Loading the next page…
A USDA circular with sample cooperative legal documents, including bylaws and related governance provisions.
Sample legal documents help cooperative founders and advisors understand the standard building blocks of cooperative governance.
Cooperative founders and advisors looking for reference language and document structure.
Heirloom Library entries are summaries and wayfinding notes. The original source is the best place to read the full resource.
Open original resourceRelated
Equal Exchange
A real-world example of articles of incorporation and bylaws from Equal Exchange, one of the better-known U.S. worker cooperatives.
Democracy at Work Institute
An editable sample bylaws document for worker cooperatives that can help groups avoid starting their governance documents from scratch.
International Cooperative Alliance
An ICA governance paper on how cooperatives can balance democratic principles, flexibility, resilience, and complexity.
This free 1990 USDA Cooperative Information Report by attorney-adviser Donald A. Frederick explains the function and anatomy of organization agreements, articles, bylaws, membership instruments, marketing agreements, and redemption provisions. Much of its sample language uses an agricultural cooperative as the example.
Treat it as a historical document-structure reference only. The report itself says its wording is a starting point rather than text to copy, and its legal language predates decades of federal, state, local, tax, and industry change; current cooperative counsel must draft or review every operative document.