A Day in Maine to Get Organized and Energized to Sustain Local Economies

Our friends at Cooperative Maine are helping put together an inspiring one-day conference, "Creating and Sustaining Vibrant Local Economies in Maine" on March 22 (this Saturday), 9 AM-4 PM, Randall Student Center, Augusta. We like the goals for the day!

Goals for the Day

(1) What are Vibrant Local Economies in Maine now (find out what’s being done);
(2) What would vibrant local economies in Maine look like in the future (vision);
(3) Why is it important to have strong local economies?
(4) Learn the benefits of vibrant local economies;
(5) People leave at the end with action ideas/steps and energy to carry them out.

CDI staffperson Jessica Pooley will be in attendance to let people know about the work CDI is doing in Maine to strengthen local economies.

Support a new worker-owned green recycling business: CERO in Boston

From Stacey Cordeiro, founder of Boston Center for Community Ownership:

Hi my co-op community, I wanted to let you know about a new worker co-op forming in Boston.  It will be a full-service recycling and disposal service for neighborhood restaurants, closing local food loops by composting food scraps for local farmers and collecting waste vegetable oil for biofuel.  Today is the first day of a long process of raising enough money for trucks and equipment.  This is a member driven effort, with local entrepreneurs from African American and Latino communities coming together to create this business.  They have been working hard for over a year to create a solid business plan to make this happen.  

Even if you can't donate, I really recommend visiting their Indiegogo site to watch the short video, it's really beautiful.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/green-jobs-that-pay-off-for-people-community-the-planet/x/303065?c=home

http://www.cero.coop/

Looking forward to seeing many of you this week at ECWD!

Stacey

Fundraising for the new cohort of Green Worker Cooperatives

The Next Wave of Co-ops are here! 

The Spring semester of the Coop Academy, our business boot camp for cooperative start-ups, is less than a month away. But before any of the four teams of aspiring cooperative entrepreneurs are able to benefit from the aggressive combination of training, coaching, and technical services such as legal incorporation, graphic design, and website development, first they have to fundraise for their course registration fee ($550 per team member).

It’s their first assignment as a team. We request you donate to one, several or all of these start-up cooperatives. Your donation is their access to training and resources, a network of support, and of course … success. Think of it as an investment in the creation of the economy you’ve always dreamed of.

Make a donation today … then tell your friends.

The Next Wave

1. The Women Of Color and LGBTQ Healing Arts Collectivewill provide holisitc health services to the Bronx by and for womyn of color and the LGBTQ community. The collective will operate out of the Casa Atabex Ache/House of Womyn’s Power in the South Bronx.

2. POPis an online feminist zine created by and for young women of color from the Bronx. It grew out of W.O.M.E.N. (Where Our Minds Empower Needs), a young women’s group at The Point CDC in the South Bronx and aims to fight back oppressive images and talk about women of color in a more positive, complex, and real manner. Watch their amazing video!

3. Eco Rydersis a group of young people dedicated to teaching Bronx youth about the environment and social issues through green skateboard design. They operate out of The Point CDC in the South Bronx.Watch their inspiring video!

4. The NYC Student Credit Union will be a student-owned and operated credit union within the CUNY university system providing financial services tailored to the special needs of students.

 

Donate to 4 Aspiring Worker Co-ops

There are four amazing nascent worker cooperatives raising funds now to participate in the Green Worker Cooperatives Co-op Academy Fall 2012 session. Give them a boost! http://ioby.org/campaign/green-worker-cooperatives-coop-academy-fall-2012.

Job Posting: Boston Recycling Cooperative Startup Manager

Job Posting: Startup Manager for New Recycling Cooperative Business

Boston Recycling Cooperative
Job Description: Startup Business Manager

Summary:

Boston Recycling Cooperative is seeking a startup business manager to
help form and grow a new worker-owned cooperative business.  The BRC
is a joint project between Boston Workers Alliance, MassCOSH, the
Cooperative Development Institute and the Boston Recycling Coalition.
This new business is a community economic development project meant to
demonstrate new models of job creation in the burgeoning “Green
Economy.”

The Boston Recycling Cooperative will be a bi-lingual (Spanish and
English) and multi-cultural company based in Greater Boston’s
low-income neighborhoods.  The BRC will focus on waste collection and
recycling of vegetable oil, metals, organic waste and other valuable
waste products.  As a worker owned cooperative, BRC will also develop
an innovative business model that includes worker-ownership and
democratically based management practices.

Responsibilities:

Administration: administrative aspects of operations, including
billing and payments, purchasing materials and maintaining financial
records

Financial Development: develop and maintain financial systems, conduct
financial projections, revise and update budgets, present and educate
worker-members about the co-ops financial position

Cooperative Development: develop a worker-cooperative business and
help coordinate and build a dynamic multi-cultural team based in
mutual respect and ownership

Supervision and Support: create systems of accountability and
supervision to maintain professionalism, efficiency and a high
functioning business

Public Relations and Marketing: develop and maintain high level
relationships and partnerships with relevant government agencies,
businesses, non-profit institutions and funding sources relevant to
the successful growth of the business

Controller and Regulatory Compliance: ensure that the cooperative
meets and maintains its legal, financial, insurance and regulatory
obligations relevant to its business operations

Worker Accountability: be responsive and accountable to the
worker-owners of the company

Required Qualifications:

Masters in Business Administration or minimum 3 years of
entrepreneurial experience as a senior manager or owner in a private
or non-profit venture 
Commitment to social and economic justice and
understanding of cooperative and environmental movements
Strong writing and communication skills
Demonstrated success managing strategic and operational planning,
budgeting and forecasting, as well as organizational development, and
performance management
Ability to facilitate collaboration and achieve results while managing
multiple projects, sites and personalities.
Solid PC skills, including e-mail, spreadsheet and word processing
Bi-Lingual Speaker required (English and Spanish)
Familiarity with Accounting Software such as QuickBooks
Experience working within a cooperative is a plus

BRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are
considered for employment.  BRC does not discriminate on the basis
of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual
orientation, disability, criminal background or veteran status. People
of color and women are encouraged to apply.

This is a part time position with funding for 2 years, with
opportunity for growth dependent on the success of the company. Please
apply by August 17.

To apply, please send a Resume and Cover Letter to
atanaka@bostonworkersalliance.org with "Boston Recycling Cooperative"
in the subject