Four out of every ten Americans depend on cooperatives for a variety of goods and services.

Cooperatives provide electric as well as telephone service, and agricultural cooperatives help producers to process, market and deliver butter, cranberries, oranges and other products to consumers. Consumer-owned co-ops also sell clothing, appliances, camping gear, bicycles and books. Cooperative wholesalers serve hardware, grocery and natural food businesses. Co-ops distribute news and photos and support arts communities, and have a significant impact on the economy and consumers they serve, which is why the month of October is dedicated to celebrating the cooperative way of doing business.

What is a Cooperative?

A cooperative is a business. In many ways it's like any other business; however, there are some important aspects that make it unique and different. A cooperative business belongs to the people who use it — people who have organized to provide themselves with the goods and services they need. Bottom line, a cooperative operates for the benefit of its members.

These member-owners share equally in the control of their cooperatives — they meet at regular intervals (Annual Meeting), review detailed reports and elect directors from among themselves. The directors in turn hire management to manage the day-to-day affairs of the cooperative in a way that serves the members' interests.

Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

In Georgia, 42 member-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to 3.7 million people, nearly half of Georgia's population, across 73% of the state's land area.

Georgia's 42 EMCs now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation and employ 4,700 workers in the state.

Quick Cooperative Facts:

• More than 120 million people are members of 48,000 U.S. cooperatives.
• Cooperatives operate nearly half of the electric distribution lines in the U.S. and provide electricity for 34 million people — that breaks down to serving more than one in ten Americans.
• Approximately 30% of farmers' products in the U.S. are marketed through cooperatives.
• More than 20 cooperatives have annual sales in excess of $1 billion, including well known names such as Land O' Lakes, Inc., Ocean Spray and Ace Hardware.
• Credit unions have over 76 million members and assets in excess of $100 billion.
• Insurance companies owned by or closely associated with cooperatives serve more than 50 million Americans.
• Retailer-owned food and hardware cooperatives make it possible for hundreds of independent storeowners to successfully compete with large chains.