Author: Nia Hunter

  • Appalachian Field Services

    Appalachian Field Services

    AFS is an experienced and insured property preservation and mortgage field services firm based in Hagerstown, Maryland. A share of AFS business is held by Core Staffing Cooperative, another business that we support. AFS offers services like: property renovations, Inspections and Verifications, and property management.

    In partnership with Seed Commons, BRED financed the sale of the owner’s stake in the enterprise and in five residential properties to workers. We also provided intensive coaching and support in structuring the deal, and continue to support transitioning AFS to a culture of cooperative ownership.

    Appalachian Field Services

  • Taharka Brothers

    Taharka Brothers

    Taharka Brothers is a social enterprise in Baltimore City creating jobs and opportunities to empower Black youth and use the ice cream they manufacture to advance a pedagogy of liberation. In 2021 BRED helped Taharka Brothers take their business and mission to the next level by helping them transition to a worker-owned cooperative business!

    Bred provided our first loan to Taharka to help them get their amazing ice cream truck repaired and out on the streets in time for the summer of 2016. More recently in 2020 Taharka received a loan to purchase new equipment for one of their two scoop shop locations.

    Taharka Brothers

  • Bloomberg Businessweek Recognizes Baltimore Cooperatives

    Dwight Campbell and Nicole Foster, founders of Cajou Creamery in Baltimore. PHOTOGRAPHER: GABRIELLA DEMCZUK FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
    Dwight Campbell and Nicole Foster, founders of Cajou Creamery in Baltimore. PHOTOGRAPHER: GABRIELLA DEMCZUK FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

    On March 31, 2021 Lawrence Lanahan published an amazing article in Bloomberg Businessweek about the cooperative landscape of Baltimore. We are so happy to be included along with Seed Commons, and a few of the co-ps we work with, in an article that highlights cooperative businesses and some of the work we have done.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-03-31/employee-co-ops-need-financing-these-impact-investors-want-to-help?utm_source=url_link

  • Local Company Benefits From Cooperative Conversions

    WYPR published an article about Joe Squared, written by Emily Sullivan, explaining how this business has stayed afloat amidst this pandemic. Joe Squared is just one of several Baltimore businesses converting to coops. Converting to a cooperative saves the business and all the workers receive the benefits.

    One of the personal benefits of the cooperative structure is group decision making. Business hours, infrastructure, and pay, all become decisions made by everyone. This puts the power in the hands of the workers as a whole.

    Sullivan writes “In the midst of the pandemic, those decisions include setting the price of drinks and establishing COVID-19 safety protocol. Using a voting system, the worker-owners have decided to operate take-out only in order to limit contact/covid spread and established a $3 service fee on each takeout order to boost the pay for front of the house employees from $3.63 an hour to $12. They decided to spread tips to the entire staff, ending the industry tradition of excluding back of the house employees, who work in the kitchen.”   How amazing is that? To read more, follow the link below.

    https://www.wypr.org/post/joe-squared-worker-owners-say-co-ops-can-provide-stability-struggling-restaurants

  • Baltimore Bicycle Works

    Baltimore Bicycle Works

    Baltimore Bicycle Works is Baltimore’s worker owned and democratically managed full-service bicycle shop. They have two locations in Baltimore; Fells Point and Belvedere Square.

    BRED is working with Baltimore Bicycle Works to fuel their continued growth.

    Baltimore Bicycle Works

  • Mera Kitchen Collective

    Mera Kitchen Collective

    Mera Kitchen Collective is a community-driven, food-based cooperative focused on empowerment of refugee and immigrant women by tapping into their passion for cooking, self-expression and creating community.

    BRED is supporting Mera Kitchen with technical assistance and support for their cooperative development process.

    Mera Kitchen Collective

  • Red Emma’s

    Red Emma’s

    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

    Red Emma’s

  • Thread Coffee

    Thread Coffee

    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.

    Thread Coffee Roasters

  • Core Staffing

    Core Staffing

    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.

    Core Staffing Cooperative

  • Watch Our August Webinars

    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.

    Intro To Cooperative Conversions & Employee Buyout, was for small business owners. It was geared towards those considering their next steps during the time of COVID-19, or maybe approaching retirement. Cooperative conversions are an increasingly compelling option for business owners. They sell their business to its employees which helps retain jobs and keep small businesses in their communities. During this webinar we discussed steps of the conversion process, and answered questions about whether or not an employee buyout is the right decision.

    If you didn’t get a chance to join us, don’t worry! We recorded the sessions and they are available to watch at any time. Find them below and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates on future happenings.