III.C. Cooperative Community Involvement

III.C.1. BSC-NASCO Relationship

1.01 The BSC will be an Active Member of NASCO. Both the BSC and NASCO will create a long-term membership agreement with mutually agreed upon terms which is reviewed yearly.

1.02 Co-opers from other NASCO Active Member co-ops may get 3 days of free room and board if they are visiting in the area and a unit is willing to host them.

1.03 The BSC will send as many people to NASCO institute as the budget permits. ETCom shall be the committee tasked with selecting the recipients of the NASCO Institute Scholarship Program. The BSC will pay the full amount of the NASCO Institute registration fee for each respective scholarship recipient.

BSC attendance and funding guarantees will be regulated as follows:

A. The BSC President and the Vice-President of External Affairs are automatically awarded a scholarship to attend the NASCO Institute, regardless of previous attendance. However, they may yield their scholarship to another Cabinet Member and/or Board Member in the case that they may not attend the NASCO Institute.

B. The BSC will also fund the ED or one member of senior staff to attend NASCO Institute. The ED or that senior staff member may yield their scholarship to another staff member.

C. Two staff-members will be chosen by senior staff to attend the NASCO Staff and Manager Conference and NASCO Institute annually.

D. Others are not guaranteed funding for the NASCO institute, thus must apply for a scholarship through the normal application process set up by the Board if a member or utilize another budget member as a staff member.

E. All scholarship recipients are required to share their experiences at the NASCO Institute in some form as determined by ETCom.

F. ETCom or the Board has full discretion when choosing NASCO scholarship recipients. Scholarship selection criteria may include the following factors:

i. Demonstrated BSC involvement

ii. Cooperative knowledge

iii. Commitment to give back to the community

iv. Demonstrated possession of, desire and willingness to share relevant cooperative organizational and personal skills, knowledge and experiences at NASCO Institute

v. Demonstrated interest and involvement in strengthening the BSC-NASCO relationship

vi. Presenting members will be strongly considered

G. If the sponsorship recipient is an active Board member, Staff member, or unit-level manager, the BSC President or Executive Director may authorize funds from other relevant budgets (professional development, member education, etc.) to fund other travel-related accommodations not related to registration

III.C.2. COMMUNITY BUILDING FUND

2.01. The BSC will have a yearly $20,000 fund administered by EACom which grants individuals or groups aid to create mutual aid projects, promote member involvement in the community, and help fund development of cooperatives.

2.02. EACom will be consistently tasked with reviewing and arbitrating applications to determine if a proposal fulfills the criteria of mutual-aid, member involvement in community, anti-oppression and cooperative effort between recipient and provider. Further criteria may be developed at the discretion of EACom. The VPEA will create a form that stakeholders can use to apply for funding before the start of each Academic Year. Funds may be used to purchase materials and supplies, as well as to compensate individuals for labor provided, and more.

III.C.3. MEMBERSHIP IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

3.01 The BSC shall join the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), paying its annual membership fee.

3.02 The BSC shall join the California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD), paying its annual membership fee.

3.03. The BSC shall join the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), paying its annual membership fee.

3.04. These membership relationships will be jointly managed by the Executive Director, Finance and Accounting Manager, BSC President, and Vice President of External Affairs, who may designate to act in their stead. These individuals will be responsible for representing the BSC and spreading knowledge about these organizations' opportunities to other co-op members and Staff.

[Updated 3.03 as per Cabinet approval at Cabinet #4 (2.9.2023)]

III.C.4. SOLIDARITY ECONOMY MATERIAL RELATIONS

4.01 The BSC will donate $900 to Cooperation Jackson before the end of each Fiscal Year.

4.02 The BSC will pay $40,000 Shuumi Land Tax to the Sogorea Te Land Trust before the end of each Fiscal Year.

4.03 The BSC will donate at least $2,000 to Friends of Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (ATC) before the end of each Fiscal Year. This donation will sponsor the attendance of two BSC affiliates chosen at discretion of the Member Education Coordinator and the BSC President to attend a delegation to Nicaragua.

a. The criteria used by the Member Education and the BSC President will be:

i. Demonstrated BSC involvement

ii. Commitment to racial, economic, and gender justice as related to environmental justice globally

iii. Demonstrated interest and background in food justice organizing, farmworker organizing, agroecology, or rural development

iv. Demonstrated interest and involvement in strengthening the BSC-ATC relationship

b. The BSC President may authorize funds from other relevant budgets (professional development, member education, etc.) to fund other travel-related accommodations not covered through registration upon request from a recipient. At least one additional Board or Staff member will be chosen by the BSC President to receive sponsorship through relevant budgets if recipients chosen are not Board or Staff members.

c. All BSC affiliates chosen must fill out any applications and receive approval as required by Friends of ATC in order to attend a delegation to Nicaragua.

4.04 The BSC will purchase 40 bags of coffee produced by Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo cooperatives, subject to availability, before the end of each Fiscal Year.

a. 20 bags will be distributed to all houses of the BSC, the Central Office, and the Rochdale/Fenwick Office by the Board of Directors before Finals week each semester in the Academic Year by the Board of Directors. 5 bags will be stored away as individual giveaway prizes

4.05 The BSC will maintain at least 10 investor-owner shares of the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Collective.

4.06. These relationships will be managed by the BSC President, the Executive Director, and the Finance and Accounting Manager.

[Updated 4.03 as per Cabinet approval at Cabinet #4 (2.9.2023)]

[Updated as per board approval at Board #3 (12.1.2022)]

[Last updated 11/2/2015]