Cooperatives are:

• User-owned -- The people who own and finance the cooperative are those who use the cooperative.
• User-controlled -- The people who control the cooperative are those who use the cooperative.
• User-benefiting -- The cooperative's sole purpose is to provide and distribute benefits to its users on the basis of their use.

So your first job is to decide who are the members and what benefits do they want from this cooperative.

Co-ops are owned by:

• Consumers
• Producers/farmers/fishers
• Workers
• Businesses/organizations
• Municipalities/government
• Other co-ops