Co-operatives (or "co-ops") are organizations owned by their members who use their services or purchase their products. Co-ops can provide virtually any product or service, and can be either non-profit or for-profit enterprises. The co-operative sector keeps dollars circulating within the local economy, provides secure employment and is a means to revitalize and sustain healthy communities.

As its name implies, a co-operative is people coming together to meet a common need. Possessing a high degree of collective entrepreneurship, the co-op model is inherently ethical in its treatment of its members, employees, suppliers and the environment. Co-ops serve a range of sectors, including housing, food, worker, agriculture, service, financial, youth, aboriginal and community.

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According to the classical definition of a co-operative as set out by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), a co-operative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise." The symbol of the co-operative movement is the Rainbow Flag, a symbol used by many organizations and countries throughout the world.

A co-operative is actually a form of business enterprise that can be used as a corporate vehicle—much like a stock company—in all sectors of the economy. The co-operative model uses its unique form of business enterprise to accomplish social and policy ends. As such, co-operatives and the co-operative model are optimal for the delivery of service in the social economy.

Co-operatives face similar problems to traditional investor-driven firms: concentration, globalization, organizational and technical change, and the changing needs of clients. However, co-operatives also face particular challenges due to their specific nature as democratically controlled organizations providing equitable economic benefits to their members. To be successful, co-operatives must be competitive while maintaining their special nature as businesses that are user-driven, democratically owned and managed by their members.

Success is not only defined as profitability, but by other yardsticks as well—such as the improved wellbeing of the members and the communities where they live (often called the triple bottom line). The key organizational distinction between a co-operative enterprise and other corporate structures is democratic participation through a "one-member, one-vote" process. In a traded company, shareholders are entitled to as many votes as they hold shares. Each member of a co-op is entitled to one vote regardless of level of investment. No single member can take control of a co-operative. Decisions are made by the majority, on the theory that communities and memberships ultimately know what is best for them.

Co-ops are responsible to their own members. The members determine how the co-op will be run, elect the Board of Directors and allocate the profits of the co-operative among its member-owners.

The co-op model can be employed to provide virtually any product or service.