Patron membership interest

A patron membership interest is a membership interest requiring the holder to conduct patronage business for or with the cooperative, as the cooperative specifies, in order to receive financial rights or distributions.

Statutory definition#

This is a term defined by statute. Section 308B.005, subdivision 23, defines it for purposes of chapter 308B ^{P1, subd. 23}. Our paraphrase is above; the statute's own words control and are in § 308B.005.

Patron membership interests collectively have a default floor of 60 percent of financial rights to profit allocations and distributions. A floor as low as 15 percent requires authorization in the original articles as filed, or adoption or amendment of articles or bylaws by an affirmative vote of patron members § 308B.601, subd. 3 ^P1. These are rights, not the separate annual-flow measures in § 308B.721: that section generally requires at least 50 percent of annual profits and distributions for the patron collective, with separately stated authorization routes for a 15-percent floor. See Raise member equity and capital.