Red Emma’s was established in 2004. They are a worker owned bookstore, restaurant and coffee shop located in Baltimore MD. When Red Emma’s outgrew their previous space on North Avenue, BRED helped them finance its expansion in 2018. They are currently located at 1225 Cathedral St.
Red Emma’s also received a line of credit from BRED in 2019
Thread Coffee Roasters is a coffee roasting cooperative located in Baltimore City. Thread is woman and queer owned, and is dedicated to working in solidarity with coffee growing cooperatives in the Global South.
BRED helped Thread to grow their business by financing Thread’s purchase of a larger capacity coffee roaster, and later an expansion loan, needed to meet higher levels of demand.
The Core Staffing Cooperative is a cooperative staffing agency owned and operated by and for residents returning to the community after incarceration.
In 2018, BRED extended a working capital loan to allow Core Staffing to better serve its members.
This month we put together a series of free virtual webinars. Jim Johnson and Joseph Cureton helped viewers learn about cooperative basics and cooperative conversions.
During Introduction to Cooperatives, they shared everything from the basics of getting started to legal structures and capital. Management structures to decision making. We also talked about the pro’s and con’s of owning a cooperative, and the differences between these flexible forms of doing business.
We are bringing you two events this month. ‘Co-op 101’ and ‘A Brief Introduction to Cooperative Conversions and Employee Buyout’.
Have you ever wondered what a cooperative is, or what it would be like to start your own cooperative? Co-op 101 is the perfect workshop for you. Spend an hour learning about the in’s and out’s of worker-owned cooperative businesses. We will have a conversation about legal structures and capital, pro’s and con’s, and the differences between these flexible forms of doing business. You will leave wanting to put what you’ve learned to work!
Our Brief Introduction to Cooperative Conversions and Employee Buyout workshop is geared towards small business owners. In the time of COVID-19, small business owners might be pondering ways to preserve their business legacy as they approach retirement. You might be considering a career change, but want to leave your business to people who are competent and already invested in the welfare of the business.
Cooperative conversions – selling a business to its employees – are an increasingly compelling option to retain jobs and keep small businesses in their communities. We will lead you through the steps of this process, and answer questions about whether an employee buyout might be right for your business.
If either of these interest you, please register through this link https://linktr.ee/BREDbaltimore
The Greener Kitchen (originally PEP Foods) is a food production cooperative built around the powerful idea that plant-based food should be financially and culturally accessible to everywhere.
BRED’s helped The Greener Kitchen finance the purchase of equipment for their new production facility and rental kitchen.