Economic Justice and Community Resilience through Mutual Aid Networks
This Mutual Aid Network is a cooperative with four key mechanisms: time banks, price-based mutual credit, cooperative savings and lending, and cooperative ownership.
A New Sign Language Interpreting Co-op
"We know of a deaf man who was in hospital for 21 days without any interpreting support. Global agencies often provide poor sign language services in favour of profit," explains Jen Smith on why SignCo.io platform co‑op was created.
"There have been cases where unqualified sign language interpreters have been used – like someone speaking holiday French."
A Bookkeeping Cooperative is Hiring!
ABC currently has 6 members and 2 contractors. We are worker-owned and collectively managed, meaning we all run the business and share in the surpluses or losses together. We are looking for potential members who want to provide supportive, values-based financial services to clients and contribute to our growing cooperative workplace.
New Kind of Cooperative Fights Against Speculative Development
As director of the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC), Noni Session is building a movement of co-op residents, black and indigenous businesses and cultural organizations, general contractors, accountants — and also some like-minded investors.
“When I’m talking to people who may or may not invest in our work, our co-op’s highest interest is to build a supporter and a follower, not just someone who puts capital in our pot,” Session says.
How Beeswax and Rope Can Save Your Company’s Soul
Over the course of Equal Exchange’s 33-year history, we’ve witnessed a constant stream of mission-driven businesses create waves in their industry, get big, and then … sell out to a faceless corporate behemoth — a Greek tragedy in three acts. Sometimes the early investors demand it. More often, the founders, or whoever happen to hold the keys to the place at that moment, are given an offer they can’t refuse: take the piles of cash or get crushed by their cutthroat competitors.
A Legendary Farmer that Lives on a Commune
Pam Dawling of Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, VA. She ran a 3.5-acre vegetable farm to feed her 100 member intentional community for 20 years. She is also an accomplished author. Learn about the amazing farm and community in this video.
Equal Exchange to Buy City Feed, Create Worker-Owned Co-op
A proposed deal would transfer City Feed and Supply's alcohol license to Equal Exchange, which would also purchase both locations of the popular neighborhood market.
Your Gift Guide for People Who Want to Change the World
It can be hard to find the perfect gift for people who care about changing the world. Whether you’re looking for a gift that is ethically made, or is about making the world a better place, we’ve got you covered. People who believe in social change and social justice celebrate the holidays too, and giving them a present that reflects their values will be the most meaningful gift of all. From board games to books, shirts, art prints, and more, there are a ton of gift ideas below – all of them about making the world a better place!
Co-op Hour: Worker Co-op Farms
Hannah Breckbill of Humble Hands Harvest - a worker-owned co-operative farm, growing on 2+ acres of organic vegetables, grass-finished sheep, pastured pork, and fruit and nut trees. Humble Hands Harvest practices un-conventional, organic, visionary, slow-growing agriculture, and strive to create a resilient landscape that grounds a vibrant local culture.
Cooperatives: An Option for Senior Care
In this episode of Retiring Today, we explore Senior Cooperatives with guest Julie Jordan of Vintage Cooperatives in Ankeny, Iowa.
We'll also talk to residents Claudette Heddins and LeRoy Tinnean about their experiences living in this type of senior care facility.
Co-ops: By the Community, For the Community
Tina Borg knows all too well the challenges of limited internet access.
At home, her family in Barnes County, N.D., often relied on a cell phone hotspot. However, their ability to access information was frequently constrained by their phone plan’s data limits. Tina routinely had to drive to the next town to access the internet, or she had to rely upon whatever books happened to be available for the four children that she home schools.
People Willing to Pay More for Cooperative News
The subscription e-commerce market has grown by more than 100% percent a year over the past five years. It is also seen as the most viable path for survival by the newspapers.
I did a bit of research on whether cooperatives might have an advantage in subscription based business models by doing a small survey of 106 people through Profilic, a service used by many universities, asking:
Book Sale from Levellers Press!
Get 20% off all Levellers Press titles through December 31st. Use the code TWENTY at check-out.
Find their complete list of books here
UWCC Expands Support for Rural Cooperatives
UWCC will expand support for rural cooperatives and communities through three grants it received in 2019:
Rural Cooperative Development Grant
UWCC has been awarded $200,000 to provide technical assistance to rural cooperatives through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG). The RCDG program exists to help rural cooperatives and small businesses expand, create jobs, and strengthen their capacity to serve rural citizens and communities.