In its concern to listen to its members and meet their needs, the Federation toured the Maritimes last June 7 to 11 to visit members as well as non-members of the network.
During this tour, we were able to meet with the seven cooperatives in PEI, as well as two in Nova Scotia. At most of the meetings we were able to meet with the directors and also visit the physical facilities.
The tour continued with the objectives of meeting our Maritimes members, confirming their satisfaction and determining whether any new bulk buying was possible. Generally speaking the member cooperatives are very satisfied with the FCFQ's services. They are also delighted with bulk casket buying, which has allowed them to upgrade the quality of their caskets as well as realize substantial savings.
Next, wewanted to meet with the cooperatives that were not yet members, to fully explain to them the FCFQ's services and the benefits of joining. To that end we met with four non-member cooperatives. The meetings were very interesting, and we have hopes of at least one more membership application.
In the meantime, we will continue to work on the possible bulk buying of certain funeral supplies, to the benefit of all members.
2012: The International Year of Cooperatives
Did you know that the United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives, in tribute to the contribution made by cooperatives to poverty reduction, job generation and social integration?
In Canada, there are over 152,000 persons working in 8,400 cooperatives. The Co-peratives Secretariat mentions on its website that nonfinancial co-ops do nearly $27.7 billion per year in business. At least seven cooperatives enjoy the coveted position of being among the top 500 companies in Canada.
We must not overlook the exceptional contribution made by the 70,000 members who serve on cooperative boards of directors as volunteers. Their management skills and leadership are an important part of the success of this management model.
FCFQ
September 2020