MEC Shares

Like many member-owned co-operatives, to shop at MEC you must purchase a membership share. This is because MEC is a democratic organization, owned by its members. Your share is pooled with those of all other members and used to help run your Co-op.

An MEC share:

• Has a par value of $5
• Represents part-ownership in MEC. (Each share must be held in only one person's or organization's name.)
• Includes each member in any patronage dividend declared.

MEC has two types of shares:

• Subscription Shares You purchase one subscription share when you join MEC.
• Patronage Shares MEC's earnings belong to its members, so MEC returns them. They are held in the form of patronage shares after a patronage return is declared.

Patronage Shares

Because MEC does not exist to produce profits, its gross earnings at the end of the year (surplus) are called "earnings before patronage return." It's the amount left over after paying suppliers, employees, and other operating costs.

Each year, the Board declares a patronage return – a total portion of earnings to be returned to the membership. The total is divided between individual members based on how much money each member spent at the Co-op over that year. Each member's portion of the return is called a patronage dividend and is allocated to the member as a quantity of shares (each worth $5). Every member has an account that shows the value of patronage shares held in their name.

View your account from 2001 onward: Credit Notes

The Board determines the financing needs of the Co-op. In the years when the Co-op's financial affairs are sound and the organization is adequately funded, the Co-op buys back patronage shares from its members' patronage accounts. We return the money to members and in the form of a share redemption.

Read more about earnings and share redemptions