Dec. 82/Jan. 83 RAIN Page 26 lower cost services, a nonprofit support group such as the Council can reduce the percentage of funding directed at basic operating support and free up more money for an organization's basic programs. Co-op America 2100 M St., N.W., Suite 316 Washington, D.C. 20036 202/872-5307 Co-op America is a national membership association and buying club for socially responsible businesses, non-profits and co-ops. It is, itself, cooperatively owned by its Organizational and Consumer members. The purpose of Co-op America is to strengthen and expand the progressive, environmentally concerned, and personally exploratory segment of the American marketplace by acting as a "middleperson," brokering the goods and services of its member organizations and businesses, and providing direct support services and/or referrals to other support services useful to its membership. Co-op America grew out of a task force on Economic Democracy convened in the Spring of 1979 by Jim Gibbons of Consumers United Group, a worker-owned and managed business specializing in group health and life insurance, and the efforts of Community Futures, a nonprofit consulting corporation based in Massachusetts. The task force brought together representatives of some of the strongest cooperative and democratically managed businesses in the country. Among the problems articulated were the lack of an ongoing association of concerned businesses, and the difficulty in reaching a wider market for products"and services. From this need expressed by the task force grew the embryonic vision of Coop America, a co-op of co-ops ora collectivemail order business for small businesses and nonprofits who work cooperatively and share a vision about social and environmental justice on the planet. In one of the earlier packets from Coop America some of the possible services and products the Co-op might offer were listed as: "socially responsible investment, group health and term life insurance, magazines, books, records and cassettes, travel, educahon, workshops and conferences, job openings, housing, donations to causes, crafts, clothing, .furniture, toys. food, consumer goods, recreation equipment, energy efficient products, information on self-reliance, community developmen t and organization." And why not? There are, we know, thousands of small businesses, cooperatives and nonprofits, and by many accounts at least 20 million people who might be potential consumers of high quality and morally right goods and services. The Co-op today is already brokering group health and life insurance through Workers Insurance Trust and Consumers United Insurance Company; a money market fund; management consulting; free job listings in Community Jobs; computer services, including discounts on hardware and software; and other discounts. There are some issues raised by this new meta-level in cooperation. The brokering of something complex like computer systems is not the same as developing a catalog of hand-crafted goods. Co-op America could probably act as a middle person for any number of shoe manufacturers, but how many different computer services, or other services where a customer's needs are very complex, can it adequately serve? And what happens to regional independence if we become reliant in centralized clearinghouses and national promotion schemes? Will some cooperatives tend to get stronger through being able to out-sell or out-promote a smaller local cooperative or business? Co-op America can do its best work in areas of the country where there as of yet fewer choices for consumers who do want to show their political convictions with their dollars. It will also seT\'e a vital role in brokering scarce goods and services, especially some management support services needed by all cooperatives, small businesses and nonprofits. Anyway you look .:It it, Co-op America has made its point loud and clear. It will be interesting to see in which ways Co-op America grows. One thing is clear, that Co-op America is a product of the times - a bold gesture that indicates the size and potential of the cooperative movement, even if only that the idea was generated, whether or not in the long run, it works as envisioned. RESOURCE SHARING NElWORKSA READING LIST There has been a fairly rapid succession of back-to-barter books, about one a year, starting with, Barter: How To Get Almost Anything Without Money, (Constance Stapletone, Scribner & Son, New York, 1978); The Barter Book (Dyanne Asimow Simon, E.P. Dutton Publishers, $4.50, 1979, 152 pp.); and Houl To Barter and Trade Uack Trapp, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1981). The most recent in this line of barter books is What'll You Take for It? (Annie Proulx, Garden Way Publishing, Charlotte, VT 05445, 1981, 138 pp. $5.95). It is more about rural life and bartering in a cooperative community setting. Only a brief section of the book is devoted to bartering as a business activity. Houl to Barter and Trade and Barter: How To Get Almost Anything Without Money focus on what and how you can trade things and make a profit. All of these books are just overviews to bartering and trading. If you want to go about setting up a community skills exchange, you'd probably do best getting a package from one of the Skill Exchanges listed below. The Volunteer SkiIlbanIc: An InnolJtllive Way 10 ConnecllndividlUll Tahnts to Community Needs From: Volunteer: National Centerfor Citizen Involvement Box 1807 Boulder, CO 80306 $5.00 This guide contains findings from the Mott Foundation-funded skill bank project which assisted in the development of several voluntary skill banks around the country. The Center also has Minimax, a barter game that encourages participants to share information and skills ($22.95). Their Exchange Newsletter is one of the few regular sources of information about self-help and community resource sharing activities around the country. Includes information on funding, sources of technical assistance, and useful publications. The Barter Network 930 Tamalpais Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 415-457-8630 $5.00 This several-year old barter network also offers a packet of material on organizing a skill and bartering exchange. The first annual Northeast Washington Harvest Festival and Barter Davs was held in 1974 near Lake Chelan. In a new periodical out of the Okanogan area, Tilt' Okm/(lgl1ll Natural Nt"l('5, Michael Pilarski, (m e u f the originators of the festival. gives its history and a description of its development, (P.O. Box 139, Tonasket, WA 98R55 ). (Send donation if requesting a copy.) The Skills Exchange R. Kay Fletcher, Stephen B. Fawcett Center for Public Affairs University of Kansas lawrence, KS 60645 $6.00,1980,50 pp. This is a manual similar to the Ashland Skill Exchange manual, based on experiences of the authors in setting one up in Lawrence, Kansas.
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