GROW YOUR OWN FOOD CO-OP WORKSHOP SERIES

Draft Agenda

Part Two of Three: Growing Leaders and Members

August 11 - 13, 2006 Olympia, WA

This session will focus on helping your organization to grow. There are two main components of this growth, which need to happen in tandem. It is necessary to get more members involved. And it is important to have a clear, inclusive and democratic structure for these new members to join. This workshop will address the role of leadership in helping people to find a way to get involved in a meaningful and productive way.

First Evening: Friday, August 11

6:00 – 9:00 PM  - Introductory dinner with project reports (Location TBA):

  • Workshop participants describe setting, mission, goals and objectives of their projects
  • Give a current status report on each projects
  • Identify the major strengths and weaknesses of projects
  • Outline the primary goals participants have for the workshop series

Second Day: Saturday, August 12

8:00 – 10:00 AM  - Don’t Forget the Saddle

The distractions of life and occasional frustrations of cooperation can lead to turnover. New members and volunteers are more likely to stick around if they can make sense of what is happening, and find a way to grab hold.

10:00 – 10:30 AM  - Break

10:30 – Noon  - Take Me to Your Leadership

Our common paradigm is that leaders are a special sort of person, apart from the rest of us. And… there is another way of viewing leadership, which is helpful to anyone who is trying to start a cooperative: Leadership is a set of skills, which can be developed in everyone. Here we will explore inclusive leadership, and how to build it.

Noon – 1:00 PM  - Lunch

1:00 – 2:30 PM  - Richard Dines, Food Co-op 500 Coordinator

2:30 – 2:45 PM  - Break

2:45 – 5:00 PM  - Small group sessions: meet with Richard

Richard will be available to meet with groups who are planning to apply to the Food Co-op 500 funding program, to give input on your funding efforts. For the rest of the time, you will be sketching out a plan for building your co-op, based on this morning’s presentations

Third Day: Sunday, August 13

9:00 – Noon  - Store tours

  • 9:00 Olympia Food Co-op Westside
  • 10:30 Olympia Food Co-op Eastside

Noon – 1:00 PM  - Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 PM  - Getting people hooked

There are certain points that you can bring up to help people “get” why co-ops are important, and certain types of outreach efforts that tend to work. After a presentation on ways to present cooperatives, we’ll discuss your efforts at outreach, so you can learn from each other.

2:00 – 2:30 PM  - Conclusion of session: Next steps in the series, evaluation

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