Community Share Offer
2023-25
Community shares are form of community-led investment in which members can invest directly in their co-operative in the form of purchasing redeemable shares.
Existing members of Dublin Food Co-op can purchase community shares today, and support their co-operative as we transition to a more volunteer-oriented food co-op.
In February 2023, members made the important decision to allow our co-operative to issue 'community shares' for the first time in our history.
Community shares are form of community-led investment in which members can invest directly in their co-operative in the form of purchasing redeemable shares. Community shares represent an innovative and inclusive approach to finance and ownership, enabling individuals to invest in enterprises that have a positive impact on their communities while fostering a sense of belonging and collective responsibility.
Crucially this form of investment allows individual members to invest more than the nominal €1 share in our co-operative without compromising our democratic and egalitarian principle of one member, one vote.
Dublin Food Co-op welcomes investments from members of as little as €50 to as much as €10,000 during this year’s community share offer.
This share offer is open exclusive to existing members and therefore we cannot publish the full share offer document on our publicily available website. Please request the full share offer document and application form below.
Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited is offering an opportunity for existing members to support our new strategic plan by investing in our community share offer.
Our goal is raise €30,000 in 2023 to transition to a volunteer-operated wholefoods co-operative, and we need your help to make this happen. The way our co-operative has been operating from 2018 to 2022 is not working in the current post-pandemic environment. Like many of our members, we are facing challenges such as high inflation, cost-of-living pressures and increased overheads. We’re also facing increased competition from supermarkets and other groceries.
We need to make changes now to keep our co-operative viable into the future. Last year we developed a new strategy, which was endorsed by members in October 2023 and is available in the supporting documents found below.
In implementing our strategy, we are expanding the role of member-volunteers in our co-operative’s operations. This will reduce our overheads while allowing us to provide additional benefits to members, such as higher discounts to more members.
This is a unique ‘Co-operative Advantage’ that we can provide as a co-operative, offering members something they can’t get anywhere else.
A successful implementation of the strategy (which includes this share offer campaign) will lead to a net surplus from 2023 and an improved cash position, which means we won’t need to consider selling one or both of our existing premises.
Community and Social Benefits
By purchasing shares, you are investing in a community that is committed to promoting sustainable food systems and contributing to a socially responsible community business model.
Investing in your co-operative means that you are supporting a not-for-profit social enterprise that is dedicated to serving the needs of its members and the local community.
Your investment will help to ensure that we can continue to provide our existing social benefits, such as:
- A friendly and welcoming community that shares a passion for healthy, sustainable and ethically sourced food
- Opportunities to participate in workshops and community events Broadening access to high-quality, locally-sourced produce at affordable prices
- Promoting the knowledge and the means to reduce our collective environmental impact and promoting ethical business practices in the face of climate change and adaptation.
Financial Benefits
While the co-operative does not have plans to provide any specific financial benefit in return for share subscriptions at present, we will consider this in the future with the consent of members at a General Meeting and subject to the co-operative’s usual rules around decision by consensus.
Supporting Documentation
Please find all the important supporting documentation that you will need to consider applying to purchase community shares. If you require any further information, please us the contact us via email.
Share Offer
Document
This document provides the full context for the offer, explains its purpose and outlines the potential risks associated with purchasing community shares.
Annual Report for 2022
The Annual Report includes the audited financial statements for the year ending 31st December 2022.
Strategy 23-25
This is our strategy to maximise our ‘Cooperative Advantage’ and oriented towards a more volunteer-based co-operative.
Constitution
This is our Rulebook which is the governing document of the Co-op. This sets out the principles and governance of our co-operative.
Share Redemption Policy
This policy sets out the conditions under which the co-operative may redeem community shares in the future.
Interested in supporting your Co-op by purchasing community shares?
Renew your membership
As a member, you are entitled to participate at your Annual General Meeting and elect your Co-ordinating Body members for the next year.
However, you must be a paid up member to participate.
If you haven’t already, please renew before registering for the AGM.