Have you been searching endlessly (and fruitlessly) for a socially responsible investing opportunity? Look no further! Stock in Coteau Community Market has a direct and immediate impact on your community:
- Local business owned by local members
- Local food purchased from local producers
- Producers are paid fair prices for their products
- Fair wages for employees
- More money stays in the local economy
- Farming practices regenerate, improve, and sustain the soil and ecosystem
- No synthetic chemicals are used (herbicides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.)
- Fields aren't tiled and drained
- No confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
- No genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
A co-op is the original crowdfunded enterprise. Think Kickstarter and Indiegogo came up with the idea of people investing their own money directly into a local project that big investors won't touch because it's "not worth their time" or won't make mega profits? Wrong! Co-op members have been pooling their money together for centuries to accomplish together what they couldn't do on their own. And instead of getting a movie or a gadget, we'll get a market, one that will work hard to source as many local foods from local producers as possible.
We do need to raise a lot of money to open the market. (That's one of the top questions asked: when is the market going to open? The answer is: when we've raised the money!) So how are we going to do that?
A co-op has a limited number of ways to directly raise funds:
1) Memberships
We deliberately chose to make our membership equity fairly low. We did this because it allows more people to participate as members by making the membership affordable, removing barriers to participation. Because healthy food should be accessible to all.
2) Stock
Members can purchase any number of stock shares in one hundred dollar ($100) increments. Once the market is sustainable and making a profit, the board of directors will declare stock dividends (and patronage refunds). The amount received in dividends will be set by the board each time dividends are declared, but cannot exceed eight percent (8%) by state and federal law.
3) Member loans
Unlike co-op stock, co-op member loans are not mentioned or detailed in the South Dakota Cooperative Association Act (SDCL chapters 47-15 to 47-20), under which the market is incorporated, so the board went the easier route and chose to make stock available, which is detailed in state law.
4) Grants
Because the market is not a nonprofit, many community and organizational grants are not available to us, so this is a limited resource.
5) Bank loans
This is a method of last resort, as bank loans cost significantly more than member equity, whether it be membership or stocks.
Your investment is needed to make the market a reality.
Please note:
- You must be a member of Coteau Community Market to purchase stock.
- Stock may only be purchased by members who are residents of South Dakota or to member businesses or organizations that are headquartered here.
- Stock may not be redeemed or sold back for five years, to give the market time to reach a point where it's stable and sustainble.
Are you interested in purchasing stock to help the market become a reality? Please send an email and we'll send you the disclosure and stock purchase agreement.
This stock offering is being made pursuant to the exemptions from federal registration contained in Rules 147 (17 CFR §230.147) and 147A (17 CFR §230.147A) and Section 3(a)(11) (15 U.S. Code §77c) of the Securities Act of 1933, and the registration exemption afforded by the South Dakota Uniform Securities Act of 2002 [SDCL §47-31B-201(8)].