A Co-op of Co-ops In the South Puget Sound

CoSound

 

CoSound is a Co-op of Co-ops in the South Puget Sound Region, and operates with a mission to promote local and emerging cooperatives, support efforts to partner and network with other cooperatives in the region, and to engage the general community in learning about and benefiting from the cooperative business model.

 

Welcome to CoSound!

Co-ops are everywhere in the South Puget Sound Region, and to boot, co-ops of every stripe!  Did you know that Olympia Washington alone is home to 15 cooperatives, including but not limited to- a worker-owned bakery, a worker-owned bookstore, a caregiver-owned home care agency, and a construction co-op.  Across the region preschool co-ops, grocery co-ops, credit unions and more continue to form and bring wealth to their local economy, equity to their local workforce, and quality services to the people who need them.

 

CoSound is a Co-op of Co-ops in the South Puget Sound Region, and operates with a mission to promote local and emerging cooperatives, support efforts to partner and network with other cooperatives in the region, and to engage the general community in learning about and benefiting from the cooperative business model.  

 

Under the auspices of the Northwest Cooperative Development Center, CoSound was initially founded by Olympia Food Co-op, Capital Homecare Co-op, Burial Grounds Coffee Collective, Orca Books Co-op and Business Services Co-op in fall of 2018.  For several years CoSound hosted the annual Co-opatopia! event in Olympia, a networking and marketing event for all co-ops that took place during Olympia’s famous Procession of the Species parade. In Spring of 2020, CoSound facilitated emergency supports and mutual aid for co-ops in the region.   

 

CoSound officially opened its doors in the Spring of 2023.  Modeling the cooperative principle “Co-ops support other Co-ops”, CoSound’s focus is to represent the voice of the local cooperative community, to nurture and support their success and growth, and to assist the community in accessing services that not only benefit them, but benefit their local economy. 

Our membership drive is open and & ongoing

We are seeking new co-ops to join the team!

Member benefits for each cooperative will include:

  • Group Marketing at Reduced Rates and Ongoing Promotion for your Co-op
  • Co-op Mutual Aid, Support and Skill Sharing
  • Events and Networking Opportunities for Cooperators
  • Continuing Education Opportunities for All Co-op Members

A few of our members

Olympia Food Co-op – East and West Olympia, WA
Olympia Food Co-op was the initial parent organization and founding member of CoSound Cooperatives.  They have remained a proud and active member of the CoSound steering committee.   Olympia Food Co-op began as a tiny storefront in downtown Olympia in winter of 1977. Located at 121 Columbia Street, near the corner of 4th Ave., the storefront was the natural outgrowth of the strong network of food buying clubs in the area. The founding group remodeled the inside of the space themselves, with the help of community volunteers and lots of recycled materials. For reasons that remained shrouded in mystery for this historian, the “Food” in “Olympia Food Co-op” was originally an acronym that stood for “Fourteen Ounce Okie Dokie”, hence the Fourteen Ounce Okie Dokie News.  Now, well over a decade later, both stores are thriving.  They’ve developed their own unique characteristics and loyal shoppers.
  

 

 

Burial Grounds Coffee Collective – Olympia, WA
Burial Grounds Coffee Collective jumped on the CoSound train right after they got started post-pandemic in Spring 2022. Burial Grounds Coffee Collective is a worker-owned cafe, community space, and coffee roaster in Olympia, Washington. Their doors first opened on Washington Street in 2010, and they re-opened as a collective at our current location in early 2020. Shortly thereafter, they started roasting our own coffee. Their mission is to provide a welcoming environment to anyone who walks through our doors. Their core collective values include sustainability, accessibility, mutual respect, and nourishment. They strive to provide a safer space for those looking to read, study, work, meet, gather, and play. Or, simply sit back and enjoy a locally made snack or handcrafted beverage, be it classic cafe fare or something one of a kind (and spooky!) from our special menus.Our space features an expansive library of both books and zines to read, and games to play while you hang out. We also host a variety of both weekly and one-off events in our space.

Capital Homecare Cooperative – Olympia, WA
Capital Homecare Cooperative was excited to jump on the Cosound Bandwagon and joined the founding steering committee when they opened in 2018. Capital Homecare Cooperative opened it’s doors as the third home care cooperative on March 2nd, 2018 in Olympia Washington. A women led and lgbtqai-friendly business from the beginning, CHC has pioneered employee empowerment in their community while providing exceptional, person-centered care. Lead by caregivers, CHC has offered around 33% in wage increases annually to their caregivers, notably provided financial support to workers during the Covid19 crisis in 2020-2022, and seen caregivers do incredible work of the business including studying and updating bylaws, creating annual budgets, assisting with marketing and public outreach, becoming certified trainers, and more. They continue to grow and thrive with the support of their community, and to set a standard in quality care.

Orca Books Cooperative – Olympia, WA
Orca Books joined the CoSound Steering Committee early in Spring of 2022. The decision to form a cooperative was made in early 2019. After almost 3 decades of running a successful bookstore…Linda and her staff decided that the best course of action was to transform into a member-owned cooperative, so that the store could remain open and continue serving the needs of the Olympia bookworm community. So… as of 4/1/20 Orca became Orca Books Cooperative, right in the middle of the Pandemic! By July they had moved from their old location next to City Hall to our new location near Rainy Day Records. They opened our doors at the new space on October 1, 2020. They offer Curbside Delivery for our online/phone orders and are open for browsing.