Olympia declares 2025 the Year of Cooperatives 

The Olympia City Council unanimously proclaimed 2025 as the Year of Cooperatives, recognizing the vital role cooperatives play in fostering a resilient and inclusive local economy. 

The proclamation, approved during the city council's special meeting on Monday, Aug. 4, aligns with the United Nations global designation of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. It recognizes the cooperative model as a tool for sustainable development, inclusive economic growth and social empowerment, especially for women, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and communities of color.  

"Cooperatives offer a valuable model for business succession, allowing employees and community members to assume ownership and management, thereby preserving business viability, local jobs, and community values during periods of transition," the proclamation states.  

The proclamation points to research showing cooperatives retain workers longer than traditional businesses due to their provision of higher wages, more flexible working hours, better benefits, and greater responsiveness to employee needs and the evolving workplace. It notes the role of co-ops in supporting business succession and preserving local jobs during ownership transition.  

Among Olympia's successful cooperative stories is the Blue Heron Bakery, which transitioned to worker and community ownership with support from the City of Olympia and the Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC). 

Since converting to a cco-op, the long-established business has grown significantly — adding nearly 25% more jobs and increasing its sales by 36%, demonstrating how cooperative conversions can both preserve and expand local employment.  

According to John A. McNamara, NWCDC Co-Director, Olympia is a hub for cooperative enterprise.  

"A lot of people, when they talk about co-ops nationally, they talk about Minneapolis, St Paul, Madison, Wisconsin or New York City, or the San Francisco Bay Area communities," McNamara said.

"Olympia holds its weight with all of those communities. In terms of sheer number, almost a dozen credit unions are serving this community of 52,000 people or so, and the number of worker co-ops and consumer co-ops in almost every sector is amazing." 

He added that Evergreen State College offers the only certificate in cooperative development in the entire country, further solidifying Olympia's unique role in advancing cooperative education and innovation.  

Through the proclamation, the city council also acknowledged the continued work of local organizations, like NWCDC and South Sound Cooperatives (CoSound), which provide technical assistance, education and leadership within Olympia's growing cooperative ecosystem.  

This marks the first time the city has made a proclamation recognizing the importance of cooperatives in Olympia.