Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy is looking to hire someone for the position of Project Officer who will be responsible for executing approved technical assistance plans, reporting regularly on the status of your assigned projects to the Staff Collective, and assisting with BRED events & educational programming. If you feel like this position is right for you and you want to be part of the team, please follow the link below for more information and to send us your resume.
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is a coalition of Maryland-based worker cooperatives, advocates, and technical assistance providers committed to building a robust cooperative ecosystem. BRED supports democratically-controlled economic institutions with loans and technical assistance.
Job Description: Project Officer
Organization Description:
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is a coalition of Maryland-based worker cooperatives, advocates, and technical assistance providers committed to building a robust cooperative ecosystem. BRED supports democratically-controlled economic institutions with loans and technical assistance.
Job Description: Project Officers are responsible for executing approved technical assistance plans, regularly reporting on the status of your assigned projects to the Staff Collective, assist with BRED events & educational programming. Project Officers will:
Loan preparation & technical assistance for co-ops, which includes:
Preparing loan memos in our loan tracking software in collaboration with the Executive Director or Loan Coach to be presented to the Sustainability Committees for feedback and approval.
Executing approved technical assistant plans for projects assigned to you.
Attend Project Officer weekly meetings and quarterly Staff Collective meetings.
Report regularly to the Staff Collective on the progress of your projects.
Meet monthly with all projects that have received loans – in some cases, an email check-in may be sufficient for more advanced projects
Log progress of technical assistance plan in Madeline. Write monthly Madeline status logs on each project that is in their first year of their loan plan. Quarterly status updates for projects that are further along, and in active repayment.
Active participation on the BRED Slack.
BRED’s loan & technical assistance intake process, which includes:
Following up with all leads in a timely fashion
Making a critical assessment of the project’s real TA needs and path to loan readiness
Presenting such assessment to the Loan Assembly for feedback
Developing a structured TA plan for each new project, once approved by the Loan Assembly as a “pipeline” project.
Coordinate public events & educational programming, which includes:
Work with Staff Collective to plan and execute events. Recommend events that would meet the needs expressed by co-ops you work with.
Regularly staff and attend events.
Attend cooperative roundtable gatherings for active area cooperators.
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.
This is a part-time, 20-hour/week job, compensated at a starting rate of $22,500/year.
Qualifications: Our ideal candidate would have some combination of the following qualifications:
Experience with community organizing in Baltimore & Maryland
Ability to work nights and weekend hours
Ability to have frequent in-person meetings with co-ops in Baltimore
Experienced in coalition work and coordinating/drawing on the resources of people from multiple organizations
Experienced in writing business plans, including work on financial documents (e.g., projections, budgets, capital plans), and analyzing business opportunities
Connected to cooperatives and the cooperative movement
A clear, and coherent communicator in both written and oral forms
Personally well-organized and able to create and maintain appropriate online and physical files and communications systems
Available to participate in the Fall 2019 training of the Peer Network. This will be out of town.
Experience with planning & facilitating workshops and meetings
Democratic decision-making experience
Commitment to transformative and equity justice framework
High level of organization and attention to detail, complemented by the ability to see the big picture
People of color, immigrants, trans and gender nonconforming people, people from poor and working class backgrounds, queer people, and women are encouraged to apply.
On September 14th, Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) will be hosting our third annual Worker Cooperative Jumpstart! It will be a day long series of workshops focused on establishing and running worker cooperatives. We have something for everyone. So whether you’ve been a worker-owner for years, are thinking about starting a co-op, or just want to learn more this event is for you! Organizations and individuals welcome! We will be having exciting new content that focuses on cooperative conversions. More info to come!
We are asking for a suggested donation of $1-25 per person to cover the cost of the event and lunch. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you or your organization need any specific accommodations, or to request interpretation services, please email info@baltimoreroundtable.org. We would be happy to answer any questions.1
Sponsors: Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is a coalition of Maryland-based worker cooperatives, advocates, and technical assistance providers committed to building a robust cooperative ecosystem. BRED supports democratically-controlled economic institutions with loans and technical assistance.
Impact Hub Baltimore supports and connects a community of Baltimore change makers by providing an inspiring works pace and innovative programming to scale and sustain their social impact.
Gilmore Khandhar, LLC, a law firm focused on legal, policy, and advocacy tools to advance economic justice, racial equity, and social transformation.
Mera Kitchen 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.
Are you interested in starting on the cooperative path, converting your existing business, curious about how they function, or you are already a cooperative member looking to expand your knowledge and share your experiences? Then our Spring Cooperative Jumpstart is for YOU!
Please join IMPACT for its Spring 2019 Worker Cooperative Jumpstart series! Our very own Ro McIntyre will be speaking on the panel this Thursday!
There will be 3-night sessions from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on May 30th, June 13th and June 27th at IMPACT’s office: 8807 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910
These workshops are free and open to anyone who is interested in starting on the cooperative path, converting your existing business, curious about how they function, or you are already a cooperative member looking to expand your knowledge and share your experiences.
You may register for one or all of the workshops in the series with the following links:
On the 28th we are partnering with Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffee House to bring you Game Night in addition to their weekly Tuesday Build Your Own Burger Night. So come on out to eat some delicious Beyond Meat burgers that you can customize however you’d like and play some fun games!
************************************************************************Our featured game will be Co-opoly. Co-opoly is a game of skill and solidarity, where everyone wins – or everyone loses! As featured in The Guardian and on PBS.
All players are on the same team and work together to start a cooperative business or organization and compete against the Point Bank
Learn and practice skills needed to run a cooperative
Make tough choices and put your teamwork to the test
Designed for families and friends who want to play together instead of competing against each other, and groups thinking about starting a cooperative or improving skills as collaborators.
Co-opoly is for 3 – 6 Players, Ages 10 and up, and it takes sixty minutes to play. Co-opoly is also ethically produced – it is colorfully printed completely by other worker co-ops, entirely in the USA, and on recycled and sustainable materials. ************************************************************************
This Wednesday, May 15th, Kate Khatib will be moderating an event called “Structures of Resilience”. This is the first event in a three part breakfast series on Building Community Wealth that Impact Hub Baltimore and SOCAP 365 are partnering together to host. The series will explore how impact investors, philanthropists, conscious corporations, entrepreneurs and community leaders can drive movements for economic opportunity and equity.
The focus of this first conversation is on investing in coops and worker owner models. Speakers will be Olivia Rebanal (Capital Impact Partners), Greg Brodsky (Start.coop), and Joseph Cureton (Core Staffing Cooperative). We will explore opportunities and barriers for investing in cooperative models, and will hear both the investor and business perspective.
Event begins at 7:30am at Impact Hub Baltimore (10 E. North Ave) and includes breakfast. You can find the series overview and the link to register below.
Series Overview: Impact Hub Baltimore and SOCAP 365 are partnering to create a three-part series on Building Community Wealth. The series will explore how impact investors, conscious corporations, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and community leaders can support movements for economic opportunity and equity. Start your day off with impact! Join us for engaging breakfast conversations where we’ll highlight the cross-sector leaders doing the work in Baltimore and the region followed by small group discussions. The series is designed to build bridges between transformative solutions and the capital resources they need to grow and scale.
Session One Date May 15 Time: 7:30-9:30 am Structures of Resilience DESCRIPTION New ownership models, such as cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), are being developed as a means of reducing the racial wealth gap and providing entry points to employment. In order for these models to effectively scale, they need mission-aligned sources of capital. What additional elements might be added to the models to attract more businesses and finance, appeal to mission-driven entrepreneurs, and increase growth and impact? We’ll explore structures that have found investment and financing and what makes those structures unique. Join us for a conversation with cross-sector leaders pushing the edges of models for resilient and regenerative economies. Following the presentation we’ll have time for Q&A and small group discussions.
Agenda: 7:30-8:00 am Sign in and Breakfast 8:00-8:45 am Program 8:45-9:15 am Small Group Discussion 9:15 am Have a great rest of the day!
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is thrilled to announce that Baltimore has joined other leading cities in committing public support for worker cooperative development. With the award of a $47,000 Community Catalyst Grant, the City of Baltimore is enabling BRED to launch a new initiative designed to pilot the creation of a worker cooperative conversion pipeline.
Too many jobs are at risk of
disappearing from Baltmore’s communities because too many small and medium-sized
business owners lack a good plan for what happens when they retire or step back
from their companies. With the proper support and training, the workers at these
businesses can be ideal candidates to take over and preserve their own jobs,
running them as worker cooperatives in which both decision-making and profits
are shared democratically across the enterprise. One
national 2018 study identified significant opportunities for cooperative
conversions that could preserve thousands of jobs in the mid-Atlantic region
across five economic sectors.
Our goal is to prototype and develop a functional pipeline connecting
retiring business owners to the technical, financial, and educational resources
necessary for successful transitions to worker ownership. with a focus on
preserving jobs and building democratic workplaces in historically disinvested
communities. By converting independently-owned,
small and medium-scale businesses that are deeply rooted in Baltimore’s economy
and neighborhoods into worker cooperatives, we can democratize
wealth and retain it in the communities that need it.
The Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) is a coalition of Maryland-based worker cooperatives, advocates, and technical assistance providers committed to building a robust cooperative ecosystem. BRED supports democratically-controlled enterprises with loans and technical assistance, prioritizing coop development that directs educational and financial resources to the communities of color that have been excluded from the current economic system. To date, BRED has made over $650,000 in patient capital available to Baltimore City worker-cooperatives. BRED is one of the founding members of Seed Commons (formerly The Financial Cooperative), an emerging national network of non-extractive loan funds building a shared financial platform to move capital into the democratic economy.
In recent years, cities including New York; Madison, WI; Newark, NJ; and Berkeley, CA have begun to integrate worker cooperative support into their economic development priorities. For Kate Khatib, Executive Director of BRED and National Director of Seed Commons, “Over the past decade, Baltimore has built a vibrant and inclusive ecosystem of cooperative businesses and technical support entirely from the grassroots. It is exciting to now see the city government recognizing this accomplishment and helping provide the tools needed to take this work to the next level.”
BRED’s new worker cooperative
conversion pilot, which will launch later in 2019, will work hand in hand with
city agencies to identify opportunities and gaps in existing business support
infrastructure for democratic enterprises. “BDC is proud to partner with
BRED on a worker ownership training program,” said William H. Cole, president
and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC). “Employee ownership conversions have the
potential to play an integral part in retaining and preserving jobs needed in
Baltimore’s communities.”
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