Pioneer Utility Resources//Community Engagement//National Co-op Month Ideas, Toolkits
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National Co-op Month Ideas, Toolkits

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Becky Mashburn

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As a communications co-op, we love helping you celebrate our shared business model.

Every October Pioneer’s storytellers celebrate National Cooperative Month with free resources and ideas. Pioneer members using Pioneer Social get a fresh campaign added to their online library every year. Since co-op love is evergreen, here are campaigns from our archives that we’ve made available for you to download and use or copy to celebrate National Co-op Month at your utility. Some include op-eds and print files. Others are primarily for social.

Pick the tone and ideas that match your story best, then download your free toolkit(s). Have an idea you’d like to help with? Send it to hello@pioneer.coop .

National Co-op Month Campaigns

We’ve got a spread of sweet co-op content to help you celebrate National Co-op Month. Inside the Members Are Our Jam toolkit you’ll find just the right recipe to make your co-op’s story stick and enjoy a fruitful celebration:

  • General Manager/CEO Column
  • Social media graphics and posts
  • Full- and half-page ads
  • Benefits of membership infographic
  • Payment portal graphics (print and digital versions)
  • Campaign artwork, logos

Get the Members Are Our Jam storytelling tools:


Pioneer’s NRECA Spotlight on Excellence award-winning Keep It Cooperative campaign has five core messages:

  1. Co-op. Connect. Succeed.
  2. Innovation Driven by You
  3. Building Connections
  4. Here for Our Members
  5. Locally Grown for Growth

Campaign Includes:

  • Campaign logo/branding
  • Magazine/newsletter story: Keep It Cooperative, 884 words
  • Leadership editorial: Why We Keep It Cooperative, 438 words
  • Full page print ad
  • Half page print ad
  • Flyer for office, community spaces
  • Billstuffer
  • Bill ad images, sample message
  • Social content

Enter your email to get the Keep It Cooperative storytelling tools:


How often do you tell your staff and consumers about the merits of cooperation? We created a print and social media campaign focused on the theme “Explore the Merits of Cooperation.” It’s a chance to tell your cooperative story, starting with the seven co-op principles we all share. The campaign includes both print and digital storytelling tools:

Print (InDesign files provided):

  • Full page ad
  • Half page ad
  • Flyer for the office or community spaces

Social:

  • “Explore the Merits of Cooperation” video, sample post
  • “Driven by members” image, sample post
  • “Committed to Community” image, sample post

Enter your email to get the Explore the Merits of Cooperation campaign:


Put Your Principles Online 

We are big fans of cooperation. HUGE fans. But when we redesigned our website, we left out a critical piece of content: the seven co-op principles. 

Our focus on exploring the merits of cooperation this fall gave our team the chance to see the oversight and not only fix it, but also help tell the story of how we follow these shared principles. Instead of a simple list of principles, we share how Pioneer turns our founding beliefs into everyday actions. Maybe the idea will inspire you, too.

More Co-op Month Resources

  • CoopMonth.coop: Each year all types of co-ops (credit unions, food, housing, electric and more) create a free set of marketing tools to spread co-op love. Themes are updated each summer, and you can download social graphics, a logo and fun facts about cooperatives from the National Cooperative Business Association. #GoCoop .
  • cooperative communicators association logoBuild Your Peer Co-op Network: Curious about other types of cooperatives? We love learning with the Cooperative Communicators Association. From sharing co-op principle education tactics with the Land O’Lakes crew to seeing how credit unions and marketing co-ops increase member engagement, this group of co-op communicators loves sharing ideas and inspiration. Pioneer’s a proud member of CCA. You might want to add it to your budget, too.

More Ways to Celebrate Co-ops:

We love hearing how Utility Pioneers celebrate National Co-op Month. Here are interviews and ideas from your peers. Have an example you’d like to share? Send it to hello@pioneer.coop.

  • Blog
    Consumer Ed, Consumer Education

    Celebrate Co-op Month with a Lil’ Something Sweet

    Are you ready to celebrate National Co-op Month? We've got a jam-packed toolkit filled with sweet content. Twist off the lid to explore the Co-ops Are Our Jam campaign and find the right recipe to make your co-op’s story stick!
    Becky Mashburn
    April 19, 2026
  • Blog
    Community Engagement, Consumer Ed, Consumer Education, Content Planning

    Get Ready for A Year of Cooperation!

    The United Nations kicked off a year of cooperative celebrations last week. Get free resources to add the event to your marketing plan, learn global co-op stories, find ideas to build your co-op culture and use our handy co-op search tools to celebrate cooperatively during the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives!
    Becky Mashburn
    April 19, 2026
  • Blog
    Community Engagement, Consumer Ed, Consumer Education, Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Staff Engagement

    Free Storytelling Tools Help you Keep It Cooperative

    Pumpkin spice is stocked, leaves are turning gold... hellooooooo, fall. Are you ready to celebrate cooperatives? Consider us your cozy co-op sweater, ready to wrap you up in storytelling tools and ideas for October's National Cooperative Month. Download our Keep It Cooperative campaign today!
    Megan McKoy-Noe, CCC
    April 19, 2026
  • Podcasts
    Community Engagement, The StoryConnect Podcast

    Line Life – Giving Students a 40-foot View of Utility Careers

    What You’ll Learn Want more people to apply for lineworker jobs? Show your story to high school seniors! Learn how Community Electric Co-op’s “Day in the Life of a Lineworker” student experience raises awareness of utility career paths and lineworker scholarships every spring. Guest Speaker Jessica Parr Show Notes Transcripts have been lightly edited for […]
    Megan McKoy-Noe, CCC
    April 23, 2026

Related eBooks and Toolkits

  • eBooks and Toolkits

    Ideas for the 2025 International Year of Co-ops