Become an Affiliate

COCO, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that serves coalitions and collaboratives. It was started by the Coalition for the Upper South Platte in 2014 as a way of increasing on-the-ground, stakeholder-driven conservation.

What is a COCO Affiliate?

COCO defines an affiliate as an organization that has entered into an agreement to collaboratively work with COCO. These organizations respond to our world’s largest environmental problems. By learning and sharing together, we can implement the best practices within the conservation field. COCO affiliates collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders to effect landscape level changes to benefit our environment, economy, and communities.

Our Definitions

For our purposes, coalitions and collaboratives are stakeholder-driven organizations that include stakeholder representatives from government entities, other nonprofit organizations, and the public.

  • We define coalitions as formal 501(c)3 organizations, and collaboratives as informal organizations.
  • A collaborative may be a stepping stone to a coalition; it may be a short-term informal organization that lives only for the time of a specific project or program, or it may remain in existence for years but not feel compelled to become a formal nonprofit corporation.

Affiliate Requirements

To become COCO affiliate the organization shall commit to the following tenets of collaborative conservation and the principles:

  1. It must be highly accountable, transparent, and ethical.
  2. It must be inclusive (for example, not just made up of government entities, though government entities must be directly invested; various nongovernmental stakeholders must also be represented).
  3. It must be driven by strong consensus.
  4. It must work on a watershed, ecosystem or landscape basis.
  5. It must employ best-available science and adaptive management.
  6. It must work for people and the planet within its selected area.
  7. It must engage and educate citizens in issues.
  8. It must not be, in its own right, a strong advocacy group, though stakeholders within a coalition or collaborative may be strong advocates through their respective positions and the groups they represent in a coalition or collaboration. When it does engage in advocacy, it must be based on a strong consensus with input from all stakeholders.

Benefits of Becoming an Affiliate

  • Access to COCO’s  resources
  • Networking – Participation in an extensive network of practitioners and experts and invitations to participate in National, State and local Learning Networks
  • Funding – Affiliates are eligible for funding and grants, travel and training reimbursements.
  • Recognition – Increased visibility of your organization’s work – you will be highlighted on our webpage, your stories shared on our blog posts and other social media platforms
  • Technology – Access to COCO developed technology solutions and services, such as Mobile Mapping and staff timekeeping programs.

want to know more?

We focus on building relationships and increasing capacity of organizations working on community and landscape level conservation efforts. Entities we support must work with a broad stakeholder base that includes local community leaders, NGOs, fire departments and government agencies. As we grow, we will work to continually identify potential affiliates and partners that work within our areas of interest.

COCO does not accept unsolicited requests or proposals.

We strive to maintain open and clear communication with potential affiliates. If you have any questions about our process please contact us. If you believe your organization fits with our mission and our requirements, please fill out our affiliate inquiry form.