Member-owner is associated with cooperatives that are democratically run. As a member-owner, not only do you receive benefits of membership, you have an ownership interest in the success of the cooperative.
With financial cooperatives, most commonly credit unions, member-owners is the name given to its membership. As a member-owner, you have a voice within the organization that can impact others in the cooperative.
The philosophy is one member, one vote. This is in contrast to shareholders or “share-owners” of a company whose number of shares dictate the number of votes.