A cooperative is a non-profit form of enterprise, organized and controlled by people working together to accomplish something they could not do individually. 

Cooperative businesses are special because they are owned by the consumers they serve and because they are guided by a set of seven principles that reflect the best interests of those consumers. 

More than 100 million people are members of 47,000 U.S. cooperatives, enabling consumers to secure a wide array of goods and services, such as health care, insurance, housing, food, heating fuel, hardware, credit unions, child care or utility service.