By Teresa Opheim

There are now five official clubs – including two in the Twin Cities – with three more forming. The Cooperative Principal's CP001, the original club, met last month at the Seward Creamery Café to make their latest investment – in Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative – and to have fun, good food and micro-brews. Founded in 2014, CP Local 001’s members have now invested $30,000 in 10 different cooperatives, including Eastside Food Cooperative, Maple Valley Co-op, NorthEast Investment Cooperative and more.

 “The process of divesting from more traditional investments like Wall Street and being able to move money towards building the cooperative movement is empowering and offers an alternative many people are searching for,” says Joe Riemann, co-founder of Cooperative Principal, a federation of cooperative investment clubs.

In CP Local 001, each member has one vote, regardless of how much any one person has invested in the club. The group actively participates in discussing investment options, as well as the overall values and mission of the club.

“In many ways, it is an intentional way to build ownership and wealth that’s shared by a community; a cooperative by any other name,” Joe says. “Cooperative entities encompass the values of transparency, democratic control, community concern, and self-determination. It is for this reason that the club members have committed to pool individual resources together, to help build a better economy and society.”

Along with the Twin Cities, committed investors have formed clubs in Massachusetts, Vermont and Michigan. For more information about starting or joining a club, visit http://thecp.coop/