At the first annual Minnesota Cooperative Summit, we:

• Celebrated the International Year of Cooperatives

• Learned about the power and versatility of the cooperative model

• Engaged in Minnesota’s rich history of cooperation to do better together

• Gained inspiration from creative co-op success stories

Co-ops have the power to build a better world that includes everyone. Co-ops have been and will continue to be key for economic development in our state, from succession planning to incorporating marginalized groups to solving challenges that cannot be done alone.

“The Minnesota Cooperative Summit made clear that cooperatives are built for this moment, shaped by decades of experimentation and innovation, and fortified by struggle, opportunity, and hard-earned wisdom. The Summit didn’t just talk about co-ops as an idea; it showed them in action across sectors, communities, and generations. By grounding challenges like care, housing, energy, and succession in real, place-based experience, it moved beyond awareness and into relationship and possibility. These weren’t abstract conversations. They were rooted in shared problem-solving and practical insight, creating space for genuine connection and collaboration. It felt less like a conference and more like a collective reckoning with what our communities need right now. It was also a reminder that while the models themselves are powerful, it is cross-sector collaboration that tends our root system, allowing a shared ownership economy to evolve and scale strategically and sustainably.” - MN Co-op Summit Speaker & Participant