Center for Community Wealth Building plays a part in Colorado’s rapidly growing cooperative ecosystem. We align our work with many other ecosystem partners—including nonprofits, anchor institutions, government agencies, and existing cooperatives—in order to raise incomes and improve working conditions for cooperative members.
In addition to collaborating with ecosystem partners, we're continuing our popular education work to expand who has access to cooperative economics. Our training increases the number of BIPOC co-op educators and supports emerging trainers to practice and share the cooperative model with their communities. Read more to learn how this robust ecosystem is forming. Building with Co-op Ecosystem Partners
At the heart of any small business ecosystem are people and systems that put energy into helping small businesses to grow The Democracy at Work Institute defines 11 elements that are unique to a cooperative ecosystem:
In Denver, one important ecosystem partner is the Denver Foundation, which has supported worker cooperatives for many years. Their Strengthening Neighborhood grants provide much needed seed funding ($2,500-$5,000) to help with operational expenses before cooperatives launch. This year, CCWB supported four groups in completing this grant, which allowed them to buy equipment, receive industry training and contract with lawyers. We have also had multiple partners in co-op education. First, we hosted the second-annual Summer Institute "Decidimos el Futuro" with GES Coalition and Project Voyce, a daylong bilingual, all-ages training focused on tenants rights, community owned real estate, worker cooperative skills and arts & culture. We also partnered with the Aurora South Metro SBDC in hosting two courses over six months for more than 40 Spanish-speaking childcare workers, helping them to form worker cooperatives. Finally, we could not complete our mission without the support of the ecosystem partners of the City and State. With funds from Denver Economic Development & Opportunity, we offered free cooperative development technical assistance to Denver businesses. We have also supported multiple small businesses as they evaluate their employee ownership options or navigate the resources from OEDIT’s Office of Employee Ownership. Consistently Developing Cooperatives Businesses (and more on the way!)
We have worked with more than 20 groups this year, but three emerging cooperatives are very close to completing their legal agreements. We have offered responsive technical assistance, facilitation, and commitment to ensure these three businesses successfully launch:
We're also actively developing three childcare cooperatives in Greeley, North Denver-Thornton, and Aurora. As a support structure for home-based childcare providers, who often work alone, these co-ops will support Colorado families who need childcare and empower workers who seek to earn higher income—a double win. Strengthening Our Cooperative Education
Our Train the Trainer program is the key program we use to expand cooperative education. This annual training equips individuals with valuable skills, empowers them to bring cooperative models back to their communities, and trains others to reclaim historically rooted practices of mutual aid and self help as twin forces for economic mobility. Notably, Train the Trainer allows individuals to take on new leadership roles and foster the growth of the cooperative movement in their communities.
For example, two of our staff cooperative developers were former cohort participants and now lead CCWB’s training. This year, 16 trainers completed the 28-hour course, and we are expanding to two cohorts next year, one in Denver and one in San Luis Valley, to support their food cooperative enterprises. Through a steering committee and active listening sessions, our trainers themselves actively shape the program's curriculum each year, allowing us to adapt this training to community needs. Want to be part of the ecosystem?
We are committed to nurturing a dynamic cooperative ecosystem. Would you like to grow with us? Join an upcoming cooperative training opportunities on our events page or connect with a cooperative developer to begin the process of building a co-op in your neighborhood or community.
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Khary's Catering, one of the 11 caterers that went through Feeding Anchors, stands as a team at Eat.Local.Food. October 24, 2023. Denver, CO – October 23, 2023 – Denver's Center for Community Wealth Building (CCWB) is leading a pioneering initiative to bridge the racial wealth gap by forging partnerships between local and minority-owned food businesses and large institutions. On Tuesday, October 24, CCWB, in cooperation with the Aurora-South Metro SBDC, will host Eat.Local.Food. at the National Western Center, featuring 11 outstanding diverse, local caterers for a food-tasting event that will welcome over 200 institutional buyers from some of the largest institutions in Colorado. The purpose of Eat.Local.Food. is to introduce diverse, local caterers to potential new customers committed to leveraging their everyday purchasing to foster economic prosperity and inclusivity in the Denver metropolitan area. "Our place-based institutions have a significant economic engine that can be leveraged to strengthen our local businesses. CCWB connects local, diverse small businesses to these institutions to build mutually beneficial relationships." "Our place-based institutions have a significant economic engine that can be leveraged to strengthen our local businesses. CCWB is connecting local, diverse small businesses to these institutions to build mutually beneficial relationships," said Yessica Holguin, executive director at CCWB. "By opening doors for local and minority-owned food businesses and helping institutions make purchasing decisions that align with their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are driving positive change in Denver's economic landscape." The event is sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation, National Western Center, CSU Spur, The SSA Group, Zing Credit Union, Kaiser Permanente, and Denver Economic Development & Opportunity (DEDO). Eat.Local.Food is a Win-Win-Win (Businesses, Economy, Community)This initiative boosts local and minority-owned businesses and promotes economic prosperity for underserved communities. It allows institutions to significantly impact these entrepreneurs’ journey, support economic growth, and help create a more equitable and diverse business landscape. The Feeding Anchors program and Eat.Local.Food. celebration is a testament to the power of collaboration, and it has already shown promising results. CCWB’s institutional partners are committed to leveraging their everyday business decisions to create positive change that benefits the community. Catering businesses that have been through the program can see dramatic improvements in their business, such as Taste the Love Cooking, which, after many years in business, reached 2023 revenue goals early and has several new catering relationships with institutional companies. For more information about CCWB's Feeding Anchors program and its efforts to support local and minority-owned food businesses, please visit https://www.communitywealthbuilding.org/feedling-anchors.html. |
AuthorDiana Aqra, Archives
April 2024
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