Should we make Freerange a formal Co-operative company

OK, maybe this has mentioned before (so shoot me eh) but what would becoming a Co-op mean for us
i.e. what would we have to invest/do?

I need facts before I vote

Yes it looks like a good idea to me. We probably have been operating as a coop the whole time really..!

Paying a membership of some kind seems reasonable to me, especially if we get copies of the mag in exchange that really makes sense.

I suppose we are liable to pay tax through you being a sole trader already aren’t we?
I would like Freerange to be non-profit. That essentially means that we put any profit back into the ‘business’ rather than skimming it off ourselves as members. I think. I would say we could begin reasonable exclusive, as in you have to contribute creatively to Freerange in order to be a member, not just pay a fee. That should just be readership or subscription.

It has my vote. Fo Shiz.
Swweeet

I agree with what Gina said re membership - should be limited to contributors and differentiated from straight subscribers/readers. But I'm down - I think it's a good/sensible/awesome way to go.

I agree that the idea, from how I understood it, is that this has been a coop the whole time, but until right this second (logging in and checking out the discussion), I didn't really feel like it was. Now that you pushed me here ;) I do feel like part of the gang. Good on you!

I aslo agree with Gina that there has to be some type of creative contribution, not just membership fees. How do you propose we pay? Paypal?

Also I think that as a coop we should come up with a more efficient and current way of people contributing. Or perhaps I am the only one with this issue. For instance today my contribution was due, and I put it off - not because I didn't have anything, but because I wanted to contribute to a conversation in the now - not last week or last month because I had more time then. But then somehow deadlines for other things got pushed and while I sent in another thoughtful post from Kenya, I had wanted to go deeper with my post. I wonder if there can't somehow be a revolving post schedule or something, so that yes content is constantly being contributed, but also the schedule would allow for unexpected schedule changes and keeping current.

I think what I'm trying to say is that a shared form of governance is more appropriate for Freerange's structure rather than say some 'top down' approach. To me, Freerange has always been about a network of mutual exchange.

I think it would be a good idea, not sure exactly what it will mean to the whole project but from what I understand I think it would suit Project Freerange.

Sounds like a good idea, would be interesting to see how it could run...

What are the risks?

There are a number of forms of co-operative or mutual organisations, including:

friendly societies
credit unions
building societies
co-operative companies
industrial and provident societies.

Which form would FR take?