Author: cooperatives

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Board of Director Strategy

Authors: Phil Kenkel, Oklahoma State University, phil.kenkel@okstate.edu, and Bill Fitzwater,
Oklahoma State University

Image:BODmeetingfeature.jpgStrategy Board of director meetings are designed to conduct business, communicate with the manager and plan for the future. Parliamentary procedure can help boards accomplish these objectives.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Board of Directors

Planning is a process of setting objectives and determining what must be done to accomplish them. One director of an agricultural cooperative defined planning as:

  • Where are we going?
  • How do
…
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Youth Involvement in Cooperatives

Author: Dixie Watts Dalton, Virginia Tech, dixie@vt.edu

 

Introduction to Youth Involvement in Cooperatives


Youth participating in a county-wide council.
Photo courtesy of Clayton County Extension, Iowa.

Cooperatives can be found in every state in the nation and in many sectors, from agriculture and finance to housing and daycare, to name just a few. Cooperatives meet needs that are currently not being met in the marketplace, from quality products and services to better prices and outstanding customer service. One audience that …

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Do cooperatives pay taxes?

With regard to income, cooperatives may qualify as a “single taxed” or pass-through entity in the eyes of federal or state taxing authorities. This means that the tax liability for income to the cooperative is passed through to the members rather than “double” taxed at both the cooperative and member level. Like any other business, cooperatives pay other types of taxes such as employment or property taxes.

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We would like your feedback on this Program Evaluation Frequently Asked Question.…

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Sample Management Evaluation Form

Authors: Phil Kenkel, Oklahoma State University

Appraising the manager’s performance is an important activity for the board of directors. Developing a formal process that is routinely applied makes appraisal less confrontational. The appraisal process revolves around the identification of realistic and attainable performance standards.

Standards should cover all functions of the manager’s job and can involve both outcome and activities. Setting the standards should be a joint activity of the manager and board. Performance standards should be continuously evolving with …

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Allocated Equity (for cooperatives)

Equity that is assigned by amounts to individuals or organizations, typically in the form of retained patronage refunds and/or per-unit capital retains; investments by patrons for which they have received notification of the allocation. The share of net margin (savings) from member businesses that has been allocated to individual member-patrons based on their patronage but retained by the cooperative for operating purposes. There is an obligation to redeem this equity to members or past members at some point in the …

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Internal Revenue Code Section 216

The section of the U.S. federal tax law that permits individual cooperative members to deduct mortgage interest and property tax on their income tax returns just like other homeowners do. Section 216 allows cooperative housing corporations to pass-through the mortgage interest and real property tax deductions to their stockholders on a pro rata basis.…

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Purchase-Sale Agreement

A legal agreement that states the terms of the sale of property. Purchase-sale agreements usually include such things as the price of the property, how and when the money will be paid for the building, and any special conditions of the sale.…

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Occupancy Agreement (or Proprietary Lease)

The contract between the cooperative corporation and the member that sets the conditions for the right to occupy a particular unit. It sets forth the rights and obligations of the member and the cooperative to each other. Legally, it is viewed as a lease by the member with the housing cooperative.…

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General Causes of Business Failure

Authors: Brian Henehan, Cornell University, bmh5@cornell.edu, and Bruce Anderson, Cornell University

Reviewers: Gerald White and Brent Gloy, Cornell University

First, we will take a look at some of the causes of business failure in a specific industry sector–agriculture, forestry and fishing. The Economic Analysis Department of the Dun and Bradstreet Corporation collects and analyzes data on business failures. Table 3 categorizes the common causes of business failure including: economic factors, finance, experience, neglect, disaster, fraud and strategy.

Table 3. Causes …

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