Madison Community Cooperative
Encyclopedia
Madison Community Cooperative, or MCC, is an umbrella organization composed of 11 housing cooperative
s in Madison
, Wisconsin
with around 200 residents and food co-opers. MCC is a member of North American Students of Cooperation
(NASCO) as well as the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
(NCDF).. The majority of the cooperative houses are located near the UW Madison campus.
Many of MCC's houses have vegan or vegetarian meals and restrictions on the types of food purchased with community money.
(NASCO) conference, on December 10, 1968, eight representatives of Madison co-ops incorporated the Madison Association of Student Cooperatives (MASC). In 1971, MASC changed its name to Madison Community Cooperative (MCC).
Beginning in 1997, MCC tailored its articles, bylaws and mission away from one to provide services to tenants interested in co-op life to one "to improve the Madison community by providing low cost, not-for-profit cooperative housing for very low to moderate income people and to be inclusive of underrepresented and marginalized groups of the community."
The membership of MCC voted to sue the City of Madison
for property tax exemption at a General Meeting on March 9, 1997. Property tax exemption in Wisconsin is available only to not-for-profit serves that are benevolent. The City Attorney had denied exemption to MCC by arguing that MCC was not benevolent but primarily served students who, if poor, were voluntarily and temporarily poor.
Attorney David Sparer tried the case on behalf of MCC. MCC members testified in Dane County Circuit Court that non-students, including people of color, older people, parents and poor residents, were increasingly joining the MCC membership.
When authorizing the suit, the membership conditioned the lawsuit on any "budgetary savings MCC realizes from a successful resolution of our case will not be used to reduce house payments across the board by more than 3% in any fiscal year" and that "the line-item in the MCC Budget that allocates money to property taxes be changed from a fixed line to a variable one, to keep open the possibility of MCC maintaining some level of funding to city services."
After settling the case with the City of Madison, MCC surveys all the members income status and annually provides the City of Madison with the income ranges of its tenant-members.
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
s in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
with around 200 residents and food co-opers. MCC is a member of North American Students of Cooperation
North American Students of Cooperation
The North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
(NASCO) as well as the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
The Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund is a cooperative development fund based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NCDF acts as a financial intermediary, obtaining deposits and investments from cooperative enterprises and their supporters and providing loans and other assistance to cooperative...
(NCDF).. The majority of the cooperative houses are located near the UW Madison campus.
Many of MCC's houses have vegan or vegetarian meals and restrictions on the types of food purchased with community money.
History
Inspired by a North American Students of CooperationNorth American Students of Cooperation
The North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
(NASCO) conference, on December 10, 1968, eight representatives of Madison co-ops incorporated the Madison Association of Student Cooperatives (MASC). In 1971, MASC changed its name to Madison Community Cooperative (MCC).
Beginning in 1997, MCC tailored its articles, bylaws and mission away from one to provide services to tenants interested in co-op life to one "to improve the Madison community by providing low cost, not-for-profit cooperative housing for very low to moderate income people and to be inclusive of underrepresented and marginalized groups of the community."
The membership of MCC voted to sue the City of Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
for property tax exemption at a General Meeting on March 9, 1997. Property tax exemption in Wisconsin is available only to not-for-profit serves that are benevolent. The City Attorney had denied exemption to MCC by arguing that MCC was not benevolent but primarily served students who, if poor, were voluntarily and temporarily poor.
Attorney David Sparer tried the case on behalf of MCC. MCC members testified in Dane County Circuit Court that non-students, including people of color, older people, parents and poor residents, were increasingly joining the MCC membership.
When authorizing the suit, the membership conditioned the lawsuit on any "budgetary savings MCC realizes from a successful resolution of our case will not be used to reduce house payments across the board by more than 3% in any fiscal year" and that "the line-item in the MCC Budget that allocates money to property taxes be changed from a fixed line to a variable one, to keep open the possibility of MCC maintaining some level of funding to city services."
After settling the case with the City of Madison, MCC surveys all the members income status and annually provides the City of Madison with the income ranges of its tenant-members.
Houses
- Ambrosia Co-op (formerly Assata and before that Martha's Co-op)
- Audre Lorde Co-op (formerly Emma Goldman Co-op)
- Avalon Co-op (formerly Womyn's Co-op)
- Friends' Co-op
- Hypatia Co-op
- International Co-op
- Lothlórien Co-op
- Ofek Shalom Co-op
- Sofia Co-op (formerly Orton Co-op)
- Syntropy Co-op
- The Phoenix Co-op (formerly Le Chateau Co-op)
See also
- North American Students of CooperationNorth American Students of CooperationThe North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
(NASCO) - Northcountry Cooperative Development FundNorthcountry Cooperative Development FundThe Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund is a cooperative development fund based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NCDF acts as a financial intermediary, obtaining deposits and investments from cooperative enterprises and their supporters and providing loans and other assistance to cooperative...
(NCDF)
External links
- Madison Community Cooperative official site
- Madison Community Cooperative (MCC) at Online Communities Directory
- "Housing Co-ops Not Limited To Students" Wisconsin State Journal article about MCC's houses