Join the Co-operative!
How it works:
Empress Immersive is an Enterprise Co-operative, owned and operated by our members, in service of the goals of our community members, and every co-operative member gets a vote in how we are run.
Co-operatives might look like another other business from the outside, but the way that they are run makes them different.
A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
All Co-operative Businesses are based on the same 7 principles, and share a set of 10 values. The International Cooperative Alliance is the Global Steward of the Statement on the Cooperative Identity, and the Values and Principles of the cooperative movement.
At Empress Immersive, we have multiple types of Stakeholders, and so we offer three types of Co-operative Memberships: Supporter Memberships, User Memberships, and Employee Memberships. These memberships come with different costs and different benefits.
Membership Options
-
Supporter Members are people or businesses who like what we’re doing, and want to add their voice to the ongoing wellbeing of our business and purposes, but may not be users of the services that we provide.
Cost:
£1 One-time joining fee. You will receive a Co-operative Share certificate within 4 weeks of acceptance, which represents your voting rights at member meetings.
Benefits:
Right to vote on issues at quarterly Ordinary General Meetings
Right to vote in Board Member Elections at the Annual General Meeting in January
Right to run for one of 3 Board Member Positions in Annual Elections.
Responsibilities:
Commitment of 2-4 hours of cooperative project work each week, this will be in your own stated area of interest or a “learn by doing” assignment
Encouraged attendance at 5 quarterly meetings each year
Willingness to develop a working knowledge of the cooperative governing articles and the interests of the global immersive industry.
-
User Members are individuals or businesses that actively use our offered services. We anticipate two types of User Members: Immersive Creators and Immersive Audience Members
Cost:
£1 One-time joining fee. You will receive a Co-operative Share certificate within 4 weeks of acceptance, which represents your voting rights at member meetings.
Sliding scale subscription service (need-based economic justice model) ranging from £13 to £52 per quarter.
Benefits:
Discounts on educational programs through the EmpressVR website.
Discounts on exhibitions, events, and immersive productions that we may organize
Right to vote on issues at quarterly Ordinary General Meetings
Right to vote in Board Member Elections at the Annual General Meeting in January
Right to run for one of 3 Board Member Positions in Annual Elections.
Responsibilities:
Commitment of 2-4 hours of cooperative project work each week, this will be in your own stated area of interest or a “learn by doing” assignment
Encouraged attendance at 5 quarterly meetings each year
Willingness to develop a working knowledge of the cooperative governing articles and the interests of the global immersive industry.
-
Employee Members are people who are employed by Empress Immersive to aid with the daily functioning of the Co-operative.
Based on the Cooperative Principle of Voluntary and Open Membership our employees are not required to become Empress Immersive members, but if they do, they will be Employee Members.
Currently, Empress Immersive has no employees. But once we do, this is how it will look.
Cost:
£1 One-time joining fee. You will receive a Co-operative Share certificate within 4 weeks of acceptance, which represents your voting rights at member meetings.
Benefits:
Right to vote on issues at quarterly Ordinary General Meetings
Right to vote in Board Member Elections at the Annual General Meeting in January
Right to run for one of 3 Board Member Positions in Annual Elections.
Responsibilities:
Commitment of 2-4 hours of cooperative project work each week, this will be in your own stated area of interest or a “learn by doing” assignment
Encouraged attendance at 5 quarterly meetings each year
Willingness to develop a working knowledge of the cooperative governing articles and the interests of the global immersive industry.
-
Community membership is always FREE.
Although it doesn’t come with the costs, benefits, or responsibilities of being a Co-op Member, you still get to join our Discord server and/or WhatsApp Community!
FAQs
-
The basic cost of Co-operative Membership for Supporters, Users, and Employees is £1 plus any taxes and transaction fees added.
User Members will pay a sliding scale of between £13-52 (plus taxes/transaction fees) per quarter of membership based on our commitment to an economic justice model.
-
A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
As co-owners of this organization, we have voted that working on areas of the business for 2-4 hours per week is an equitable model of the 3rd Cooperative Principle: Member Economic Participation.
This was voted on at our first Ordinary General Meeting in April 2025, and we also discussed that attending the quarterly meetings would count towards this time commitment. Also, each member has a say in what type of activities they take on for their co-operative participation. If you would like to learn something specific about business ownership, we are happy to create an opportunity for you to learn while you contribute to the organization.
If you are unable to dedicate that amount of time but would still like to join the cooperative, please contact us. We are committed to creating accessibility for everyone despite their individual situations or life pressures and we know that each person can contribute in unique ways.
-
Yes, if the business is a legally registered limited company and is considered its own legal entity.
As a sole trader, you would only be able to join as an individual.
If your company becomes a member, and you, as an individual also becomes a member, you would have two votes: One to vote in alignment with the priorities of your company, and one vote in alignment with your own personal priorities.
We understand that these can be seen as conflicts of interest, and all conflicts of interest will be assessed on an individual basis, to ensure ethical and legal standards. We also know that our community members own businesses and are actively building the Immersive Industry with us, and we are committed to working together to collaboratively build an industry foundation in which we can all economically thrive.
-
Please send us a message here to ask your question, we want to give you everything you need to make an informed choice to join the cooperative or not, depending on what works best for you!
