What Are the Ends and Why Should You Care?

In the coming months, the Co-op’s member-owners will be hearing about Ends development, and you will be asked for your thoughts on this topic. The question may not include the term “Ends.” More likely, the question will be something on the order of “What do you want your Co-op to provide for you?” or, perhaps, “Why does our co-op exist?”

The Ends are the board of directors’ overarching statement to the Co-op’s General Manager (GM) of what benefit or outcome the Co-op shall provide and for whom. Depending on how the Ends are written, they may resemble a vision or mission statement or they may be more prosaic and policy-like. Either way, our GM is expected to report to the board on how well he is meeting the expected outcomes, backing up his statements with benchmarks and data to show compliance with the written policy.

Crafting the Ends language is the board’s responsibility. But as member-owners of the Co-op, your thoughts on what you want those Ends to express are critical.

I hope you will share those thoughts with us by responding to the board’s member linkage activities as they are developed and announced in the near future. You are also invited to write to the board at any time.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Rosemary Fifield
President, Board of Directors

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Board of Directors

The Board represents all the member-owners in developing and maintaining the vision and long-term viability of the Co-op. Learn more at coopfoodstore.coop/board. If you have any questions or comments, please email the board at bod@board.coopfoodstore.com.

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