Board Election

Join us in welcoming newly elected board members to our cooperative (see sidebar). Thank you to all our candidates for running and to all our members who took the time to vote in this year’s election.

Ballot Questions

This year’s ballot had two questions, one to add “community development” to our purpose and another to clarify the criteria to be a board member.

In question 1 to clarify being a board member, our membership voted to clarify that all board members must be a member, board member, or employee of the co-op they are endorsed by in their nomination.

In question 2 asked to add community development to our purpose and add to our standing in receiving support from Community Development Financial Institution status. Membership voted to approve this addition.

What does our board look like?

Shared Capital has an eleven-member Board of Directors elected by the members of Shared Capital. Ten of the seats represent Shared Capital’s cooperative members and one seat represents Shared Capital’s individual members (Interested in joining? Go here). All seats have three-year terms and seats are “staggered” so that three or four seats are up for election per year. Because our individual class has one seat on the board, they are only asked to participate every three years when that seat is up for election.

How do our elections work?

Shared Capital is a cooperative and holds democratic elections for its board using a one-member, one-vote process. We hold competitive elections which are held electronically to maximize the opportunity to participate. The quorum required for a successful election is 10%.

We are always invested in having conversations with potential nominees. Nominees must be endorsed by a cooperative that is a member in good standing. We seek a board with skills and experience in a variety of realms including cooperative governance, finance, lending, investing, law, marketing, member engagement, cooperative development, CDFIs, and all cooperative sectors. Most importantly we are looking for people who are committed to our mission and our work and able to participate fully on the board and at least one committee.