Fifty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty

This past year, I was challenged to think differently about one of the most significant issues facing our sector: awareness.

It consistently ranks at the top of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives’ annual issues survey. But the more time I spent with it, the more I realized this was not simply about people not knowing who co-ops are.

It was about people not seeing themselves in us.

That distinction matters. Awareness without relevance does not lead to engagement. Visibility without belonging does not create momentum. And repeating the same story, in the same places, to the same audiences was no longer moving the needle.

That realization stayed with me. It crystallized into a question that would shape the year that followed:

What if we told the co-op story differently?

What if we made it impossible to ignore?

From Question to Collective Action

It became clear that moving from question to action would require more than conviction. It would require our provincial sector to step forward together.

That moment came with the launch of the Legacy Builders Program.

Legacy Builders did not step in to support a finished plan. They stepped in at the point of uncertainty. Their support enabled us to test a different approach, invest in new voices, and take the co-op story beyond its traditional spaces.

Their funding made Business Not As Usual possible.

It enabled the Co-op Connection Tour.

It strengthened the Alberta Co-operative Conference as a place for shared leadership and sector-wide momentum.

This work progressed not because the outcome was guaranteed, but because the sector chose to support the effort.

Legacy Builders supported a risk.

They backed an untested approach that intentionally differed from the story that has been traditionally told. They invested not because success was assured, but because the question was worth asking.

That distinction matters.

What 2025 Confirmed

Once we changed how we told the story, the response was immediate.

Through the Co-op Connection Tour, we held six in-person stops across Alberta, with two more scheduled. In classrooms, community spaces, and local gathering places, we had real conversations about what co-ops are, how they work, and why they matter now.

Business Not As Usual reminded us that collaboration still works.

It showed that when co-ops unite around a shared message, we are stronger.

And it confirmed something many of us suspected, but rarely had the opportunity to test at scale.

• The next generation is not disinterested.

• They are waiting to be invited.

• They want work that aligns with their values.

• They want businesses that reflect their communities.

• They want ownership that means something.

That is precisely what co-ops offer. Too often, that story has gone untold.

And the story is continuing.

This work also extends to the 2025 Alberta Co-operative Conference, guided by the theme "Next Is Now: Together, We Build." The conference builds on the same idea at the heart of this year’s efforts: value is created when we come together, share leadership, and invest collectively in the future of the co-operative sector.

When the Numbers Finally Appeared

Between September 1 and October 17, through in-person conversations and digital engagement, we reached 55,650 people.

That figure reflects more than virtual touchpoints. It includes classroom conversations, tour stops, events, website visits, and social engagement. These were people who experienced the co-op story firsthand and in meaningful ways.

What makes that number even more striking is how quickly it happened. This level of engagement was reached in just six weeks, underscoring the demand for this conversation.

55,650 is a number that matters.

It tells us that when people see themselves reflected in the co-op story, they pay attention. It confirms that the challenge was never a lack of interest. It was a lack of invitation.

Those fifty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty people represent curiosity sparked, assumptions challenged, and a door opened that had been closed for too long.

Legacy Builders and Collective Permission

Leadership, in this case, was not about having a plan. It was about creating enough permission to try something different, together.

That permission did not come from certainty. It came from shared belief. From a sector willing to stand behind an idea before the outcome was known, and to support experimentation rather than wait for proof.

This is what the Legacy Builders made possible.

It created the conditions for collaboration, for risk-taking, and for new voices to be centred. It allowed the work to move forward, not because success was guaranteed, but because the effort aligned with shared values and long-term goals.

Just as importantly, it was carried by co-operative associations, educators, speakers, creators, and participants across the country who chose to engage, contribute, and act rather than wait for permission or perfect certainty.

Legacy Builders are not sponsors of individual activities. They are builders of long-term capacity for the co-operative sector.

What Comes Next

Awareness is only the beginning.

The real work is sustaining momentum and turning curiosity into confidence, and confidence into participation. Through the Co-op Connection Tour, the Legacy Builders Program, the Alberta Co-operative Conference, and the continued evolution of Business Not As Usual, we are building the capacity to sustain this work.

The effort is not about a single campaign or a single moment. It is about building awareness, confidence, and capacity for co-ops to grow and thrive in Alberta and beyond.

The conversations we have started are not ending here. They are the foundation for what comes next.

Because co-ops have never been just about doing business differently.

They have always been about building the future, together.

Next is now. And together, we build.