Grants for Start-Up Food Co-ops Build Co-op Economy

Congratulations in particular to Northeast co-ops in Dorchester, MA, Barre, VT and Binghamton, NY!

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Food Co-op Initiative is excited to announce the latest round of grants to startup food cooperatives. Full text of this press release is included below, attached, and available at http://www.foodcoopinitiative.coop/content/fci-grants-build-cooperative-economy

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Grants Build Co-op Economy

Today Food Co-op Initiative announced grants to ten new cooperative grocery stores. An additional four co-ops will receive scholarships for board and organizer training. All fourteen awardees will bring a focus on local economy, community building, and healthy food options to their communities.

Food Co-op Initiative is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to helping communities make their co-op vision into reality. They are the only national organization dedicated exclusively to helping startup food co-ops. Their grants, free consultations, and extensive library of educational resources have helped dozens of co-ops get their start since Food Co-op Initiative’s inception in 2010.

Among those receiving funding is Capital City Food Co-op in Juneau, Alaska. Juneau residents began organizing in May, 2012 to bring a co-op to their remote northern city, which is accessible only by boat or airplane. “People are individualistic here,” says organizer Evelyn Rousso, “But the frontier sense of looking out for one’s neighbors is also a strong bond. Not many people could identify the Rochdale Principles, but, openness to all, democracy, honest business practices, benefits to those who participate, cooperation with others, and the good of the community are all things that really do resonate here, and are reflected in many, many ways in the daily life of our city.”

Another grantee is Dorchester Community Food Co-op, located in one of Boston, Massachusetts’s largest and most diverse neighborhoods. More than just a grocery store, in the words of organizer Jenny Silverman, “Dorchester will be a community and worker-owned market and food hub that provides economic opportunity, healthy affordable food access, and education around healthy food choices.” The Dorchester Community Food Co-op hopes to be part of an network of social enterprises that reinvigorates their inner-city commercial district.

This is the second round of grants distributed by Food Co-op Initiative. In 2011, $50,000 was awarded to eight co-ops. This year, nearly $100,000 will be distributed. However, Food Co-op Initiative Executive Director Stuart Reid says the financial support is only part of the package. “More important is the one-on-one mentoring we give our grantees. Along with regular contact through email and telephone, Food Co-op Initiative development specialists will make personal visits to each startup to provide educational workshops and organizational support.”  Food Co-op Initiatives grants are funded in part by USDA Rural Development and Blooming Prairie Foundation.

Contact:

Stuart Reid

507-664-2034

stuart@foodcoopinitiative.coop

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Complete list of 2012 grantees:

Capital City Market Co-op, Juneau, AK

Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Detroit, MI

Dorchester Community Food Co-op, Boston, MA

Fuquay-Varina Community Market, Fuquay-Varina, NC

Gateway Food Cooperative, St. Paul, MN

Granite City Co-op, Barre, VT

Green Top Grocery, Bloomington, IL

Hub City Co-op, Spartanburg, SC

Many Hands Food Cooperative, Binghamton, NY

Wasatch Cooperative Market, Salt Lake City, UT

Scholarship recipients:

Deerfield Community Co-op, Deerfield, WI

Ellensburg Food Co-op, Ellensburg, WA

Hudson Grocery Cooperative, Hudson, WI

Local Roots Food Co-op, Buffalo, MN

"Fixing the Future" documentary screenings July 18

In Fixing the Future, public media star David Brancaccio (of Marketplace and NOW on PBS) visits locations across America that are attempting a revolution: the reinvention of the American economy. By featuring communities using sustainable and innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity, Fixing the Future inspires hope and renewal amidst economic collapse. The film highlights effective local practices such as: community banking, local business alliances, time banking/exchange, worker cooperatives and local currencies. Following the film will be an exclusive onscreen discussion panel featuring Bill McKibben, Majora Carter, Mike Brady and David Brancaccio.


In each screening location, local groups working on implementing grassroots solutions to the economic crisis will facilitate a discussion and brainstorming session. 


Screenings are being held on Wednesday, July 18 in:

• Worcester, MA, co-sponsored by Worcester Roots (buy tickets)
• New York, NY, sponsored by the NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives (buy tickets)
• Portland, ME, co-sponsored by Hour Exchange Portland, Local Sprouts Co-op, & others 

...and loads more locations throughout the Northeast and the U.S. Find a screening near you!

This Friday: VT Employee Ownership Conference

Final Reminder for 10th Annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference
 
Space is still available for the 2012 Vermont Employee Ownership Conference, to be held this Friday, June 8 at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.  We'll be starting the day with welcoming remarks by Senator Bernie Sanders and the keynote address by Gar Alperovitz "Is There an America Beyond Capitalism?"  Gar will offer a diagnosis of the long-term structural crisis of the American economic and political system, along with a picture of practical bottom-up efforts currently underway in thousands of communities across the United States.  

This will be followed by four groups of workshops, nineteen in total, covering all aspects of employee ownership.
 
Please note that the conference registration fee includes full access to concurrent sessions throughout the day, and in addition we will be providing a continental breakfast, lunch, and an ice cream sundae reception at the end of the day.  
 
The full-day conference is designed for those who want to learn more about how employee ownership can work for their business as well as members of existing employee-owned companies.  Students are also encouraged to attend, and we offer a discounted registration fee for students.  Please contact us for more information.
 
Date: Friday, June 8th, 2012
Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM (Registration starts at 7:30 AM)
Location: Champlain College, 375 Maple St., Burlington, VT 
To Register: Click here to register online. 
For More Info: Call 802-321-8362, or email info@veoc.org. 
 
We also hope you will join us for a pre-conference dinner on Thursday, June 7th at Magnolia Bistro in downtown Burlington. We'll start the evening at 6:00 pm with a cash bar and hors d'oeuvres, followed by dinner at 7:00 pm. The cost to attend the dinner is $35, and preregistration is required. 
 
For full conference details, click here. 

Co-op Learning Opportunity Round-up

In This Issue Spring, Summer and Fall Events Co-op Teach-In Worker Co-op Conference NASCO Institute An Ongoing Opportunity: Co-op Teach-in The National Cooperative Business Association has launched an exciting initiative to mark 2012, the International Year of Cooperatives. The Cooperative Teach-In engages campuses with the cooperative movement through the creation of events, programs, and projects on co-ops. Sign up as a participant today! Featured Event: 2012 National Worker Cooperative Conference This event takes place every two years and in a different part of the country each time. We're lucky to have it in Boston, in the heart of the Northeast, in this International Year of Cooperatives. CDI staff will be presenting a workshop on "Co-ops Seeding Co-ops" and participating in panels on conversions to worker co-ops, co-op learning academies, and digital platforms for sharing information, as well as the "ask an expert" panel. Register today! A Perennial Favorite: NASCO Institute Held by North American Students of Cooperation each fall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, theInstitute attracts hundreds of cooperators from the U.S. and Canada for two and one half days of comprehensive technical programs and discussions. The 2012 dates and program are not yet finalized, but be sure to keep it in mind! Master of Management - Cooperatives and Credit Unions Remember that the deadline for Fall admissions to this 3-year program is May 31! Cooperative Development Institute The Northeast's Center for Cooperative Business PO Box 422 Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 www.cdi.coop / info@cdi.coop Tel: 877 NE COOPS (toll free) / 413-665-1271 Fax: 413-541-8300	Plant some seeds of co-op learning!
	Dear Co-operator, Spring is the season to think about cultivating new skills, new relationships, and new ideas. There is a wealth of educational co-op events taking place in the Northeast and beyond, so mark your calendar now and get set to grow and learn! Spring and Summer Events March 27-28, Syracuse, NY: Northeast Cooperative Council Leaders Forum and Annual Meeting and CoBank's Northeast Regional Customer Meeting. A gathering of Northeast agriculture and producer co-ops. March 31, Syracuse, NY: 2012 Upstate Cooperatives Summit: Building our Economic Future. Upstate New York cooperatives - banking, grocery, housing, agricultural, worker - together at last. April 11, Manchester, NH: Co-op Speaker Series, Session 3: Consumer Ownership. Registration is free and open to the public. Featuring St. Mary's Bank and Hanover Consumer Co-op. April 12, Augusta, ME: "How to Talk Cooperative!" Free training for anyone who wants to make informal presentations about the benefits of co-ops, presented by CDI and Cooperative Maine. April 14, Holyoke, MA: Western Mass. Jobs with Justice Educational, Organizing, & Membership Conference. CFNE will be tabling, and we're intrigued by the workshop "Good Green Jobs ~ owned by union members?" April 21, Orono, ME: HOPE Festival and Green Expo. Cooperative Maine joins 70 social change groups and keynoter Bill McKibben. April 21-22, Warren, VT: The Art of Small Business/Re-Inventing Small Business. Founder of South Mountain Company worker co-op, John Abrams, offers a course based on Companies We Keep. May 1, New York, NY: Solidarity Economy Fair. Details to come, stay tuned! May 2, Washington, D.C.: 2012 Cooperative Hall of Fame. A fundraiser for the Cooperative Development Foundation and always an inspiration. May 12, Plattsburgh, NY: Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better Northern Adirondacks. A celebration of cooperatives young and old, and a community workshop, organized by CDI. May 12-July 7, East Coast: Cabot Community Tour. From Miami to Portland, check the schedule for a celebration near you. May 14-18, online: Financial Analysis for Cooperative Start-Ups.Session III in the premiere co-op development training byCooperation Works! June 2-5, Tuscon, AZ: Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) Institute. For professionals who communicate for cooperatives. June 8, Burlington, VT: 10th Annual Employee Ownership Conference. For those who want to learn more about employee ownership as well as members of existing employee-owned companies; presented by Vermont Employee Ownership Center. June 13 & 14-16, Philadelphia, PA: Exploring Cooperatives: Economic Democracy and Community Development in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) Conference. A cross-sector look at how to build great co-ops and networks, and how those help build great cities and regions; and the yearly gathering of food co-op participants. June 22-24, Boston, MA: National Worker Cooperative Conference.Day-long intensive on co-op development, films, tours, workshops, speakers, and a big party. Do not miss! July 8-20, Madison, WI: CUNA Management School. Professional development for credit union staff. See CUNA's other educational offerings as well. July 13-15, New Brunswick, NJ: Conference of the International Association for the Economics of Participation. A presentation and debate about research on democratic and participatory economic organizations. Fall Events Fall, Bronx, NY: Green Worker Cooperative Academy. For teams ready to turn their business idea into an eco-friendly co-op. Sept. 10-13, Kansas City, MO: Annual Conference for Purchasing Cooperatives. The only event by, for and about purchasing and shared services cooperatives. Sept. 17-21, Madison, WI: Effective Cooperative Business Development for Practitioners. Session One of the Cooperation Works! professional development training. Oct. 2-5, Seattle, WA: Annual Cooperative Conference. A cross-sector gathering of the nation's cooperatives. Oct. 6 -11, Quebec City, Quebec: The Imagine 2012: Conference on Co-operative Economics and International Summit of Cooperatives. A world-wide gathering of the cooperative community in our backyard! Oct 10-13, Reno, NV: 52nd Annual National Association of Housing Cooperatives Conference. The housing event of the year. Did we miss something? Drop us a line at info@cdi.coop! We will make sure to get the word out about your cooperative learning opportunity for 2012, the International Year of Cooperatives. Happy learning and growing!

Homestead Acres Vermont's newest Resident-Owned Community

Congratulations to the 26 residents of Homestead Acres Mobile Home Park in Swanton, VT for officially purchasing their community today! The residents' association, Homestead Acres Co-op, is the second to take ownership of a manufactured housing community or "mobile home park" in the State of Vermont in less than half a year--this after an 18 year period in which no resident owned communities were developed in the state. CDI provided the cooperative with pre-closing technical assistance and will provide ongoing support for years to come! Homestead Acres Co-op joins a nationwide network of 117 resident owned communities developed according to the ROC USA limited equity model (rocusa.org), which has ensured that nearly 7,000 units of housing will remain permanently affordable.

Many thanks to ROCUSA Capital and the Cooperative Fund of New England for providing financing! Also, stay tuned for pictures and a press release.

We are thankful for cooperation

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we have a lot to be thankful for in regard to cooperation in the Northeast. Here are our top reasons for gratitude -- what are yours?

The Opportunity to Do Cooperative Development

We love our work, and we love working with all of you. We get calls every week from people seeking advice on every conceivable type of cooperative enterprise. You are our inspiration and our purpose.

Thanks to the hard work of the Cooperation Works! Urban Circle and of Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA-2nd District) and his staff, we may have the opportunity to do even more work with underserved communities throughout the Northeast. Rep. Fattah is looking for original cosponsors of the National Cooperative Development Act.

Please:

• Sign up to receive email from the "Campaign for Cooperation".
• Review their talking points and steps to advocate.
• Read the legislation and Rep. Fattah's "Dear Colleague" letter looking for cosponsors.
• Make an appointment with your representative over the holiday break and make a personal visit to tell them how great your co-op is and how much it would mean to have low/no-cost assistance, as well as loans and seed capital.
• This is the big one! Reps need to hear from you, their constituents. Let's get major bi-partisan support to pass a relatively low-cost, high-impact bill to create wealth and jobs!

~ Thank you! ~

Attention from the Public and Policymakers

No doubt about it, the profile of cooperatives is rising. Between the economy tanking, appreciation for local food and local businesses deepening, anger at unresponsive banks and corporations flourishing, and the U.N. declaring 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives, people everywhere are turning to cooperatives as a promising solution.

Certain areas are receiving specific attention: on September 23, CDI's Andy Danforth joined Paul Bradley, president of ROC USA and recently named Ashoka Fellow, to speak at a roundtable hosted by the VT Housing and Conservation Board on manufactured housing in the state of Vermont. Nonprofit leaders from the whole state learned about the possibility of converting manufactured home parks into independent, economically viable, democratically run, Resident Owned Communities -- like Bunker Hill in Windsor, VT, whose residents bought their park in June (see press). CDI is currently assisting two additional parks in VT that are working to become cooperatives by the end of the year. We are assisting about 20 manufactured housing groups in total throughout New England.

A Chance to Live Our Values in Daily Life

With the help of cooperatives, we can get all our needs met by principled economic actors.

• Search Why.coop (beta) to find a co-op near you where you can shop, eat, live, bank, or work in line with your principles
• Shop for holiday gifts from co-ops
• There are loads of ideas in the 2011 Cooperative Business Journal Holiday Gift Guide
• We are especially fond of all those art and artisan co-ops we have in the Northeast. See for example beautiful photos of remarkable work by Sally Chaffee of the Shelburne Arts Co-op
• And talk about co-op enterprises building a better world -- "Southern Alternatives Agricultural Cooperative (SAAC), located in rural southwest Georgia, is the only African-American-owned pecan-shelling facility in the United States — and it is run by women". They are selling yummy plain and candy pecans -- order by Dec 9!
• Share your strength -- consider donating to the United Cooperative Appeal or to Farm Credit East and CoBank's campaign to support farm families hit hard by Hurricane Irene
• Seed the future -- look for a co-op project to invest in on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, IOBY.org, or another crowd-funding service
• Our current favorite is the pitch from Dorchester Community Food Co-op for a winter farmer's market. They are now exactly half-way to their goal of $5,000. Pledge $10 or more and get a book of recipes for dishes that cost less than $5 to make!

~ With Gratitude ~

~ CDI ~

"Don't Let 'Em Go! How co-ops can keep vital businesses, services in rural communities"

In the current (Sept/Oct) issue of USDA's Rural Cooperatives magazine, a salute to noteworthy co-ops in celebration of National (and International!) Cooperative Month includes an article by Noemi Giszpenc on converting existing businesses to co-op ownership in rural communities. The article features the Old Creamery Co-op, Crown O'Maine Organic Co-op, Turtle Ridge Cooperative, ROC USA, and Maine Organic Milling, all examples of people cooperating to keep needed institutions and make sure they are serving their communities. See page 30 for the article, and browse the other great stories in this special Co-op Month issue.

Bunker Hill Community Cooperative Purchases the 14-home Bunker Hill

Press garnered about this story:

• Valley News newspaper: http://www.vnews.com/07262011/7941365.htm
• WPTV tv news: http://www.wptz.com/r/28673441/detail.html
• WCAX tv news: http://www.wcax.com/story/15152251/how-residents-kept-their-mobile-home-park-from-closing

Windsor, VT – Nearly half a year after receiving news that their community was likely to be shut down forever, homeowners at Bunker Hill Mobile Home Park are now celebrating taking ownership of their community on June 30, 2011. The community’s land and facilities are now owned and democratically operated by Bunker Hill Community Cooperative (BHCC), an association comprised of all of the park’s residents. BHCC is the third resident-owned mobile home park in the state of Vermont, and the first new co-op in almost twenty years.

“At first, when our park was at risk of being shut down, I looked at this glass as being half empty, now it's overflowing,” states Bunker Hill resident and co-op member Barbara Adams. Co-op President Dave Furman adds that this recent resurgence of optimism and pride has already made a mark on the community: “The formation of the co-op has brought everyone closer together, almost like a family. Everyone has been working hard on the grounds, and in the units, taking pride in the community”.

Yet, the path to resident ownership was not an easy nor certain one. When the park’s former owner, Rockingham Community Land Trust (RACLT), sent out a notice of their intent to shut down the community back in October, 2010, Bunker hill residents were given three options: Work with RACLT to obtain relocation money in the form of a state grant, wait and hope for another nonprofit to purchase the property, or look into the feasibility of resident ownership. Intent on saving their homes, Bunker Hill residents ventured into what is unfamiliar territory in Vermont and investigated the feasibility of resident ownership. To this end, Bunker Hill residents enlisted the services of two technical assistance providers, the Vermont-based Mobile Home Project of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) and the Massachusetts-based Cooperative Development Institute (CDI).

RACLT indicated that they believed the costs of running the aging community were too high and cited the location of the community in a flood zone. Under a grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, CDI completed an independently reviewed feasibility study that showed that a residents’ cooperative could in fact continue to operate the community affordably. This feasibility study now forms the basis of an operating plan that, combined with the ongoing technical assistance and training provided by both CVOEO and CDI, will ensure that the residents’ cooperative will remain successful for years to come.

And success at Bunker Hill not only benefits the 14 families residing there who get to keep their homes. According to CVOEO’s Mobile Home Project Program Director Shaun Gilpin, “this cooperative is a success not only for the community in Windsor, but for mobile home communities throughout the state as we hope to help usher in a model of community ownership that has worked so well elsewhere in the country and fits well with Vermont values of independence and strong communities.”

Mobile home cooperatives are democratic associations in which homeowners in the community each buy one low-cost share, and have one vote on matters of the community. The members elect a Board of Directors to act on day-to-day issues and vote as a membership on larger matters like the annual budget, By-laws and Community Rules.

The CVOEO Mobile Home Project (MHP) is a private non-profit that assist residents of mobile homes throughout Vermont. The MHP is the only non-profit in the state that works exclusively with residents of mobile homes and assists residents with community organizing, understanding and exercising their rights under Vermont law and accessing resources to better their standard of living.

CDI is a Regional Cooperative Development Center, founded in 1994, which has assisted dozens of new and existing cooperatives throughout New England and New York. CDI is a certified technical assistance provider with ROC USA, a national nonprofit organization that works to help residents of mobile home parks form democratically-run associations and buy their parks. CDI is working with the residents of 14 mobile home communities throughout New England. CDI is not only involved with manufactured housing but provides technical assistance to agriculture, consumer, worker-owner, energy, and fishing cooperatives.

Financing was secured through Icarus Social Capital LLC of Foxborough, Massachusetts to purchase and rehabilitate the residents’ community. Secondary Financing was provided by the Vermont Community Loan Fund and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.