Forming a Journalism Cooperative in Pennsylvania

You should familiarize yourself with four chapters of the Consolidated Statutes of Pennsylvania: Title 15, Chapter 71, which is Pennsylvania's Cooperative Corporation Law of 1988 and governs cooperative corporations generally; Chapter 5, which relates to corporations; Chapter 1, which relates to general provisions; and Chapter 77, which governs workers' cooperative corporations. You may also wish to familiarize yourself with our pages on forming a corporation in Pennsylvania.

Under Chapter 71, a cooperative can be formed in Pennsylvania by "setting forth in its articles a common bond of membership among its shareholders or members by reason of occupation, residence or otherwise."As you will see below, the Pennsylvania formation laws for a for-profit cooperative and a nonprofit cooperative are largely parallel to the Pennsylvania laws governing the formation of for-profit corporations and nonprofit corporations. Therefore you may follow the Pennsylvania corporation formation laws except in areas where the law differentiates between the formation of a corporation and cooperative, which are detailed below.

Although Chapter 71 governs cooperative formation generally, it may also be possible to form a journalism cooperative under Pennsylvania law as a worker cooperative. See 15 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 77. A worker cooperative is a cooperative that is formed, owned, and controlled by the business' workers, with its membership entirely comprised of those workers. Under 15 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 7703, Pennsylvania permits the formation of a workers' cooperative by "five or more farmers, mechanics, laborers or other persons who have incorporated themselves together . . . for the purpose of carrying on agricultural . . . or commercial business; for the purpose of manufacturing, . . . merchandise, chattels, . . . ." It is possible that the product of a journalism organization might be considered a "commercial business." Because the cooperative law is complex, you may with to seek the assistance of an attorney if you decide to form a workers' journalism cooperative in Pennsylvania.

On this page, you will find general information about (1) choosing a name for the cooperative; (2) recruiting directors and officers for your cooperative; (3) structuring your cooperative; (4) preparing the articles of incorporation and bylaws for your cooperative; (5) advertising for your cooperative; (6) registering in the state of Pennsylvania; (7) holding an organization meeting; (8) registering as an employer with the IRS and the State of Pennsylvania; (9) tax information; and (10) maintenance requirements.

1. Choose a name for the cooperative and check for availability

• Please see our section on choosing and checking the availability of a name for your business, as well as our section on the trademark law aspects of choosing a name.
• Your cooperative's name must contain the term "cooperative" or an abbreviation of cooperative and a corporation cannot use the term "cooperative" unless it is a cooperative corporation. See 15 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 7103.
• For more information on how to choose a name for your for-profit cooperative, see our page on How to Form a Corporation in Pennsylvania.
• For more information on how to choose a name for your nonprofit cooperative, see our page on How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation in Pennsylvania.

2. Recruit and/or appoint directors and officers for your cooperative.

• For information on how to recruit and/or appoint directors and officers for your for-profit cooperative, see our page on How to Form a Corporation in Pennsylvania.
• For information on how to recruit and/or appoint directors and officers for your nonprofit cooperative, see our page on How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation in Pennsylvania.

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