185.03 General powers. Unless otherwise provided by its articles, a cooperative may:

(1) Exist perpetually.

(2) Sue and be sued.

(3) Have a seal.

(4) Make contracts, incur liabilities and borrow money; issue certificates representing indebtedness, or representing equity interests in its assets; acquire property; dispose of, mortgage, pledge, lease or otherwise use in any manner any of its property, or any interest therein, wherever situated.

(5) Invest its funds, lend money for its purposes, and hold any property as security for repayment.

(6) Conduct its business and affairs and have offices and exercise its powers in the United States or in any foreign country.

(7) Elect officers and appoint agents, define their duties and fix their compensation.

(8) Make and alter bylaws, consistent with its articles and the laws of this state, for the administration and regulation of its affairs.

(9) Make donations for charitable, scientific, educational or religious purposes.

(10) Effect the forfeiture to the cooperative of unclaimed funds, including all forms of distributions or credits under s. 185.45 (2) (b) and (c), (3) (a) and (b) and (4) (b) and unclaimed stock, membership fees and deposits, if all of the following conditions are met:

(a) No earlier than 3 years and no later than 5 years after the funds are first made available to their owners, the board declares the funds forfeited to the cooperative unless claimed by the date specified in par. (b).

(b) After the declaration under par. (a), the cooperative gives notice that states that the funds shall be forfeited if not claimed by a specified date.

(c) The date specified in the notice under par. (b) is a business day at least 60 days after the date of mailing of the notice.

(d) The notice under par. (b) is mailed to the last-known address of each owner, and the name and address of each owner to whom notice is mailed or an Internet site address where this information is posted, together with a brief description of the reason for the notice, is published as a class 1 notice under ch. 985 on or before the date of mailing in a newspaper published in the municipality containing the service area of the cooperative.

(e) The cooperative dedicates any funds remaining unclaimed after the date specified in par. (b) to educational purposes, limited to providing scholarships or loans to students, or to charitable purposes, as the board determines, within one year after the date the funds are declared forfeited under par. (a).

(11) Cease its activities and surrender its franchise.

(12) Exercise all powers necessary or convenient to effect its purposes.

History: 1985 a. 30, 332; 2015 a. 117; 2017 a. 76.