The membership of the GCCA has discussed in past meetings the possibilities in obtaining not-for-profit status as a separate legal and financial entity. Clearly, there are no immediate plans to obtain such status, but the fact of the opening of discussions is important because it is likely to see them continue.
At this time, discussions are more about opening dialogue among the GCCA membership at large and learning about what not-for-profit status means and what benefits it can bring. Another concern under discussion in meetings is about the place of the GCCA in the Guilford community and the community's impressions and perceptions about the GCCA now that the issue of not-for-profit discussions has come to light in the Guilfordian and in Senate meetings.
Cooperative literature obtained from the US Department of Agriculture suggests difficulties for cooperatives to achieve their goals if they seek not-for-profit status. This is because cooperatives work for the benefit of the members, who cannot profit from not-for-profit organizations. This has been addressed for further discussion via the Yahoo! Groups email list thegcca, described further in CP7.