north american students of cooperation type cooperative federation founded 1968 1968 headquarters chicago united states members housing cooperatives website nasco.coop the north american students of cooperation nasco is a federation of housing cooperatives in canada and the united states started in 1968 . traditionally nasco has been associated with student housing cooperatives though non student cooperatives are included in its network . nasco provides its member cooperatives with operational assistance 1 encourages the development of new cooperatives 2 and serves as an advocate for cooperatives to government universities and communities . 3 nasco teaches leadership skills provides information and serves as a central link in facilitating the fruition of the cooperative vision for students and youth . contents 1 programs and services 1.1 linking and networking activities 1.2 training and consulting 1.3 co op voices 1.4 regional activity 1.5 the nasco cooperative education and training institute 1.6 action camp 1.7 development services 1.8 kagawa fund 1.9 property ownership and asset management services 2 see also 3 references 4 external links programs and services edit linking and networking activities edit nasco acts as the organized voice of the group equity cooperative housing movement both in terms of bringing together student and community co op activists 4 and in maintaining relationships with national cooperative organizations including the national cooperative business association and the cooperative housing federation of canada . training and consulting edit nasco works with its members and the general public on a variety of more extensive training and consulting activities . the nasco staff visits active member groups at least once every two years providing free consultation and training on a variety of topics as a member service . nasco holds numerous workshops with topics including meeting process board roles and responsibilities planning staff relations marketing diversity awareness conflict resolution facilitation consensus decision making and organizational development for new cooperatives . recent consulting efforts have included general manager evaluation assistance business plan development and expansion assistance . other on site consulting has included work on governance systems accounting systems maintenance planning member recruitment and participation strategies . co op voices edit nasco s co op voices newsletter features reports on activity among cooperatives in canada and the united states . it reports on nasco s activities and provides updates on co operative news . the newsletter articles are written by and for co op members . regional activity edit nasco supports and assists to varying degrees regional networking and training opportunities for co op members and staff . in the midwest on the west coast in ontario in minneapolis st. paul and in the northeast co ops meet annually for workshops and social events where they can discuss issues pertinent to their co ops . the nasco cooperative education and training institute edit nasco holds an annual conference nasco institute which is usually held in ann arbor michigan and hosted by the inter cooperative council at the university of michigan . this is a multiday conference most of which is spent in workshops skillshares and caucuses . the courses cover topics of interest to participants in the cooperative movement and progressivism in general . there is typically a guest speaker and an annual theme . action camp edit the action camp held each august provides an intensive training environment for leaders and active members of housing co ops worker collectives and other democratically run communities . participants spend one week in a beautiful natural environment engaging in a week long program on privilege and anti oppression work and interactive fun using techniques from augusto boal s theater of the oppressed . development services edit special organizing and training resources are made available to groups interested in starting or expanding cooperatives . nasco development services provides an array of development services including assistance in pre development activities financial assistance and start up assistance . kagawa fund edit in 1989 a 50 000 donation from the japanese consumer cooperative union was used to seed the kagawa fund for student cooperative development . the kagawa fund named for toyohiko kagawa provides loans and technical assistance to new and existing housing cooperatives . the fund is administered by the cooperative development foundation and nasco development services . property ownership and asset management services edit in 1988 nasco properties was established as an affiliate of nasco to purchase and hold title to housing around the united states which is then leased to local co ops . its first property was the house of commons a 21 bedroom student house in austin texas . it acquired the title from an ailing student housing co op icc austin with the purpose of keeping the building in the affordable cooperative housing sector . icc austin bought the house back from nasco properties in 2003 . nasco manages nasco properties and through it provides assistance to the local leasing co ops . staff members visit each leasing co op at least three times per year to help with finances maintenance and other problems or issues that may arise . in 2004 a second title holding organization was created between nasco and riverton community housing called lots in common linc . nasco entered into asset management contracts for davis campus cooperatives in 2006 . nasco partnered housing cooperatives include chea austin texas couch champaign urbana il kalamazoo collective housing kalamazoo michigan nickel city buffalo new york qumbya chicago il santa cruz student housing co ops sc shc santa cruz california student cooperative organization sco athens ohio see also edit co operative living arrangements list of nasco member cooperatives campus cooperative development corporation aka nasco development services lots in common a joint venture with the riverton community housing cooperative development organization in minneapolis minnesota davis campus cooperatives conjoined with nasco properties list of condominiums and housing cooperatives in new york references edit neville anne . cooperative adventures . buffalo news . 13 march 2007 . brown emma . cheaper by the dozen . globe . 2 aug. 2008 . boone rebecca . college co op living wanes . associated press . 30 april 2007 . clark kim . abandoning pricey dorms for cheap co op housing . u.s. news & world report . 6 sept. 2007 . external links edit official website intentional communities directory retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title north american students of cooperation & oldid 722103932 categories cooperative federationsstudent housing cooperativesstudent housing cooperatives in the united states 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