Howard Bowers Day

Special Focus of Howard Bowers Day 2010:

Education and training needs of new and about-to-open food co-ops

Pick a day in October 2010…any day…preferably a busy day!

Designate it as “Howard Bowers Day” and

Donate 1% of sales on that day to the Howard Bowers Fund!

Give your co-op and its members a chance to practice the 6^th Co-op Principle: 

Co-ops Helping Co-ops

Why?

Education and training for co-op members, staffs, and boards are essential at all stages of co-op development, and particularly for groups that are forming a co-op and for newly-organized co-ops.  That’s why the funds raised this year from Howard Bowers Day will again be used for the special training needs of new and about-to-open food co-ops.  It’s all about the 6^th Co-op Principle – co-ops helping co-ops.

How does Howard Bowers Day work?

As part of the October observance of Co-op Month, food co-ops are asked to pick a day in October to designate as Howard Bowers Day.  On that day, 1% of total receipts are donated to the Howard Bowers Fund.  These funds will have a special focus:  training and education that benefit newly-organized and about-to-open food co-ops.  (Other fundraising by the Bowers Fund throughout the year will support educational programs and training for staff, managers, and board members of all food co-ops.)

Results

Thanks to your generosity, as a result of the first three Howard Bowers Days in 2007, 2008, and 2009, the Bowers Fund gave 17 grants totaling $25,400 to 16 new or about-to-open food co-ops for training and education and one to a cooperative development center for a regional workshop on starting a food co-op. 

Who was Howard Bowers?

Howard Bowers was a respected leader of the national cooperative community who dedicated his life to the growth and development of the consumer cooperative community.  He worked for cooperatives throughout the Midwest and was in great part responsible for the revival of the Consumer Cooperative Management Association, which he helped to build into the organization for all consumer-owned food cooperatives.  He served as its manager in the 1970s and 1980s.  In the late 1980s he took the job of General Manager at the Hyde Park Cooperative Society, which he pulled out of financial difficulty and for which he built up a large reserve.  He served on the boards of the Cooperative Development Foundation and the National Cooperative Business Association. 

Throughout his life he was generous in coaching others and a mentor to many.  He also under- stood the importance of education and training for managers, staff, and board members of consumer cooperatives and, for this reason, the Howard Bowers Fund was established in his memory.

The Key to Success – Get people to shop on Howard Bowers Day

Tell your members about it in your newsletter & on your website!

Cooperatives:  Local, trusted, serving you