driven infrastructure that connects existing student-run food co-ops on a national, and eventually international, scale. The aim of this methodology is to identify the needs member co-ops have and provide the resources necessary to help members meet these needs. A working list of these needs include, but are not limited to:

● listserv access and maintenance● peer-led group calls on specific issues; peer-to-peer consulting● The CoFed Academy - see above description

Vendor Discounts: These discounts represent an essential and strategic piece of CoFed’s value proposition to existing co-ops. They are the programs that can help struggling co-ops become profitable, or help co-ops looking to grow their influence on campus or in their communities offer more competitive prices, more selection, and more profitability. They will include the following:

● A discount on all purchases from UNFI - similar to consumer co-ops’ purchasing contracts coordinated by NCGA - details to be determined.

● Quantity discounts on compostable take-away containers by WorldCentric (purchasing contracts coordinated by Green Cafe Network)

● Potential to create infrastructure and/or a system to share resources on a Regional and Local level: from trucks and dispatchers to farms, gardens, consumer co-op resources and vendors

Fellowships: This is a year-long Domestic Exchange Program that students earn academic credit and a small stipend in exchange for their participation and successful completion of projects. It is designed to compliment the academic work-study paths of students interested in developing independent and sustainable business skills, cooperative model education abilities, participatory governance awareness, cooperative facilitation skills, local food systems operations and exposure, and more. Fellows should have at least one semester (or comparable time-frame) of experience working at their college or university’s student-run food enterprise and should also have a vested interest in continuing with cooperative work upon graduation. CoFed will provide Staff support to each Fellow as well as communicate regularly with a point-person at the fellow’s college or university. The following outlines what may be expected from each Fellow:

● an Independent Project, developed and completed, over the course of the year● a willingness to play a role in CoFed’s support services to new teams and ROs (in the form of peer-to-

peer consulting or by creating resources based on field-research)● participation in two student food co-op exchanges, experienced at two different student-run food

collectives, for an amount of time to be determined by each Fellow and his/her Host Co-op

● participation and collaboration on two of four Tracks that NCBA is developing for IYC (Teach In-A-Box, Federal Co-op Policy, Co-Cycle - A National Co-op Bike Tour, National Conference).

● participation in the planning and implementation process of a National Conference in the Fall, as well as a willingness to lead a workshop(s) or discussion there based on recent Fellowship experiences

National Conference: In 2012 CoFed will partner with NCBA, and others, to put on a National Conference that celebrates the UN-declared International Year of Cooperatives. This will be a networking, mobilizing, info-sharing gathering that brings college and university students, young entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders together in a single geographic place. Beginning in Fall 2013, CoFed will organize and host a National Conference biannually that is designed to further meet the needs of our Member Co-ops and Start-Up groups, inspire and motivate those new to CoFed and the cooperative food movement, and create a space for our Board of Directors, Staff and Teams to gather, celebrate, and learn from one another. Existing Co-op Programming Quarterly Goals

Quarter 1 (Sept 1 - November 30 2011): 1. Recruit a dedicated and enthusiastic Board of Directors who will, as part of a Hiring Committee, fill the following paid staff positions essential to the success of the Services and Programs for Existing Co-ops: two (2) CoFed Leads - one (1) East Coast Lead, one (1) West Coast Lead 2. Design and schedule three New Board, Staff, and Fellowship Orientation and Training Retreats: one for the Interim Board of Directors (to happen ASAP, immediately following Board elections), one for Core Staff and Leads (Nov/Dec 2011), and a third Orientation and Training for Regional Organizers, Interns, and Fellows (January 2012) 3. Leads will research, create and make plans to trial new services and programs for existing co-ops by:

● completing Case Studies and Market Research on all existing co-ops● working closely with CoFed Operations Director and Team Facilitator to draft video resources for

CoFed Academy● developing a clear set of consulting, facilitation and business services● communicating/coordinating with NCGA to share, or use, their existing listerv infrastructure, plus

develop models for peer-to-peer calls and webinars, to be launched at a later time Quarter 2 (Dec 1 2011- February 29 2012): 1. Advertise, recruit, and sign letters of commitment to work with six Regional Organizers and six Fellows through 2012 2. In January 2012 train and orient Fellows and RO's: joint training ensures economical sharing of resources plus team-building time while retaining tracks for separate, focused work as well 3. Team Facilitator (or IYC Coordinator) creates a plan to closely support Fellows through personalized

curriculum development, logistical and other expectations of exchange experience, and IYC/TESA track support 4. Leads identify and pilot Business, Communication and/or Strategic Planning Facilitation Consulting Services for three month trial period with three existing co-ops that have a proven healthy or neutral relationship with CoFed by presenting a clear value proposition, ballot of services and programs, and organizational infrastructure Quarter 3 (March 1 - May 31 2012): 1. Leads secure five existing co-ops as first official CoFed Member Co-ops at $500 single, life-time fee exchange 2. Leads implement and support new services for first Member Co-ops: response data is carefully collected and analyzed through remainder of first fiscal year 3. IYC Coordinator, Team Facilitator, and/or Lead Trainers support Fellows with curriculum development, exchange experience, IYC track support 4. IYC Coordinator, Team Facilitator, and/or Lead Trainers is in close contact with NCBA/Others in prepping for Autumn National Conference Quarter 4 (June 1 -August 31 2012): 1. Leads secure 5 more existing co-ops to join the network at $500 single, life-time fee exchange 2. Leads and Fellows prepare for Autumn National Conference: outreach, workshop development and activity implementation 3. Leads draft Transitioning Co-ops Services and Programs: ways to further and more effectively support support co-ops transitioning from Start-Up to Operating stages. Quarter 5 (Sept. 1 - November 30 2012) 1. Lead Trainers (or potentially Member, Education and Outreach Coordinator) secure 5 additional existing co-ops to the CoFed network at $500 life-time fee exchange 2. Lead Trainers draft and trial Transitioning Co-ops Services and Programs with three transitioning co-ops that we have a proven relationship with 3. IYC/CoFed National Conference happens

Quarter 6 (December 1 2012 - Feb 28 2013) 1. Fellowship ends: review Fellow experience and document feedback to change/adjust next Fellowship - starting Sept. 2013 2. 1 year RO commitments end: review experience, document feedback and recruit/re-hire/hire and train new RO's 3. Lead Trainers commit 2 transitioning co-ops to CoFed Members in exchange for 1% of annual sales Quarter 7 (March 1 - May 31 2013) 1. Prep for National Conference Autumn 2013 2. Lead Trainers commit 3 existing or transitioning co-ops to CoFed Membership in exchange for 1% of annual sales Quarter 8 (June 1 - August 31 2013) 1. Research and prepare to begin new Fellowship Program in Fall 2013 2. Prep for National Conference Fall 2013

Staff Roles and ResponsibilitiesPlease see Staff Job Descriptions above for an overview of each position. Here, each position is broken down into the roles and responsibilities expected. Team FacilitatorLead Financial Planning

● Create budgets● Present information to the Board● Work with our accountant/operations director to keep books up-to-date

Lead Strategic Planning● Facilitate future strategic planning sessions

Oversee Human Relations● Represent core staff on all hiring committees● Create policy for evaluating employee performance● Initiates performance evaluations, conducts them with a committee● Facilitate staff training (with Lead Trainers)

○ Initiate and/or facilitate conflict mediationSupport Governance

● Work with the Board to create, revise and execute policies and bylaws● Plan and attend board meetings (as a non-voting member?)● Recommend changes to staff job descriptions as needed● Ensure policies are implemented and enforced properly

○ Take into account organizational valuesSupport Organizational Culture

● Plan staff social events to strengthen team and encourage joyfulness● Facilitate staff conference attendance and trainings● Identify leadership and mentorship opportunities

Manage Projects● Bottom-line the build-out of the CoFed Academy (2011-2012)

○ Delegate content creation and revision (videos, documents) to Leads○ Contract out for content, video, design, web work

● Bottom-line the planning of the 2012 CoFed / IYC National Conference Carry Out Administrative TasksCould be the role of an Administrative Assistant

● Schedule, plan and facilitate staff meetings● Schedule, plan, and facilitate calls with regional staff● Take minutes at meetings and send summaries to relevant parties● Prepare and present monthly staff reports for Board of Directors● Bottom-line logistics for events (catering, donations, venues, etc.)

Lead Trainers (2)Oversee Programming

● Bottom-line regional retreat○ Assist three regional ROs in working together across their region to plan retreat○ Collect retreat registration fees (with Operations)

Oversee and Mentor Regional Organizers● Assist them in coordinating their region(s)

○ Facilitate hiring of ROs by setting up hiring committee○ Facilitate weekly check-in calls with all ROs○ Keep them accountable to, and evaluate them on, their TOAs○ Collect weekly or bi-monthly reports from ROs, synthesize for staff/BoD○ Log contacts into SalesForce/CRM (with Operations)○ Plan and facilitate occasional in-person meetings/trainings with all ROs

Be an Info Bank● Research issues and topics to plug holes in knowledge - for example, Lead may be well-versed in

business planning but need to brush up on campus organizing○ Lead will be trained in everything but training only goes so far

Create and Maintain Consulting Program● Work with partner Lead and students to craft process for carrying out a consultation

○ Develop list of services with prices and rationale

● Build relationships with outside experts for Consultants Cabinet/Advisory BoardPublicize Updates in their Region

● Manage social media for their region○ Twitter, Facebook, CoFed blog posts○ Manage social media for their region

● Send out press releases to regional media (with Communications)Sit on Committee that plans National ConferenceManage Memberships11

● Create and maintain consulting contracts with new and existing members● Consult on-site or over the phone with members● Develop and offer new services and resources to Members● Maintain Fiscal Sponsorship contracts12

Regional Organizers (6)Plan and Run Regional Retreat

● Create master budget● Recruit and build student teams to attend● Secure appropriate location● Develop programming● Gather guest speakers, food and materials donations● Build skills for facilitating retreat● Collaborate with other regional ROs, Lead Trainer on everything● Compile feedback and learnings, update “How to Run a Retreat” manual

Coordinate Student Teams● Check in weekly or bi-monthly with each team● Help teams create and maintain institutional memory● Be on-call to provide help and resources● Connect them with Lead or core staff for specific items● Organize, oversee and record regional minutes

Facilitate Regional Caucuses● With Lead Trainer, assist students in electing regional representatives who then elect student BoD

membersHire Intern(s)

● Identify regional needs, or holes in skills that an intern could supplement● Work with Lead Trainer and partner RO to hire 1-2 unpaid student interns

Contribute to Leadership Pipeline● Empowers campus team leaders and interns to take on ambitious tasks, apply/run for CoFed BoD, RO

or staff positionsReport to Lead Trainer

● Write bi-monthly report to Lead Trainer that synthesizes campus team updates● Lead Trainer will include these updates in CoFed media

Mentor new RO● Transitions-in and trains newly hired RO from May-August

11CoFed could hire a MEOC (Member, Education and Outreach Coordinator), who would then be responsible for this.12Operations Director may also be responsible for this task

Development CoordinatorBuild Relationships with Allies

● Explore new strategic partnerships● Maintain existing partnerships● Explore potential new programming with allies

Grants● Write, edit and submit all LOIs and grants

○ Research new grants○ Make a grant schedule○ Estimate likelihood of grants and prepare budgets for Team Facilitator

Cultivate Large Donors● Develop concepts and execute big-ticket or cultivation events● Network at relevant conferences and events● Schedule cultivation and ask meetings

Initiate and Oversee Grassroots Giving Campaigns● Build and revise donation infrastructure, as needed (with Operations)● Publicize campaigns (with Communications)● Tap into personal networks of CoFed team to ask for small donations

Operations DirectorManage SalesForce

● Create a template contact spreadsheet for staff, Leads, and ROs to enter their contacts into Salesforce/CRM

● Create reports and campaigns for staff, Leads and ROs○ Provide SalesForce training for staff

● Routinely purge SalesForce of any duplicates and errorsManage Listservs, Email Groups, Databases

● Organize and maintain our Google Docs and Wikis● Train other staff in using the above databases

Manage Legal Contracts● Fiscal Sponsorship for student teams (with Leads or MEOC), and for CoFed (if we are still a project of

Inquiring Systems)● Incorporation and Governance Contracts● All rental agreements for office space / facilities for events

Keep our Books*● Day-to-day accounting● Quickbooks● Process refunds● Invoicing● Communicate with our bank● Taxes (if necessary)

Maintain and Build Web PresenceIf contracted, $15 hourly pay

● Build code for CoFed Academy● Fix links

● Create new pages and content● Quickbooks

Communications DirectorManage all Media

■ Train fellows, board members, ROs, Team Facilitator, Lead Trainers■ Manage Twitter■ Maintain Facebook page■ Write and circulate blog posts■ Create social media policies to be posted on internal wiki

○ Put us in the Press■ Write press releases■ Give interviews and comments■ Arrange interviews with other staff■ Check the Info email account

○ Write the Newsletter■ Interview students and allies■ Gather photos■ Format and edit newsletter (with operations, if needed)■ Provide press training to staff■ Build relationships with press through meetings and promo events

Build our Brand● Craft CoFed image and narrative with other core staff● Design and order merchandise (bags, bumper stickers, etc.)

Stay Informed● Receive briefings from core staff, organizers and students

Thank you for reading!