6 full lessons
Written in plain language, illustrated, and kept as a reference afterward.
Working skills · owning the work together
Cooperatives and Shared Ownership
Who owns the work: co-ops, one member one vote, patronage, shared gear and boats, and the plain mechanics of a group deciding things together without falling apart.
Six lessons on sharing the load: the specific problems shared ownership solves, the forms compared honestly from a handshake to an incorporated cooperative, how member control and patronage really work, how money enters and leaves a shared entity, the decision rules that keep a group together, and a one-season trial with exit terms written before anyone needs them.
$95 once, or $95 on Driftline. Add $60 and Jules reads and grades one real piece of work, passing at 80 percent. Review is optional. Nothing here is accredited or carries credit.
Take this class
Pay once, and it is yours to come back to. Pick how you want to take it.
On your own
The whole class, the practice work, and the knowledge checks. No pass score, no graded work, no certificate gate.
With Jules reading your work
Everything above, plus one real piece of work, "A shared-ownership structure that could work", that Jules reads and grades against a rubric you can see before you start. You pass at 80 percent, and you can rewrite and send it back as many times as you need. This is optional, and it is not accredited and carries no continuing education credit.
Already taking this class? You can add review later and pay only the $60 difference.
11.5 contact hours
Measured per lesson, with written outcomes, so your time is recorded honestly.
No-pressure checks
Clear answers and explanations, unlimited tries, and nothing sent to a gradebook.
Region aware
Rules are shown by state with the source and the date we checked it.
The complete course
Lesson 1 · 1.5 h
Why Share Anything
- · State the specific problem a shared structure would solve for you
- · Tell apart sharing equipment, sharing marketing, and sharing ownership
- · Describe what each form asks of the people in it
Lesson 2 · 2 h
The Forms, Side by Side
- · Compare informal, contractual, company, and cooperative forms
- · Match a structure to the size of the problem
- · Name what a chosen structure leaves unprotected
Lesson 3 · 2 h
How a Cooperative Actually Works
- · Explain member control and one member one vote
- · Describe patronage-based distribution in plain words
- · Draft membership eligibility and commitments
Lesson 4 · 2 h
Money In and Money Out
- · Describe how members fund a shared entity
- · Explain what happens to surplus at year end
- · Plan for a member joining and a member leaving
Lesson 5 · 2 h
Deciding Things Together
- · Set decision rules and spending authority in writing
- · Run a meeting that produces recorded decisions
- · Handle conflict of interest before it is personal
Lesson 6 · 2 h
Starting Small and Staying Honest
- · Design a one-season trial of a shared arrangement
- · Write exit terms before anyone needs them
- · Identify where to get qualified legal and tax advice
What this course covers where you live
We say plainly how well each part of the country is covered, rather than implying the whole country is written to the same depth.
- West Coast: sourced and ready
- Alaska: partly sourced
- Northeast: partly sourced
- Mid-Atlantic and Southeast: partly sourced
- Gulf: partly sourced
- Great Lakes and inland: partly sourced
- Hawaii and the Pacific islands: partly sourced
Cooperative tax treatment is a specialist area
Cooperatives that meet the requirements are taxed under their own part of the federal tax code, which is how patronage distributions are handled. Read it to understand the shape of the question, then hire someone qualified.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, cooperative tax provisions · checked 2026-09-19There is a long-standing university center for cooperatives
The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives publishes research and plain-language material on how cooperatives are structured, governed, and financed. It is a good place to read before paying anyone.
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives · checked 2026-09-19Worker-ownership groups publish practical guides
The Democracy at Work Institute publishes practical material on shared ownership and worker cooperatives, including governance and startup steps. It is written for people forming something, not for academics.
Democracy at Work Institute · checked 2026-09-19Farm tax basics are published free
The federal farmer's tax guide covers ordinary farm and fishing tax questions in plain terms, which is useful groundwork before a conversation about cooperative treatment.
IRS Publication 225, Farmer's Tax Guide · checked 2026-09-19
If you want Jules to read your work
Everyone gets the same lessons, practice work, and knowledge checks. For $60 more you also get one real assignment that Jules reads and grades. You can see exactly how it is judged before you start, you pass at 80 percent, and you can rewrite and send it back as many times as you need. This is optional, and it is still not accredited and carries no continuing education credit.
The assignment
A shared-ownership structure that could work
Design how a group would actually own and run something together.
Design a shared-ownership structure for a group venture you define. Cover: who the members are and what they put in; how decisions get made and who breaks a tie; how money in and money out is shared; what happens when a member leaves or dies; and how a serious disagreement is resolved. Compare your structure to at least one real cooperative or shared-ownership model you cite. Be clear that legal formation requires an attorney in your state.
How it is graded
Membership and contribution defined · 25 points
It is clear who is in, what they contribute, and what that entitles them to.
Decisions and deadlocks handled · 25 points
The decision rules cover the ordinary case and the deadlock, with a named tiebreaker.
Exit and succession addressed · 25 points
Leaving, dying, and selling are all answered, with the valuation basis stated.
Compared to a real model, with the legal line respected · 25 points
You cite an existing model and you send formation to an attorney rather than drafting law.
100 points in total. You pass at 80. Jules grades what you worked out, not your formatting or your word count.
Where it can take you
Forming an entity is state law and tax law. This course prepares you to have a good conversation with a qualified attorney and accountant in your own state, and it does not replace that conversation.
This course does not carry accreditation, credit, or continuing education units, and completing it does not count toward any outside credential. It is written to the structure a continuing education standard expects, with measured hours, written outcomes, and a completion record you can keep.