We recently helped The Wine Source convert from a traditional business into a cooperative. We are so happy for this group of amazing workers and what they have accomplished! Please take a moment to read this Baltimore Fishbowl article to learn more about The Wine Source’s process and about us!
https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/from-red-emmas-to-the-wine-source-baltimore-a-hotbed-of-local-worker-cooperative-financing/
Are you interested in learning how you can pursue real estate but want to know what your options are to stay grounded in the community?
We are hosting this free 3-part series to help cooperatives and cooperative centered communities learn more about what it takes to form, maintain, and and build different types of real estate models such as:
-Community Land Trusts
-Real Estate Cooperatives
-Community Investment Vehicle*** This is a 3-part series so feel free to attend one or more session ***
Join us May 23, June 6, and July 11 from 5-7 pm. Register HERE
May 23rd: 5-7 pm
Red Clover Collective – Housing Collective
Red Clover Collective is a small intentional community and cooperative, with horizontal democratic governance. For 20 years they have been dedicated to building relationships and lifestyles centered around sustainable living, social justice, and centered values in artistic creation. Christina and Nicholas, members and residents of the community will be presenting this session to dive deeper into the history of Red Clover and how this structure has been a resource for their community.
South Baltimore Community Land Trust (SBCLT) – Community Land Trust
Founded in 2019, SBCLT is a community-led organization that believes in dignified housing. Their focus is on environmental justice and housing in the process of developing homes to be owned in the Cherry Hill and Curtis Bay areas. They develop quality homes that stay affordable and offer support to homeowner applicants to prevent involuntary displacement within communities that face risk. Makayla, who is involved with the Housing Stewardship will be sharing the in and outs of what this organization does, and offer other resources to connect people to education on Land Trusts within their communities.
June 6th: 5-7 pm
Network for Developing Conscious Communities (NDCC)
A spiritually based leadership and community development network organization. Their focus is in creating strategic-planning efforts to lead a diverse perspective in strengthening the Black governed community development ecosystem. Ron Hantz will be leading this conversation and it will focus on low-income cooperative housing strategies.
July 11th: 5-7 pm
Invest York Road (IYR)
A local project to create community-owned commercial real estate for the purpose of revitalizing the York Road corridor and building community wealth. Join Stephanie Geller and learn about how this Community Investment Vehicle helped the surrounding neighborhoods of York Road as they developed and maintained this project
Have you ever wanted to propose a bill for something that you are passionate about, but don’t know how to talk about it in front of officials? Public Justice Center has you covered! BRED has partnered with PJC to bring you an event called Giving Public Testimony. The event will show attendees how to give effective public testimony to elected officials by using a bill that BRED introduced in Annapolis earlier this month as an example. The event will take place in the Baltimore Free School located in Red Emma’s. No registration is required.
On Friday, December 15th, participants in our apprenticeship and academy programs met in the Baltimore Free School to reflect on how it went and what the next round could look like. These two programs were headlined by BRED members Trish and Jim, and have been taking place in person and virtually since July. Trish and Jim facilitated the final meeting for the cohorts full of reflection, feedback, and future planning.
The group invited other BRED members to attend the meeting, and we thought we’d share some takeaways. Overall, these programs had a positive impact, and everyone seemed to enjoy learning, sharing, visiting co-ops in New York, and expanding their co-op knowledge. Other things the cohorts loved were:
The stipend provided to the participants was much needed and appreciated by everyone.
The flexibility of having online and in-person meetings.
seeing so many different size co-ops
Several people agreed that they wished the programs lasted longer.
Moving forward there is a plan to explore things like a final project, communication between participants about their co-op events, co-op visits, a weekly email and so much more. Congratulations to the 2023 Apprenticeship and Academy cohorts.
Jim and Trish, two of our project stewards, took our Apprentice and academy cohorts to New York for a tour of some cooperatives. They visited Brooklyn Stone and Tile, Donna, Radix Media, and Cooperative Home Care Associates. The cohort members are from several cooperatives that BRED works with, and they asked if they could visit some cooperatives that they aren’t familiar with. A field trip was planned, and off they went! Here are some pictures below, and if you ever have a chance to visit these New York co-ops, please do!
We help worker co-ops in the greater Baltimore area get the capital they need to start and grow. Our non-extractive lending process helps prioritize inclusion and equity, rather than locking communities out of the funding they need to start owning their economy. Most of us BRED staffers are current or former worker-owners; by combining the financing we offer with in-depth assistance and cooperative mentoring, we support worker-owned businesses and help them get what they need to thrive. By joining with other community loan funds around the country (as a member of the Seed Commons Community Wealth Cooperative), we can unlock more funding and knowledge for Baltimore cooperatives.
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is offering an “Advanced Cooperator Apprenticeship” training to two people in our local co-op network. BRED has obtained funding for this, so these two apprentices will be compensated at $30 per hour for the time they spend learning.
Synopsis: We want to give you a front-row seat to everything that Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) folks do: fielding requests for loans from co-ops, working with co-ops to develop solid business plans, coaching co-ops in making strategic pivots, workshopping scenarios and challenges with each other, sitting in on some BRED staff meetings, etc. Our intent is to first give you a sample of all aspects to help them get the big picture, then focus on an approach that is more about the program’s goals. BRED has obtained funding for this, so apprentices will be compensated at $30 per hour for the time they spend learning.
Selection: As we hear back from interested folks, we will be interviewing applicants and selecting two, based on our sense of how the development of their knowledge and skills can best serve the needs and the growth of local co-ops.
Self-assessment: Those two apprentices will be asked to complete a self-assessment tool that helps us to understand their skills, interests, and needs. We will then use those self-assessments to refine and customize each apprentice’s curriculum.
Overview of curriculum:
General overview of BRED activities
“Meet & greet” with the entire BRED team
Shadowing/ sitting in on a sampling of BRED Project Steward activities, BRED meetings, Seed Commons network meetings
Trainings in BRED tools:
Business Model Canvas
Break-Even Analysis
Steps To Start-Up
Governance/ Power-Sharing Matrix
Bylaws Development/ Questions To Inform Your Legal Documents
Financials
Financial Terminology 101
Interpreting Profit And Loss Statements
Multiple deep dives on specific topics, based on apprentice self-assessment and assessment of outcomes of tools trainings
Participation in some of BRED’s public events, including at least one presentation
Making connections to BRED co-ops not yet acquainted
Making connections to 3-5 other co-ops in Seed Commons
Making connections to 3-5 other peer funds in Seed Commons
Periodic reflections and evaluations from apprentices
Final reflection and evaluation from apprentices, discussions about potential future engagement
Cool! Why is BRED doing this? We have a number of goals that we hope to achieve with this program – we want:
to train more folks in how to grow strong co-ops (of course)
to train folks in exactly the sorts of things that we might do with a new co-op, but take them deeper into it, in amore focused way
co-op workers in our network who really want to do a deep dive, to have the opportunity to get paid for building skills and knowledge around the finer points of co-op development in Baltimore
to support the development of a “spokescouncil” of local co-ops, to catalyze more solidarity and mutual aid between our local co-ops
to train more people who can go out and talk about and promote our movement, explain the why and the how of co-ops, to ideally build an ongoing team of paid speakers/ presenters
Awesome! So…when/ where/ how is this training going to happen? And how do folks apply?
This is a part-time program, with a rough average of 12 hours per week for 6 months, June thru December, 2023.
We’ll be applying the principles of Popular Education to the greatest extent possible.
Many activities will take place over Zoom, but there will also be in-person meetings and activities.
The 12 hours per week includes some self-study/ homework.
For more details on the curriculum, see the program description on the other side of this sheet.
Email HERE and give us a few sentences about:
yourself, your experiences, interests, passions
what brought you to your co-op
what you find attractive about this opportunity
what you would hope to do with what you learn
Please reply by May 29th, 2023. Thanks!
Restaurants and bars in New York are moving towards being worker-owned and we are here for it. Below are two articles that spotlight this wonderful adventure.
Spring is right around the corner so it’s almost Jumpstart time! Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) will be hosting our 5th annual Cooperative Jumpstart on May 13, 2023! We are excited to bring back this jam-packed day of workshops focused on establishing and running worker cooperatives. Whether you’ve been a worker-owner for years, are thinking about starting a co-op, want to sell your business to your workers, or just want to learn more, this event is for you! Cooperatively-minded workers will be able to learn the basics of cooperative structure and economics, get ideas on how to start or structure their own cooperative, and be able to Q&A with experienced worker-owners!
Past Co-op Jumpstarts have included panels with long-term worker-owners, in-depth information on how to get your business “breakeven,” and a nuanced look at what happens with worker-owner governance.
For business owners looking to sell their business but avoid laying off workers, the new highlighted workshops include information on cooperative conversions – there’s something for everyone. Organizations and individuals welcome!
Please register here. We can’t wait to see you, and keep an eye on our Instagram for updates!
Job Description: Pipeline Developer
Organization Description:
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) helps worker co-ops in the greater Baltimore area get the capital they need to start and grow. Our non-extractive lending process prioritizes inclusion and equity, rather than locking communities out of the funding they need to start owning their economy. Combining the financing we offer, with technical assistance and cooperative mentoring, we can support worker-owned businesses and give them a chance to thrive. BRED has mobilized over $7 million of patient capital in the past seven years to local cooperatives.
We are a member of Seed Commons, which is a national network of locally-rooted, non-extractive loan funds that brings the power of big finance under community control. By taking guidance from the grassroots and sharing capital and resources to support local cooperative businesses, we are building the infrastructure necessary for a truly just, democratic and sustainable new economy.
Job Description:
This position will be responsible for building up our pipeline of potential projects to either lend to or connect to our cooperative business services. A crucial component of our work is finding new individuals and partners to work with, while this responsibility is spread across our team, we are seeking a new team member to focus exclusively on building this pipeline.
This is a new position for BRED so the responsibilities outlined below may change as the person selected adapts in the role. Some of these responsibilities will include:
Networking, Awareness-Raising, and Community Connecting
Seek out and attend events for Baltimore entrepreneurs and social enterprises as a representative of BRED.
Present a public face of the organization and be able to speak in detail about our offerings for both financing and technical assistance.
Be the first point of contact for folks interested in learning more about cooperatives
Be a co-op enthusiast!
Deeply knowledgeable about co-ops, how they can operate, and benefits of transitioning existing businesses into shared ownership.
Share anecdotes and narratives from our cooperative network to prospective and developing cooperatives.
Participate in The Seed Commons Peer Network, which includes:
Active participation in ongoing Peer Network phone calls.
Active participation in semi-annual Peer Network trainings.
Active participation on the Peer Network Slack.
Strongly Desired Skills & Qualifications
High level of knowledge regarding cooperatives, ideally experience as a member of a co-op
Highly organized, motivated, and detail-oriented
Experience accessing various small business resources in Baltimore City
Entrepreneurial and resourceful
Relationship builder
Ability to communicate with diverse groups at various levels of business development
Experience with collaborative governance and decision making
Based in the Baltimore area, or willing to relocate
Salary: $65,000/year for full-time, plus vacation and sick pay and an additional healthcare stipend.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis until close of business on March 8th, apply by emailing a resume and cover letter to jobs@baltimoreroundtable.org. Interviews will commence as materials are received.
Do you have an idea for starting a coop? Ever think about joining a coop and becoming a worker-owner? Join BRED on Feb. 11th from 1-3 pm for our Co-op Industry Afternoon. You will hear from three different businesses that are either in the start-up phase of building their coop or are currently operating as a coop. These businesses are looking to get their name out and expand their worker-owner base. This is a great event to network with potential and current worker-owners, meet others in the coop ecosystem, and share your ideas with industry folks. The developing cooperatives that will be with them sharing information are:
1) Micro Mobile Business Accelerator
A collaborative citywide social enterprise using cargo bicycles as vehicles for use with startup businesses, and community-led initiatives while promoting environmentalism and accessibility.
2) Prism Hair
A worker-owned salon and bodyworks collective. Their aim is to create a new industry standard for how salons operate and to put power back into the hands of the individual stylist/practitioner. Salons are and always have been a hub of the community and our main goal is to work together to overturn standards in place, furthering accessibility to essential services.
3) Baltimore Broken Glass
Baltimore Broken Glass is a Baltimore-based zero-waste business with a mission to advance community-led zero-waste solutions to our broken waste system. BBG is working to expand capacity for their worker-owned cooperative to collect glass from local residents and businesses to ensure that this incredible material is recycled and re-used and never landfilled or incinerated.
Register today and we’ll see you on February 11th!
Agenda
1:00-1:30 pm Opening Mix and Mingle + Introductions
1:30-1:45 pm Micro Mobile Business Accelerator
1:45-2:00 pm Prism Hair
2:00-2:15 pm Baltimore Broken Glass
2:15-2:40 pm Q &A
2:45-3:00 pm Closing Mix and Mingle
**Masks are required at this event – Thank You
Where: Dear Globe Coffee shop: 422 W Mulberry St, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States
Time: 1 pm -3 pm
When: Saturday February 11, 2023