FAQ's
What makes you different from membership with other childbirth organizations?
We are a shared services co-op. Each educator becomes a part-owner of Informed Beginnings.
We are each independent contractors providing services to our students; by working together, we strengthen our own businesses. Informed Beginnings is our shared business and we each have the opportunity to make it successful.
What is a shared services cooperative?
A shared services co-op is established by a group of independent businesses for the benefit of the members. Members "buy in" to become part of the co-op. This requires a one-time fee (that is returned to you upon your retirement/departure from the cooperative). These fees, along with the annual dues and other income streams, are used to run the cooperative. The National Cooperative Business Association has a good description of purchasing and shared services co-ops.
Do I have to be a member before I become certified by Informed Beginnings?
Yes.
How do I become a member?
A $100 payment makes you a member and part-owner of the cooperative. (A member can be an individual or a unit of two related persons who teach together — for example, a wife and husband, or a mother and daughter.)
What are the benefits of being a member?
We are a warm, supportive community of like-minded childbirth professionals who you will interact with through the mentoring program, webinars, in-person trainings and meetings, and on the online forums.
Our forums are active meeting places in which we share documents, links, and conversation about topics related to our business. These include exercise, nutrition, health and wellness, labor, complications, procedures and interventions, postpartum, newborns, breastfeeding, and many more. (There are forums just for new educators, for educators who are also doulas, and for those looking for promotional or teaching tips and ideas. There are also forums for teams working on curriculum, research, training, and other projects that help Informed Beginnings grow!)
Co-op members also vote on Board members, and have ratification voting rights on major decisions by the organization.
In the future, members will also receive financial dividends.
How do you process dividends?
Once the cooperative is generating extra income (besides operating expenses and necessary cash reserves), any profit will be returned to members as "patronage dividends." These will come to you as credits on your account.
If you have any other questions that have not been answered in this FAQ, please contact us.
We are a shared services co-op. Each educator becomes a part-owner of Informed Beginnings.
We are each independent contractors providing services to our students; by working together, we strengthen our own businesses. Informed Beginnings is our shared business and we each have the opportunity to make it successful.
What is a shared services cooperative?
A shared services co-op is established by a group of independent businesses for the benefit of the members. Members "buy in" to become part of the co-op. This requires a one-time fee (that is returned to you upon your retirement/departure from the cooperative). These fees, along with the annual dues and other income streams, are used to run the cooperative. The National Cooperative Business Association has a good description of purchasing and shared services co-ops.
Do I have to be a member before I become certified by Informed Beginnings?
Yes.
How do I become a member?
A $100 payment makes you a member and part-owner of the cooperative. (A member can be an individual or a unit of two related persons who teach together — for example, a wife and husband, or a mother and daughter.)
What are the benefits of being a member?
We are a warm, supportive community of like-minded childbirth professionals who you will interact with through the mentoring program, webinars, in-person trainings and meetings, and on the online forums.
Our forums are active meeting places in which we share documents, links, and conversation about topics related to our business. These include exercise, nutrition, health and wellness, labor, complications, procedures and interventions, postpartum, newborns, breastfeeding, and many more. (There are forums just for new educators, for educators who are also doulas, and for those looking for promotional or teaching tips and ideas. There are also forums for teams working on curriculum, research, training, and other projects that help Informed Beginnings grow!)
Co-op members also vote on Board members, and have ratification voting rights on major decisions by the organization.
In the future, members will also receive financial dividends.
How do you process dividends?
Once the cooperative is generating extra income (besides operating expenses and necessary cash reserves), any profit will be returned to members as "patronage dividends." These will come to you as credits on your account.
If you have any other questions that have not been answered in this FAQ, please contact us.
