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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Rochdale Principles. (Discuss)

The first of the Rochdale Principles states that Co-operative societies must have an open and voluntary membership. According to the International Co-operative Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity, "Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination."^[1]

To discriminate socially is to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit. Examples of social discrimination include racial, religious, sexual, sexual orientation, disability, and ethnic discrimination. To fulfill the first Rochdale Principle, a Co-operative society should not prevent anyone willing to participate from doing so on any of these grounds.

However, this does not prohibit the co-operative from setting ground rules for membership, such as residing in a specific geographic area or payment of a membership fee to join, so long as all persons meeting such criteria are able to participate if they so choose.

Given the voluntary nature of Co-operatives, it requires a motivation to encourage people to participate. Each person's motivations will be unique, and will vary from one co-operative to another, but will often be a combination of the following:

Financial - Some co-operatives are able to provide members with financial benefits.

Quality of life – serving the community through a co-operative because doing service makes ones own life better - is perhaps the most significant motivation for volunteering. It is often mixed with a good dose of altruism. Included here would be the benefits people get from being with other people, staying active, and above all having a sense of the value of ourselves in society that may not be as clear in other areas of life.

Giving Back – many people have in some way benefited from the work of a co-operative, or more generally, and volunteer to give back.

Altruism – volunteering for the benefit of others. Most people argue that there are no purely altruistic volunteers – altruism is a common motivation but never the only motivation for sustained commitment to serve – there is always some aspect of personal gain or satisfaction

A sense of duty – some see participation in community as a responsibility that comes with citizenship – in this case they may not describe themselves as volunteers

Career Experience - Volunteering offers experiences that can add to career prospects.

1. ^ http://www.ica.coop/coop/principles.html

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