Rutgers Business Association Mentor Program offers assistance to individuals and groups that are involved in organizing cooperatives and business associations.  ements.   A team of business management consultants is equipped to provide consultations on business development, founding activities, membership engagement and early operations issues.  Business operators working in all types of industry sectors, entrepreneurs, public agency managers, and community action groups are welcome to contact BAM Program mentors to assess their association or cooperative market concepts.  Its staff works to find out how to form and strengthen a cooperative, collaborative venture or business association.

Start Up Services offered focus on

Membership

Business Associations and Cooperatives are democratically managed organizations that are controlled and owned by member-users. 

Typically, a cooperative business organization is operated on a cooperative basis and as such, is owned, controlled and financed by member-users.  Earnings or authorized dividends are paid to members on the basis of their invested capital or on the basis of the volumes of business related activities or purchases they have had or made through the cooperative.  One of the standards applied to determining the cooperative characteristics of a venture is the extent to which the people who will benefit from the venture have been determined to have authority to democratically oversee and control it.   

Business Associations might be organized as “for-profit” or as “not for profit” corporations committed to achieving outcomes determined and overseen by a constituency of association members.  They are operated in accordance with bylaws that stipulate their mission, membership, character of operations, form of governance, board of directors, officers, indemnification assurances, etc.

BAM Program mentors can help representatives of start up or existing business associations and cooperatives

• define categories of members
• delineate obligations, responsibilities, terms, scope and benefits of membership
• restructure membership in accordance with authorizations by the cooperative members and/or business association by-laws
• identify and discuss issues that must be addressed in by-laws
• determine share prices, payment options, member rights and responsibilities, classes of stock, and standards for the revocation or sale of shares and stock.
• set up member record-keeping systems

Early Stage/Founding Tax Issues

A variety of options are available to individuals and groups seeking to start and operate a Business Association.  Many of these have implications in respect to taxes and some, in the case of not for profit organizations, must conform to strict guidelines regarding their formation and operation. 

BAM personnel can offer guidance to groups as to options in this area and provide referrals to professional service groups equipped to assist with forms and filings.

Planning

Business Associations and cooperatives are vehicles to help members achieve economic goals.  To do this, they are well advised to develop and monitor business plans that describe their goals and objectives, identify their operating and expansion costs, clarify costs for goods sold and projected returns on investments and clearly set forth the duties, and responsibilities of directors, employees, and members , and characterize beneficiaries and customers in terms of purchasing power, geography, demography and future market demands.

BAM Program mentors can help representatives of start up or existing business associations and cooperatives

• Develop a business plan
• Develop Cash Flow Projections for early stage operations
• Report on business plans and business activities to members
• Locate legal and accounting services required for purposes of planning
• Identify opportunities for grants and other non-bank financing.
• Develop a capitalization plan
• Produce case statements for banking relationships or for community development financing