Building on top of the Cooperative Principles that all co-ops abide by, the Davis Food Co-op decided to create an Ends Statement which is a statement about the purpose of an organization, why it exists (rather than what it does) and how it does things. Ends statements are about the benefit or results of an organization’s work, who the beneficiaries are, and what it’s worth to produce those benefits.

The DFC Ends Statement identifies its purpose and shows how they will accomplish that purpose through four key characteristics. We will be exploring all four characteristics in individual blogs with this being the first of the four. The Ends statement is as follows:

The Davis Food Co-op exists to serve as a community store and gathering place for current and future owners, so they have:
A thriving cooperatively owned business,
Access to healthful, local and high-quality food,
A store that makes environmental sustainability a priority and,
Staff who are valued, educated and motivated.

As we explored in our blogs about the Cooperative Principles, Ownership is a key part of cooperatively owned businesses as it is ultimately the Owners that dictate the direction of the business and their needs are always the number one priority. The Davis Food Co-op has made its purpose to revolve around the idea that it is both a store and gathering place for the community of Davis. It is available and exists both for current Owners and those in the community who have yet to invest in the Co-op. As the first goal states, we do this so that the aforementioned community can have a thriving cooperatively owned business.

So why is it important to have a thriving cooperatively owned business? Well, similarly to what we discussed in the third cooperative principle, a thriving co-op ultimately benefits those same Owners who invest and shop at the Co-op. Greater product selection, more resources for worthy community causes, events, store upgrades, discounts and patronage refunds are some of the most important results of a thriving business. However, it should be noted that the goal is not just to be a thriving business from a financial perspective, but a thriving cooperatively owned business that also succeeds in remaining true to the cooperative principles.