The definition
The International Cooperative Alliance, the global body for cooperatives, defines one this way:
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.
Two parts of that sentence do most of the work. Jointly owned means the business belongs to its members rather than to outside investors. Democratically controlled means the members decide how it is run, usually one member, one vote, however much each one put in.
The Alliance also names the values cooperatives are built on: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity, and the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
Kinds of cooperative
Cooperatives are usually grouped by who their members are:
- Worker cooperatives are owned by the people who work in them.
- Consumer cooperatives belong to their customers, as many food co-ops and credit unions do.
- Producer cooperatives are owned by producers who market or process what they make together, which is common among farmers.
- Purchasing and shared-services cooperatives are owned by independent businesses that buy, share services or solve problems together. Common Grounds is closest to this kind.
Some cooperatives mix these, with more than one kind of member around the same table.
The seven principles
Every cooperative is meant to put its values into practice through seven principles. Here is each one, with what it means at Common Grounds, from the cooperative's governance draft.
| Principle | How Common Grounds applies it |
|---|---|
| 1. Voluntary and open membership | Taking part is opt-in, the responsibilities are written down, and each shop chooses the level of involvement it has room for. |
| 2. Democratic member control | The Members affected by a shared decision have a real say in it, through the Founding Circle, rather than one shop or an outside advisor running things. |
| 3. Member economic participation | Members contribute fairly to shared costs and control shared resources. Dues, grants and sponsorships are open to the Members and approved by them. |
| 4. Autonomy and independence | Each shop keeps its own business. No circle controls a shop's staff, brand, operations, money or data without that shop's consent. |
| 5. Education, training and information | Short definitions, written charters, staff instructions and these guides, so a new member can take part without a long course first. |
| 6. Cooperation among cooperatives | Learning from and working with other cooperatives and aligned organizations, and publishing the model so others can use it. |
| 7. Concern for community | The work should benefit more than the shops: less waste, support for local farms and gardens, and customers who learn what happens to what they throw away. |
Why independent businesses cooperate
A small business on its own pays more for supplies, gets the services a large company is offered last, and has little say over the systems it depends on, from recycling contracts to the data a city uses to plan. Together, a group of small businesses can buy in volume, share a service none could justify alone, learn from each other's mistakes, and speak as one voice.
What they do not have to give up is their independence. In a shared-services cooperative each business still runs its own shop, its own menu and its own books. The cooperative does only the things its members decide are better done together.
An approach and a legal form
"Cooperative" can mean a way of working or a kind of legal entity. As an approach, it means independent businesses cooperating where shared action makes them stronger. As a legal form, it means an entity whose members hold defined rights to vote, to own a share, and sometimes to receive a share of any surplus.
Common Grounds is the first today and is choosing whether, and how, to become the second. Its model says plainly which parts are working practice and which are proposals.
Sources and further reading
Published October 5, 2026.