Adopted Pursuant to Board Policy
B.2.3.1.
Revised 02/09/12.
Definition of an Owner
- Owners of a cooperative
- Joining fees and invested capital
- "In good standing"
- Active/inactive status
- Donated capital
- Invested
- Investing
- Group/organization
- Investing capital
- Delinquent status
- Account Closure
Owner Resignation and Capital Refunds
- Resignation requests
- Deceased owners
- Refund guidelines
- Invested/investing owner agreement
- Group/organization agreement
Definition of an
Owner
Because co-op members supply capital and participate democratically,
Wheatsville's members are its owners. Therefore, the terms owner and
member are sometimes used interchangeably at Wheatsville. Ownership
in Wheatsville Co-op commences upon signing an Ownership Agreement
and payment of a joining fee and capital investment as provided in
these guidelines.
A non-refundable joining fee is assessed to all
owners to help cover administrative costs of ownership and is treated
as income to the co-op. Capital contribution requirements established
in this document for Invested Owners are intended to ensure a sound
level of owner investment in Wheatsville and may be changed from time
to time by the board of directors. Invested Owner capital becomes
part of the co-op's equity but it is refundable upon an owner's
resignation from the co-op, provided the total capital remaining is
adequate to meet current and projected needs.
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Owner
Status
To remain "in good standing," an owner must invest the required
capital in a timely manner and continue to provide the co-op with a
current mailing address. Owners who fail to meet these conditions may
be denied owner benefits.
Prior to June 1, 2008, if mail was returned and
the co-op had not received an updated address after two years, the
ownership account was changed from "active" status to "inactive"
status, and any capital associated with the account was considered
donated to Wheatsville as provided in our bylaws and the Ownership
Agreement at that time. Donated capital will revert to the owner's
account without penalty once a current address has been
reestablished.
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Categories
of Ownership
Invested and Investing are the different categories of ownership
available to owners. Wheatsville also has Group Ownerships for
qualifying organizations. All of these categories of ownership convey
ownership rights and responsibilities.
Invested:
- Owner has paid in full a $15 joining fee, and
- Owner has invested, in full, the capital requirement of $55.
Investing:
- Owner has paid in full a $15 joining fee, and
- Owner is investing at least $10/month (minimum amount) toward the capital requirement of $55.
Group/Organization:
- Group has paid in full a $15 joining fee, and
- Group has invested in full a capital investment as determined by Wheatsville's General Manager. This capital investment takes into consideration:
- The history the organization has had with Wheatsville,
- The group's ability to invest,
- The number of people who will realize benefits from ownership, and
- For what purposes the ownership will be used.
- The Ownership Agreement for group/organization owners must specify the capital investment requirement, who will be entitled to benefits of ownership, and a designated individual to represent the group. All Group Ownerships have one vote, which is cast by the Group Representative. To be eligible for a Group Ownership, an entity must be a non-profit organization or organized "on a cooperative basis," as provided in the Texas Business Organizations Code, section 251.151.
All Investing Owners are required to pay a minimum of $10 capital per month until they are fully invested. This process should take no more than six months (a.k.a. investing "in a timely manner"). Upon completion of capital payments, the account will be considered fully Invested.
Failure to invest fully within the allotted
time will result in obtaining a delinquent status, whereupon owner
benefits will be denied until the capital balance is paid in full. At
least once a year beginning with our fiscal year ending May 31, 2009,
the ownership roster of both active and inactive (donated) accounts
will be reviewed for delinquent Investing Owners. Any delinquent
account with a total paid-in amount, including both joining fee and
investment, of less than $70 will be closed and the invested capital
will be refunded to the owner.
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The
Senior Card
In 1995 Wheatsville discontinued the Senior Card, which was
exclusively available to senior citizens over the age of 62. This
arrangement did not supply the co-op with capital or a joining fee,
but its cardholders were eligible to receive most owner benefits.
Although we no longer open new Senior Card accounts, we still honor
those which are still active and in good standing.
Once a year, Wheatsville will review its Senior
Card roster for accounts which have seen no activity within the year.
A correspondence letter requesting the card holder's confirmation of
continued interest in retaining their card privileges will then be
mailed out to those accounts. If a confirmation reply is not received
by Wheatsville, the status of that account will be changed from
active to closed.
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Evidence
of Ownership
Each ownership account is assigned an Owner Card that is used to
store the owner's contact information and patronage history. It is
the owner's responsibility to present their card when shopping at the
co-op and some situations may require that owners show their state ID
to verify their eligibility for certain benefits. Ownerships are not
transferable.
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Owner
Benefits
Benefits of Wheatsville Co-op's owners include, but are not limited
to:
Voting
All owners are entitled to one democratic vote in co-op elections,
which are held at least once a year, and are strongly encouraged to
become informed and to participate in the voting process.
Group/organization accounts get one vote, cast by the Group
Representative.
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Patronage
Rebates
The Internal Revenue Code provides a special opportunity for
member-owned cooperatives to reduce their taxable income by declaring
a patronage dividend, or rebate, allocating a portion of the owners'
purchases back to them at the end of the year. This potentially
benefits both the individual owners and the co-op as a whole. Each
year the board of directors determines whether a rebate is
appropriate and, if so, the amount of the patronage allocation.
Typically, 20% of the total allocation is paid out to fully Invested
Owners based on their patronage during the fiscal year and 80% of the
allocation is retained by the co-op as additional equity. The
retained portion is allocated to individual owner accounts in the
proportion their patronage bears to the total qualifying patronage.
This retained patronage equity will remain on the books until the
co-op is dissolved as an organization or until such time as the board
of directors may decide to distribute all or part of it back to the
owner accountholders or otherwise allocate it in accordance with
legal procedures. Rebates are generally restricted to fully Invested
Owners in good standing who have sufficient patronage to justify the
expense of distributing their portion. Additionally, patronage
rebates may only be picked up and redeemed upon presentation of a
photo ID by the payee listed on the rebate.
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Invested and Investing Owners sharing a household may request to accumulate patronage under one account. A Household Affiliation agreement must be signed by all parties involved and will designate one of the individual owners to be listed as payee on the patronage voucher if one is issued. This affiliation may be cancelled at any time upon request by one or more members of the household or if the household members cease to reside at the same address.
In March, 2009, all pre-existing "Household Accounts" were divided into separate individual ownerships and linked with a Household Affiliation. Any patronage vouchers issued will be made out to the individual who was listed as the primary account holder at the time the accounts were separated.
Owner
Responsibilities
Ownership of Wheatsville carries certain responsibilities. Owners who
choose to use the services of Wheatsville must accept these
responsibilities in order to maintain a prosperous cooperative. To
remain in good standing, all owners must invest in a timely manner
and maintain a current address. Other owner responsibilities include,
but are not limited to the following:
Owner
Resignation and Capital Refunds
A resignation will be granted to any owner who completes a
resignation request. The owner's account will be closed and any
refundable capital will be returned to the owner at the address
provided with the request, according to the guidelines set forth
below. Upon request with proper documentation such as letters
testamentary, Wheatsville will close the account of a deceased owner
and refund the capital investment to the legal representative of the
estate.
Refund Guidelines
- Refund requests must be submitted in writing and must specify the name of the person making the request and the address to which the refund should be sent.
- Refunds will normally be mailed within thirty days after the written request is received.
- Board policy B.2.8.2 provides that no capital refund request by any member shall be paid out if it would cause the total paid-in member capital and donated capital to fall below an amount considered adequate to capitalize Wheatsville's current and projected needs, currently $400,000.
- If refund requests are received that cannot be honored because they would cause total capital to fall below the designated minimum, they will be logged and paid in the order the requests were received, as new owner capital is paid in to replace the capital being paid out.
- Policy B.2,8 will not be interpreted to prevent the refund of excess capital (i.e., amounts paid on individual accounts in excess of the full investment requirement for those accounts), upon receipt of a proper refund request.
These refund guidelines do not apply to
retained owner patronage, which may continue to be held as owner
equity, subject to the same treatment as retained allocations to all
other owner patrons, even after the ownership account is closed.
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Invested/Investing Owner Agreement:
- I agree to pay the joining fee and capital requirement in full, or make timely capital payments.
- I have the right to vote in co-op elections. I will respect the rights and opinions of other owners. I agree to abide by all decisions made in accordance with the bylaws, certificate of formation, and board policy.
- I understand that co-op policies, including those concerning owner investments and refunds, are subject to change by the board of directors and/or the vote of the ownership.
- I will stay informed and if I fail to keep the co-op informed of my current address, I may become ineligible to receive owner benefits, including patronage rebates.
- I understand that while equity investments are generally refundable, the board retains the right to withhold refunds when necessary to protect the co-op's financial viability.
- My capital balance due is $_________, which is to be paid in installments of $10 or more per month.
Group/Organization Agreement:
- We agree to pay the joining fee and capital requirement in full.
- We are entitled to one democratic vote in co-op elections. We will respect the rights and opinions of other owners. We agree to abide by all decisions made in accordance with the bylaws, certificate of formation, and board policy.
- We understand that co-op policies, including those concerning owner investments and refunds, are subject to change by the board of directors and/or the vote of the ownership.
- We will stay informed and if we fail to keep the co-op informed of our current address, we may become ineligible to receive owner benefits, including patronage rebates.
- We understand that while equity investments are generally refundable, the board retains the right to withhold refunds when necessary to protect the co-op's financial viability.