Newsletters: November - December 2006

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Board President's Report

By Chuck Hungerford

Dear Coop Owners and Patrons:

New Leaf Market Board of Directors is happy to welcome two new members to the board: Darlene Duran and Jennifer Agabiti. Darlene and Jennifer will fill vacancies created by the resignations of Rhonda Adair and Ravinder Singh. Darlene has an article in the newsletter relating their recent experiences as board members.

Earlier this summer, I was fortunate to attend the annual conference (the CCMA) of the National Co-op Grocer's Association (NCGA). One of the workshops provided a list of acronyms and their meanings used in the land of food co-ops and organic growers. As you will discover, a whole world of co-opness is out there.

WHAT DO THEY MEAN WHEN THEY SAY …..?

Compiled by Karen Zimbelman.

Acronyms - words formed from the initial letters of names or phrases - are an inescapable part of life in business. The co-op sector is similarly beset with acronyms, which can be mysterious and bewildering to newcomers and veterans alike. Here's a list of frequently used acronyms by food co-ops and NCGA members, along with the full name or phrase and a short explanation.

4CCGA Four Corners Cooperative Grocers' Association (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Southwest; now members of NCGA's western corridor and southwest chapter. (Also, formerly called the SWCGA - Southwest CGA.)

ACE Association of Cooperative Educators. U.S. and Canadian association; hosts an annual conference and exchange of information among co-op educators.

CAP Co-op Advantage Program. NCGA's monthly promotional program.

CBAG Co-op Brand Advisory Group. Advisory group for NCGA's marketing programs.

CBI Cooperative Business International. International business trading arm of NCBA.

CBJ Cooperative Business Journal. Trade publication (ten times per year) by NCBA.

CCA Cooperative Communicators Association. U.S. based association of co-op newsletter editors, PR contacts, and communications specialists.

CCA Canadian Co-operative Association. Canadian national trade association for all types of co-ops (similar to NCBA in U.S.).

CCCGA Central Circle Cooperative Grocers Association. CGA formed by several midwest co-ops unaffiliated with other CGAs or NCGA.

CCMA Consumer Cooperative Managers Association. Annual conference held every year in May or June for food co-op managers from around the country (not an association, as the name implies). Sponsored by NCBA and organized by Ann Hoyt of the University of Wisconsin's Urban Cooperative Initiative.

CDF Cooperative Development Foundation. Foundation associated with NCBA located in Washington DC. (Note: there is also an identically named "Cooperative Development Foundation" associated with the Canadian Cooperative Association.)

CDI Cooperative Development Institute. Technical assistance group for co-ops in the Northeast.

CDS Cooperative Development Services. Technical assistance group based out of Madison and St. Paul that works with co-ops in the upper midwest and nationally in some sectors; CDS has a group of independent consultants affiliated with it that specialize in working with food co-ops.

CFA Consumer Federation of America. U.S. based advocacy group for consumer issues.

CGA Cooperative Grocers Association. Regional group of food co-ops. Originally, there were a number of independent, though loosely affiliated, CGAs around the country that merged together as part of the NCGA reorganization in 2004.

CGAMW Cooperative Grocers Association Midwest (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Midwest and Texas; now members of NCGA's central corridor and midwest chapter.

CGANE Cooperative Grocers Association Northeast (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Northeast; now members of NCGA's eastern corridor and northeast chapter.

CGIN Cooperative Grocers' Information Network. Non-profit association of U.S. and Canadian food co-ops that runs a website and list server for cooperative grocers.

CMI Cooperative Management Institute. Former annual training for food co-op managers sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives.

CoCoFiSt Common Cooperative Financial Statements. Project of CDS consultant Walden Swanson (Co-opMetrics) to help food co-ops develop common financial statement database and formatting to facilitate comparisons, benchmarking, and analysis tools. Related terms:

CoCoBud - budgeting tool.
CoCoGap - analysis tool to compare with other similar size co-ops and identify areas for improvement.
CoCoHiFi - historical and operating financial data on a rolling basis.
CoCoWorks - training sessions that use CoCoFiSt tools.

CUNA Credit Union National Association. National trade association for business services and advocacy for credit unions.

DD Development Director. NCGA managers assigned to work directly with member co-ops at the corridor level.

EDLP "every day low price". Type of promotional deals offered for a year or over a long period of time (as opposed to monthly specials).

GLCGA Great Lakes Cooperative Grocers Association (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of Michigan and area food co-ops; now members of NCGA's central corridor and Great Lakes chapter.

ICA International Cooperative Alliance. International association of all different types of co-ops with members in over 100 countries.

ICA Industrial Cooperative Association. Also called "The ICA Group;" a consulting organization for worker co-ops.

MPC Midwest Purchasing Cooperative. Joint venture of CGA Midwest and TCNFC for combined group activities and programming.

NASCO North American Students of Cooperation. North American association of student and campus-based co-ops with members in the U.S. and Canada.

NCB National Cooperative Bank. Provides financing of all types for cooperatives and their members.

NCBA National Cooperative Business Association. National trade organization for all types of co-ops in the U.S.

NCBDC National Cooperative Bank Development Corporation. Development arm of the NCB; handles "riskier" loans, new ventures, and start-ups.

NCDF Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund. Co-op development fund established by upper midwest co-ops; serves as a financial intermediary for smaller loans and some grants for co-op development.

NCFC National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. National trade and educational association for agricultural co-ops.

NCGA National Cooperative Grocers Association. National business services association for food co-ops; originally established as a group to coordinate the work of regional CGAs but merged most regionals so that retails are directly members of NCGA effective July 2004.

NICE National Institute on Cooperative Education. Annual national conference for agricultural co-ops sponsored by NCFC.

NPP "national purchasing program". Generally used as a reference to a national supply agreement for core cost of goods for NCGA member retail co-ops.

NSAC National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives. Professional association for co-op accountants and financial professionals.

NWCGA Northwest Cooperative Grocers' Association (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Northwest; now members of NCGA's western corridor and northwest chapter.

OTA Organic Trade Association. National trade association for promotion of organics.

PCGA Pacific Cooperative Grocers' Association (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in California; now members of NCGA's western corridor and Pacific chapter.

REI Recreational Equipment, Inc. Largest U.S. consumer co-op offering outdoor-oriented equipment, gear, and clothing through online, mail order, and retail outlets.

SECGA Southeast Cooperative Grocers Association (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Southeast; now members of NCGA's eastern corridor and southeast chapter.

SPINS SPINScan. Data service provider; collects data from POS systems and provides information on sales of specific items by category that stores can use for comparison to other regional or national trends; funded by manufacturers who pay for this information about consumer-based sales of their products.

SWCGA Southwest Cooperative Grocers Association (former independent CGA). Most recently known as the Four Corners CGA. Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Southwest; now members of NCGA's western corridor and southwest chapter.

TCNFC Twin City Natural Foods Cooperatives (former independent CGA). Regional CGA of food co-ops in the Twin Cities area; now members of NCGA's central corridor and Twin Cities chapter.

TPR "temporary price reduction". Unadvertised specials.

UNFI United Natural Foods Inc. National natural foods wholesaler.

UWCC University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. University-based center for co-op research, training, and support services; also maintains an extensive library of materials about and for co-ops.

VABS "value added business services". Group-negotiated contracts for non-core supplies (i.e. payroll service, paper products, office supplies, inventory service, etc.).