Colorado Limited Cooperative Association · C.R.S. § 7-58
co-op.care is not owned by investors. It is owned by the people who work in it and the families who use it. Here is how that ownership actually works — the mechanics, the math, and the documents.
Three member classes
The cooperative has three classes of members. Each earns ownership differently. All share one vote — no matter how much equity they hold.
Worker Members
W-2 employees of the cooperative. Equity accumulates automatically through the hours they work — not through a purchase. The more you contribute, the larger your share of the cooperative's success.
Home caregivers, care coordinators, operations staff.
Community Members
Families enrolled in the care network. $59/month or $599/year. They elect a board seat and vote at every Annual Meeting — because the people receiving care should have a voice in how it's delivered.
Families with aging parents. Individuals planning ahead.
Founding Contributor Members
Early contributors who built the cooperative's foundation — physicians, technologists, community organizers, advisors. Equity is earned through documented contributions, not by writing a check.
Clinicians, developers, governance advisors, organizers.
Worker Members
Caregiver equity is not a benefit you apply for. It accumulates automatically through the patronage allocation — your share of the cooperative's annual surplus, calculated in proportion to your labor hours.
A worked example: Suppose the cooperative ends the year with $60,000 in distributable surplus. Ten caregivers worked a combined 12,000 hours. You worked 1,500 of them — 12.5% of the total. Your allocation is $7,500.
The 70% retained in your Capital Account is real equity — it belongs to you and grows each year. At seven years, the oldest tranche is redeemed in cash by the cooperative. If the cooperative is ever sold or dissolved, your account is paid out. This is how Mondragon workers own the $12B cooperative their parents built.
Vesting schedule
Community Members
Community Members are the families who use the cooperative. They elect one of the five board seats and vote at Annual Meetings on matters that affect how care is delivered.
Member · $59/mo or $599/yr
Care network access, CareOS platform, ComfortCard, board vote, Annual Meeting participation.
Founding Member · $499/yr (3-year lock)
Same rights as Member. Price locked for three years. Recognized as part of the cooperative's founding community.
Community Members also earn care credits each year — a patronage benefit applied as a reduction to the following year's membership fee (up to 10%), when the cooperative has surplus to distribute. Care credits are not cash; they are a cooperative return on your patronage.
Every Community Member has exactly one vote. A family that has been a member for ten years has the same vote as a family that joined last month. That is not a policy we might revisit — it is written into the Operating Agreement as a constitutional provision that requires unanimous member consent to change.
Founding Contributor Members · 20 spots
The Founding Contributor Member class exists because the people who built co-op.care — before there were families, before there were caregivers, before there was revenue — deserve a stake in what they created. That stake is earned through contribution, not purchased with a check.
Your contributions are logged, valued at standard rates, and approved by the board. Once you reach $10,000 in recognized value, you are issued a unit. You can earn up to three units (1.5%).
Contribution types and valuation rates
| Type | Examples | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Direct care labor | Caregiving, coordination, supervision | $28/hr |
| Clinical & medical | Physician oversight, LMN review, protocol development | $200/hr |
| Technical development | CareOS platform, software engineering, data architecture | $125/hr |
| Community organizing | Member recruitment, outreach, events | $50/hr |
| Governance | Board service, bylaw drafting, committee work | $75/hr |
| Professional advisory | Legal, financial, HR, regulatory | $150/hr |
| In-kind | Equipment, software, office space | Fair market value |
Founding Contributors earn a 3% preferred return annually on their recognized contribution value — declared at board discretion, non-cumulative. Total distributions are capped at 3× the contribution value per unit. This is not a financial investment; it is a cooperative equity stake with appropriate cooperative-scale returns.
Not one dollar, one vote. Not one shift, one vote. One member, one vote — regardless of equity held, tenure, or plan tier. This provision is constitutionally protected in the Operating Agreement and requires unanimous member consent to change.
Board of Directors
The board is elected by the three member classes. Workers hold the majority — not because it is aspirational, but because it is structural.
The seven cooperative principles · ICA
Every provision of the Operating Agreement is written to be consistent with the Seven Cooperative Principles of the International Cooperative Alliance. If a provision conflicts, the principles win.
The governing documents
These are not summaries. They are the documents that govern how the cooperative operates, who owns what, and what rights every member holds.
The Operating Agreement and Member Contribution Agreement are in attorney review. Documents will be linked here in their executed form once signed. If you are considering joining as a Founding Contributor Member, contact us directly and we will share the current draft.
Whether you want to care for a neighbor, have a parent who needs support, or helped build this from the beginning — there is a place for you here.