Co-op Membership has changed

Since the publication of this article Co-op membership has changed – we are giving even more back to your community. Every time you buy selected Co-op branded products and services money goes to you and your community too. Find out more about Co-op Membership or download the app now.

432 words, approx 2 mins to read.

We’re looking for local causes in your community to join our Local Community Fund, which helps pay for local community projects that our members care about.

Since our Membership scheme launched in September 2016, we’ve given £40,000,000 to over 16,000 local causes across the UK.

What we’re looking for

To be accepted you must have a specific project in mind that will benefit your local community. A key change to funding criteria is that we’re looking to support projects that do one of the following:

• Help a local community come together to save, build or improve indoor or outdoor spaces
• Supports mental or physical wellbeing activities
• Help people reach their full potential by developing their skills

Our Community Wellbeing Index has helped us to identify these three key areas, which we know through talking to our members, people care about the most.

If you know a local cause who may benefit from this, please let them know by sharing this post with them. If you represent a local cause, you can apply here.

We select new causes every 12 months and you can find out more about the kinds of causes we accept in our terms and conditions.

How it works

We give 1% of what members spend on Co-op branded food products in our stores and selected services, as well as money raised from sales of carrier bags in our stores, to local projects.

Members can sign in to see the causes their local Co-op is supporting and choose which one they want their own money to go to. If you’ve not chosen a cause yet then simply sign in to your Membership account.

So just by buying a pint of milk from one of our stores, you could help make things better in your community.

5% of what members spend on selected products goes into their Membership account as credit.

April Armstrong
Community Giving Manager

Read more on how we’re building stronger communities at our Co-op;

• Co-op is looking for more Member Pioneer, just like me
• Giving young lads a chance with new skills
• Co-op’s local community fund has helped us bring together socially isolated residents