“A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.”

- International Co-operative Alliance      

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What does that mean in plain English? 

Basically, a co-op is a business controlled by the people who use it, which exists for their benefit. Co-ops are democratic organizations whose earnings and assets belong to their members. They are based on values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.

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Often, people are unaware of co-ops because they can take many forms. There are food co-ops, worker co-ops, bookstore co-ops, bicycle co-ops, agricultural co-ops, artist co-ops, and energy co-ops! Even credit unions are essentially cooperative banks. You can find co-ops just about anywhere if you look!

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MOSAIC is specifically a housing co-op. In a housing co-op, members of are all residents who collectively control their living space and the assets of the co-op. Housing co-ops like MOSAIC are fairly common near university campuses, and often aim to provide affordable alternative living situations.

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The Cooperative Movement & NASCO

MOSAIC is just one small part of a much larger cooperative movement that spans the globe and stretches back generations. We’re proud to be part of a movement with such a rich history of organizing and building together to create a better, more equitable world.

 

Our ties to the larger cooperative community are through membership in NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). NASCO is an association of (primarily) student housing co-ops all around the U.S. and Canada. With our NASCO membership, we participate in a network of cooperators who support, educate, and learn from one another

 

Participation can be as routine as MOSAIC's utilization of their many resources, and as extraordinary as sending our members to attend NASCO’s annual conference (known as “NASCO Institute”). Here, hundreds of cooperators from around North America gather to attend workshops, learn new co-op skills, share ideas, and discuss issues facing the global cooperative movement. Our attendees always return filled to the brim with new ideas to improve MOSAIC.

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The Cooperative Principles

Created by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844, the Cooperative Principles are a set of seven principles that many co-ops use as guidelines to put our values into practice. 

1. Voluntary and Open Membership

2. Democratic Member Control

3. Member Economic Participation

4. Autonomy and Independence

5. Education, Training, and Information

6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives

7. Concern for Community

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Other Cooperatives

Chicago-Area Co-ops:

• Wild Onion Market - A Grocery store cooperative working toward a food supply chain that is more transparent, more fair, and more local.

• The Recyclery Collective - An educational cooperative bike shop in Rogers Park.

• Qumbya Co-op – A housing co-op in Hyde Park.

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Student Housing Co-ops (See NASCO’s directory):

• Berkeley Student Co-op – The largest student co-op system in North America, with around 1,300 residents.

• ICC Ann Arbor.

• ICC Austin.

• Madison Community Cooperative.

• Santa Barbara Student Housing Co-op.

• College Housing at the University of Maryland.

• MSU Student Housing Cooperative.

• Boulder Housing Coalition.

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Other Co-ops We Like:

• Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA) – Social justice consulting for co-ops.

• Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED) – Tools and trainings to develop cooperative campus food businesses.