Empowering Collaboration
Developing Cooperative Skills

CAN Tailored Academy

Since 2020, CAN runs a cooperative academy offering training in bylaws development, participatory budgeting, meeting facilitation, consensus building, and more. Whether you’re cooperating with your neighbors, starting a multi-farm co-op, or contributing to the industry-wide initiative to protect the Emerald Triangle from industrial farm consolidation, the CAN Academy provides you with training, resources and mentorship tailored for your needs.

Our most popular modules

  • What are coops?

    This module introduces participants to the concept of cooperatives and cooperation. Participants can start to envision their goals, learn about the 7 principles of cooperation and the different types of coops.

  • Cooperation at Work

    Learn how to share power, co-create and uphold the shared agreements that are the foundation of cooperation. You’ll get trained in understanding group dynamics and establishing rules of communication and decision-making.

  • Meeting Facilitation

    We’ve all been to a bad meeting or two. Effective cooperative decision-making is an art form. In this hands-on session, you practice meeting facilitation and participation with some easy yet powerful tools.

  • Bylaws and Operating Agreements

    In this module, participants learn how to answer key questions, compare legal structures and their fits for the cooperative goals.

  • Finances

    Learn about accounting, preparing a budget according to participatory budgeting methods and ways to find and pursue non-extractive capital.