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

[Updated Fall 2022 at Board #3 (12.2.2023)]

III.C.2. NATIONAL CO-OP BANK

2.01 We have a contract with the National Coop Bank to provide technical assistance to other coops. The Bank would fund on a case-by-case basis. We have the ability to refuse to provide assistance.

III.C.3. CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE FEDERATION

3.01 The BSC shall join the California Cooperative Federation, paying the $100 annual fee.

III.C.4. VISITING CO-OPERS

4.01 Co-opers from other NASCO 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.

[Last updated 11/2/2015]