Members of the Co-op College have today (13 May) voted to dissolve the charity, marking the end of an era for co-operative education in the UK.
The resolution, presented at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) online, means the century-old institution will wind up this autumn.
“Over the past 107 years, we’ve educated generations of co-operators, and as such, we know that the College holds much affection and nostalgia for our movement, and for good reason,” said Chris Jardine, Co-op College chair.
“But nostalgia alone doesn’t educate a movement. We haven’t always been a charitable incorporated organisation, and we haven’t always been a digital organisation either. We have always adapted as a college to best serve the needs of the of co-operative education. And what our special resolution proposes is our latest adaptation.”
Following the EGM, the College board intends to transfer remaining funds to the Co-op Foundation, subject to approval from the Foundation’s trustees, which would use the funds to set up, administer and make grants that support education and co-operation.
“Our board believes that by winding up and transferring our grant giving work into the Foundation, we can most efficiently support the future of co-operative education, pulling on their expertise and connections within the movement, as well as, we hope, the buy-in of societies and the wider movement,” said Jardine.
Louise Snelders, head of funding and partnerships at the Co-op Foundation, spoke about how discussions with the College had focused on “ensuring a continuation of a hugely impactful legacy”.
“We have explored how the Co-op Foundation can facilitate a shift for the College from a delivery organisation to a grant-giving charity, ensuring any legacy funds are stewarded in a way that’s impactful, credible and aligned with our shared co-operative values,” she said.
The Foundation, which describes itself as “delivering co-operative, young people-centred grant making and campaigning, has projected 2026 income of 3.3m (of which 2.3m is unrestricted).
Related: Cataloguing the legacy of the UK’s Co-op College
Snelders added: “All conversations we’ve had with the Co-operative College have reinforced our belief that there’s a really strong, natural alignment between the Foundation’s mission and the College’s charitable objects, which is about promoting education consistent with cooperative principles.
“The College brings an educational vision and priorities; anchors the work in co-operative history, values and legitimacy; and engages its members in shaping priorities. What we bring to the table is our grant-making expertise, governance, endowment, management and assurance, while we also support the participatory design and evaluation.
“We feel that together, this creates a partnership where the College’s legacy is activated and not just preserved.”
Alongside the financial transfer to the Foundation, the organisation will leave a “learning legacy”, said College CEO, Jacqui Thomasen.
She described how this legacy comprises four separate strands, including free online learning delivered in partnership with the Open University and working with the Case Centre to get co-operators onto the curriculum in higher education through developing co-operative case studies.
It has also been working with the Association for Citizenship Teaching to get a line item on co-operatives in the programme of study for the citizenship curriculum, while the current Seeds of Change project run by the Co-operative Heritage Trust is documenting and digitising the College archive.
“Seeds of Change will enable the College collection, both learning resources, historical documents and items that document the college itself, to be available to the general public in the future, for academics, co-operators and students,” she said.
The College has 102 individual members and 13 organisational members, with 29 attendees joining the meeting.
Delegates shared concerns that the College’s legacy of youth, adult, and overseas education be acknowledged in the grant design process, with others raising the question of what will happen to the non-financial assets of the College, including the intellectual property, brand, name and the domains – although it was widely agreed that the non-financial assets need to remain in trust within the movement, in a way yet to be determined.
Members voted 22 for and one against the resolution, with two abstentions, meaning it passed with the required 75% majority.
The Co-operative College will close its doors on 31 October 2026.
