Organizational Membership

NRECA CEO Glenn English endorses NCBA Membership Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association encourages NRECA's members to join NCBA. Find out why! Read his letter.

The National Cooperative Business Association welcomes rural electric cooperatives, generation and transmission systems, and statewide rural electric associations to join.

Fill in the online membership form today.

Benefits of NCBA Membership for Rural Electric Cooperatives

NCBA aggressively advances the cause of cooperative business 365 days a year. It is in the forefront of efforts to avoid reclassification of co-op member equity as debt, to oppose plans to eliminate the co-op exclusion from the Federal Trade Commission's franchise sale disclosure rules, and to fight plans to alter the basic definition of a cooperative at the state level. NCBA also aggressively counters any threat to the tax status of cooperatives and is leading the fight against conversion of co-ops to investor-owned businesses. It is also spearheading efforts to fund a new cooperative business research capacity at a major university and to establish a new source of equity capital for co-ops. Being an NCBA member means being part of something bigger than just your electric cooperative network, while supporting and benefiting from all these vitally important efforts. Additional member benefits include:

• Multiple Subscriptions to Award Winning Cooperative Business Journal—The CBJ covers issues that are critical to the entire cooperative community such as governance, marketing, legislative and regulatory affairs. All members also receive a monthly email newsletter, E-Link, with the late breaking news and other important information.



• Membership in the Cooperative Finance and Tax Council—The CF&TC monitors finance, legal and tax issues that affect all cooperatives. It advocates on behalf of all cooperatives before the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and other regulatory entities. NRECA is an important member of the Council's Steering Committee. Your CFO or tax or legal advisor is welcome to participate with this group of cooperative finance and tax experts. Given the unique tax structure of cooperatives, this is an extremely important benefit.



• Coordinated Legislative Outreach and Advocacy—One of the seven cooperative principles is cooperation among cooperatives and this is a critical component if you are going to be successful in the arena of legislative advocacy. NCBA staff works very closely with government affairs specialists of NRECA and other national co-op associations to protect and enhance the cooperative form of business.



• .coop—Cooperative members of NCBA automatically qualify for their .coop domains and receive personalized service from NCBA staff for any .coop questions.



• Network Opportunities—You will have access to specialized Listservs for co-ops as well as the Members Only section of NCBA's web site. Your membership entitles you to discounts on the various conferences, meetings, forums and online opportunities that NCBA sponsors, providing the opportunity to network and share critical information with your cooperative colleagues.



• Expanding Business Opportunities—Through networking with other cooperative sectors you can develop new business contacts to expand your market or membership. Learn about the economic development programs of other cooperatives in your region and opportunities to partner with them to expand real growth in load.



• Unlimited Access to "Member Only" Cooperative Surveys—For example, NCBA along with NRECA, Credit Union National Association, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, and other national co-op associations recently released the Survey on the Governance Practices of Cooperative Boards. This survey provides valuable information that allows you to compare and contrast your governance structure with those of other cooperatives.



• Research and Statistics on Cooperatives and Assistance with Cooperative Development are additional benefits that NCBA members can access as a tool to increase their business opportunities.

For more information call Adam Schwartz at (202) 383-5456 or e-mail him at aschwartz@ncba.coop.