Georgia Cooperative Development Center
Your one-stop library for shared ownership education, support and inspiration.
The Georgia Cooperative Development Center (GCDC) provides accessible, practical learning resources for communities, entrepreneurs, business owners, students, cooperators, and movement leaders across the state.
This Resource Library is a living collection of:
A cooperative, sometimes called a co-op, is a organization (often a business) that is owned by those who use it. People come together to meet common needs or goals that they may not be able to meet if they were working independently. The international cooperative community has accepted 7 cooperative principles and 6 cooperative values that form the foundation of all organizations that describe themselves as cooperatives.
Learn the values and principles that guide cooperative businesses around the world.
A simple, accessible overview of shared ownership models — worker co-ops, producer co-ops, consumer co-ops, shared services co-ops, employee ownership, and hybrid models.
Browse our growing collection of tools designed to support cooperative and shared ownership development in Georgia.
Good For:
Beginners, small business owners, grassroots groups, youth teams, educators, and city partners.
Step-by-step cooperative start-up guide
Good For:
Emerging co-ops, small groups exploring formation, project teams.
Governance & board leadership tools
Good For:
Existing co-ops, boards, managers, member-owners, community organizations
Good For:
Small businesses, collectives, business districts, affinity groups, entrepreneurial networks.
Good For:
Small business owners, succession planners, economic development partners, chambers of
commerce.
Good For:
All co-ops and small businesses, especially those needing affordable digital support.
Learn from the experiences of co-ops, shared services initiatives, producer groups, worker-owned startups, and employee-owned transitions across Georgia.
These stories highlight what cooperative success looks like—from the ground up.
Types of Stories Featured: