Future Co-ops 2026 is officially in the planning stage. We still need to book a venue & decide on the theme, BUT we have nailed down a date: Fri 27th & Sat 28th Feb 2026 Have an idea for a brilliant & topical theme? Or suitable venue (potentially in Swindon or Worcester)? We'd love to hear it!

What an inspiring story about @giroscope-hull.bsky.social. #Co-ops #Cooperatives #WorkersCo-ops #SocialEnterprise #Housing #Renewal Read more here giroscope.org.uk www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The long build up to Future Co-ops 2026 is officially starting. We need to book a venue, plan a marketing campaign, and most importantly decide on the theme. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop us a comment below.

Government wants to double the size of the co-op economy. At today’s pace, it will take decades. Read @cooperativesuk.bsky.social new report: www.uk.coop/economy on growth that keeps money local, creates good jobs & builds resilient communities. #coops #cooperatives #economy #CoopEconomy

1. This is something I've been saying for 25 years, but it's hard to get many people to listen. What counts is not the new energy sources you add, but the old ones you retire. Unfortunately it's politically easier to build renewables than to shutter fossil fuels.🧵 www.forbes.com/sites/rrapie...

Still time to invest in community shares and breathe life back into the wilderness! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thewildern... The Wilderness Centre - a Community crowdfunding project in Mitcheldean by The Wilderness Centre

‘For our community, by our community’ embodies exactly what co-ops are about! Well done everyone at Wolvercote Mill for creating a vibrant community space that enhances the well being of local people 💚 Find them here: www.thewolvercotemill.org #CoopFortnight #IYC2025

Join Co-operatives West Midlands, for an evening of networking & a celebration of the region's thriving #coops sector at their International Year of Co-operatives 2025 Celebration Event! 📍 25th June 2025, 4pm to 7pm @ BRIG Cafe at the Warehouse, Birmingham www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/internatio...

We launched a refreshed version of our website (futures.coop) earlier this year & we’d love your thoughts! Can you spare some time to visit the website & take a 2-3 minute anonymous survey? Please respond before Monday 7th July 2025. Complete survey ➡️ forms.gle/NfipyoM5f3rR...

As we reach the midway point of the year we’re reflecting on what has been a busy time for us. Check out our year at a glance…

First workshop as part of the #Oxfordshire Care Co-op Project Pilot. Learn about #cooperative models of care provision, how to get involved in our new project & share your experiences of care. £20 voucher for participants/Dinner/Play space for kids www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-can-we...

Working together, local housing can be different…. come along and find out more! Community First Oxfordshire is hosting two events around housing: 📍 20th May, 7.30pm, Didcot Civic Hall, OX11 7JN 📍 10th June 2025, 7.30pm, Chesterton Village Hall, OX26 1UN 🎟 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/together-w...

This year's Future Co-ops conference featured a series of practical workshops, to explore and agree on outcomes and asks across four different areas. Read more about 'The Trouble with Double' here > futures.coop/future-co-op...

If you missed our Future Co-ops Conference at the start of the year there was a write up of the event by @coopnews.bsky.social > www.thenews.coop/what-does-do...

👋 We represent the UK’s co-operative sector. Our aim is for anyone in the UK to form or join thriving and sustainable co-operatives. Expect: 🫶 Inspiring content 📆 Brilliant events and training 🪧 Opportunities to engage with our campaigns and lobbying 🖱️ Read about out work at www.uk.coop #coops

You can raise FREE money for your #Combiz! Over 8,000 online retailers will donate to your #Combiz when your volunteers/supporters shop with them. + you will raise money for us!🤩 Find out more by signing up with @easyfundraising.bsky.social 👇 http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/community-business/

I was gutted to not be able to attend the @coopfutures.bsky.social event due to my poor health. So thanks @coopnews for this excellent report. @coopnews.bsky.social https://www.thenews.coop/what-does-doubling-the-co-op-economy-mean-and-how-do-we-do-it/

Come along to the Black County Living Museum to learn about the co-operative way of doing things! Co-ops for Creative Freelancers and Social Enterprise | Tuesday 11th March | 5:30 - 7pm www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/co-ops-for... #coops #blackcountry #creativeindustries

Very interesting read. Includes example of a social co-op located in Camini, a village in Southern Italy, where they initiated & manage a widespread migrants’ welcoming, reception and integration system with the project “Jungi Mundu” (“Unite the world”). www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Co-op says it is holding firm on DEI having seen the benefits www.theguardian.com/business/202...

As they say in the Basque Country: “Life is cooperatized here.” Can the UK ever get anywhere close to this level of co-operation? thealternative.org.uk/dailyalterna...

Managing your books doesn’t have to be a headache! Join this 2-hour session designed to demystify bookkeeping. Suitable for early stage businesses and startups in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse. See link for more info and to book a FREE space. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/coffee-mor...

New Community Share Offer with the Community Shares Standard Mark. @babbinswoodfarmcbs.bsky.social raising £1.5m to buy and save an organic farm and run it as a community owned farm and hub. See their @crowdfunder.bsky.social page here for full details: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-babbi...

The #CoopInsider has always wanted to attend the Co-operative Futures conference but hasn’t managed to. Their work supporting new and innovative co-ops is vital for the movement. Honest conversations like ‘The Trouble with the Double’ are exactly what’s needed.

Doubling the size of the co-op economy sounds ambitious, but with so many ghost co-ops and a movement struggling to support its own, is it realistic? Growth needs solid foundations and leadership, not just kind words. Does the UK cooperative movement have them? #CoopInsider #GhostCoops

That’s a wrap for Future Co-ops Conference 2025 in this International Year of Co-operatives. Thanks to everyone who came, our sponsors and our hosts! #FC2025 #IYC2025

Workshops and marketplace at #FC2025

Massive thanks to Central Co-op for hosting us here in Lichfield. Director Maryann Denfhy welcomed delegates during our first session. #FC2025

Morning session at #FC2025 - imagining the future & learning from the past. Sparked questions and discussion to be picked up in workshops throughout the day.

We’re in Lichfield for Future Co-ops Conference! Last night kicked off with our panel responding to the government pledge to double the #coops economy. A day of workshops and discussion ahead. #IYC2025 #FC2025

What a lovely evening at the Future Coops conference here in #Lichfield. Great opportunity to network with fellow cooperators & to turn local challenges into opportunities. Thanks #FC2025

Tickets are all gone for Future Co-ops 2025!. If you're coming along, we can't wait to see you. If you've missed out this time, we'll hopefully see you soon!

Only a few tickets left now for the Future Co-ops Conference. And you only have until 9am on Monday 27th Jan to get one! Here's the link. Give it a click! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-co-...

So good to see the fabulous BaTcom in the news. Such a great project! With help from Co-op Futures the group behind this scheme are realising their vision of creating a valuable community resource that lowers the local carbon footprint and brings people together. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Trouble with Double - Workshop 4: Political Levers How can we use political & economic levers to grow #coops Tell us what you think in the comments, or book a place at the conference! Tickets are selling like hot Staffordshire oatcakes, grab one now. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-co-...

We’re very grateful to Central Co-op for supporting the Future Co-ops conference this year and generously hosting The Trouble with Double at their fantastic support centre in Lichfield. Tickets selling quickly now so please do book asap if you'd like to attend! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-co-...

🚨 NEW: We've written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer inviting him to meet with senior representatives of the co-operative sector to mark the UN Year of Co-operatives.

Last time round we helped sponsors Co-op & Community Finance celebrate their 50th birthday. In 2025 we're celebrating International Year of Co-operatives. Tickets for Future Co-ops are selling fast. Book now & let's make this the year the sector grows & thrives! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-co-...

It sounds like something from the Hunger Games but it's actually a workshop that will confront the tough questions about resourcing the ambitious goal of doubling the co-operative sector. Let us know if you have thoughts/ideas and we'll add 'em to the discussion.

South London music venue to re-open. Resurrected by the Piehouse Co-op (a group of ex-staff, resident artists, and staff from other local grassroots venues who've formed a new workers co-op), with help from the @musicvenuetrust.bsky.social Crowdfunder is live! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-piehou...

Need a new podcast for 2025? Punchcard from the UK based federation of worker led co‑operatives, might be the one! Hear guests sharing their stories, experiences and insights as members of #workercoops #coops www.workers.coop/podcast/

Co-op values align so well with the way young people want the world to be. From MeToo & Black Lives Matter, to headline grabbing action from Just Stop Oil & Extinction Rebellion. Can we harness a similar energy & use it to fight for alternative economic models & co-operation?

Yes we all look slightly mad. This is what planning Future Co-ops looks like! Forget the trouble with double - this is quadruple trouble! We can’t wait to see you in 2025. To all our friends, followers, clients and fellow co-operators, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year 🥳

I am attempting to clone myself. Seriously, it will help with growth. Twice the trouble.

Have a read of the summary findings from the Democratic Business Summit in Cardiff at the beginning of December in the latest newsletter from the Centre for Democratic Business 🔗 mailchi.mp/democraticbu... Appreciate the link to our Future Co-ops conference, The Trouble with Double too 😍

The Trouble with Double - Workshop 1: More, bigger or better? We’d need to set up just over 11,500 new #coops by the end of this Parliament to double the sector. What are the chances? And, while we’re focusing on creating lots of new start-ups what's happening to the existing 9,350? #FC2025

Designed & implemented correctly, the Community Right to Buy should ensure that more community organisations & groups can protect their spaces & run them for the benefit of their whole community. www.politicshome.com/thehouse/art...

Ever wanted to co-own a bookshop? We're a community co-op, which means we're owned by our members. If you join (£100), it REALLY helps the shop, and you get a 10% lifetime discount on books - as well as voting in our AGM or even joining our board!

Community Change Menu aims to become a shared knowledge library for building resilient communities without the support of big business or government. There are solutions out there to enable positive change in equality and climate, and we can build them ourselves 💚 communitychangemenu.wordpress.com

Big smiles from Jo and Kathy at the Social Economy Showcase Conference & Expo at Millennium Point in Birmingham today. Plenty of networking opportunities and exhibits to keep them occupied. Kathy had her #SaveBirmingham hat on too!