We Also Have Other Exciting News!
Our annual event and fundraiser is almost here!
We are celebrating from 6-8 pm on Thu Nov 17 at a new venue, the beautiful Karrikin Spirits event space (located at 3717 Jonlen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45227)
We invite you to have dinner, connect with us, and support our work to build an economy that works for all!
$35 tickets include delicious tapas. Drinks and spirits will be available for additional purchase.
At the celebration, you'll hear about our network's recent accomplishments, meet our co-op members, and get a glimpse of how we plan to achieve our long-term goal: 80,000 worker-owned businesses in Greater Cincinnati by 2072!
Don't wait. Get tickets now!
Other Co-op Cincy News
Deadline for Companies to Apply to 2022 Business Legacy Fund is Nov 15
The Nov 15 deadline for businesses to apply to the Business Legacy Fund is coming up fast.
The Fund helps businesses become employee-owned, expanding ownership and building community wealth. There are 2 main ways the Fund does this:It helps retiring business owners sell their companies to their employees, saving jobs while securing their retirement.It enables business owners to broaden ownership to their employees while continuing to work with their business.Financing is accompanied by technical assistance to ensure the company flourishes.
Know a business owner who might be interested? Let them know about the Fund.
This year's expansion of the Fund was recently covered in the Business Courier.
“The Business Legacy Fund is an innovative way for retiring business owners to sell their businesses for fair-market value and preserve local jobs, but more importantly, the Fund will help create a more resilient and stable economy for our city’s future.”
Co-op Cincy is Hiring an Office & Project Manager!
We are looking for a full-time Office & Project Manager to help our growing network thrive.
See the full job description here.
Salary: $45,000 with 20 paid vacation days and 11 paid holidays.
Timeline: We plan to begin reviewing applications by late November.
Apply by sending a cover letter outlining your qualifications, a resume, and 3 references to kristen@coopcincy.org.
Can You Help Us Meet Our Fall Donation Drive Goal?
We’ve raised 80% of our $10,000 goal for our 6-week donation drive! We are fundraising to support another 4-5 worker-owned businesses in the coming year.
We’re so grateful for the generosity of our supporters, who power our work. Through their gifts, we can provide business ownership opportunities to historically marginalized groups, including people of color, low-wage workers, and women.
Please consider donating at coopcincy.org/give or sharing our donation request to help us reach our $10,000 goal. We cannot do this without you!
If you become a new monthly donor during our donation drive, or increase your monthly donation by $10, we'll give you a Co-op Cincy t-shirt as a thank-you!
The t-shirts are available in white (pictured) and with a purple background and white logo/lettering.
2 Co-op Courses Making Progress
We are currently working with 11 teams in 2 different courses designed to support them as they develop and launch co-op businesses!
One of those courses, Power in Numbers, is designed specifically to support Black-led teams.
The other, a version of our Co-op U, helps teams develop a worker-owned business in a construction-related field.
Here's a picture of our construction-related Co-op U:
High School Students Graduate from Agriculture & Co-op Business Course
At the end of September, we celebrated the end of a 9-month course designed to help refugee youth learn how to apply the co-op business and agricultural models here in Greater Cincinnati!
Thanks to our partners Our Harvest, Refugee Connect, Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio, and Aiken High School!
After receiving a new 3-year grant from the federal government, we are gearing up to offer additional agricultural and co-op business training to refugees in Cincinnati, helping them improve their livelihoods.
Ohio Network Meets on Nov 12 in Dayton
We’re excited for the Nov 12 meeting of the Ohio Worker Ownership Network at Gem City Market in Dayton! The event is FREE, with lunch available for purchase. Worker co-ops and co-op developers in Ohio will have a chance to connect and build skills.
Learn more and register here.
Blog Post: Save Local Jobs & Build Community Wealth Through Worker-Ownership
For National Co-op Month, Ellen Vera, our director of development and co-op organizing, wrote about why business and government leaders should embrace worker-ownership.
"Worker-ownership is a proven economic strategy, with a long history," Vera writes. "In the Basque region of Spain, which has a population size similar to Greater Cincinnati, the Mondragon network of worker-owned businesses has produced long-term growth and stability."
Read her blog post.
Mona Jenkins Wins Bob Maxwell Peace Builder Award
Congrats to Mona Jenkins, the recipient of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center's 2022 Bob Maxwell Peace Builder Award!
As our Cooperative Food Justice Coordinator, Mona works with residents to address food insecurity. Mona is also the Co-Founder of Queen Mother’s Market.
Updates From Our Co-op Network
Shine Nurture Center Buys Building!
Congrats to Shine Nurture Center, which closed on purchasing their own building in October! Pictured are Bethany Heeg, one of Shine’s worker-owners, and Ellen Vera, our director of development and co-op organizing, at the title company!
Shine was able to purchase their building, located in the Mount Airy neighborhood, with the support of our loan fund and our partner Seed Commons!
Shine is part of our growing network of cooperatives. They transitioned to the worker-owned model at the beginning of the year after the owner sold the business to 5 female employees. We supported them through and after that transition as part of our Business Legacy Fund (described above).
Sustainergy Wins 2022 CLIMB Award!
Congrats to Sustainergy, one of the winners of the 2022 CLIMB (Cincinnati Lifts Inclusion and Minority Business) Awards from the Cincinnati Business Courier and Cincinnati Regional Chamber!
CLIMB, now in its fifth year, “honors individuals and organizations in Greater Cincinnati that have helped our region achieve greater heights of success through building a diverse workforce, championing equitable practices and developing inclusive cultures.”
Here’s what the Chamber had to say of Sustainergy: “The organization focuses on practicing inclusive capitalism and building a more equitable local economy.”
Read more about Sustainergy and the other honorees here.
Our Harvest Holds 10-Year Celebration
Our Harvest had a memorable 10-year celebration in October, raising more than $4,000!
Our Harvest was the first co-op in our network. They provide access to healthy, local food in a way that honors land and labor.
Queen City Commons Partners with City of Covington
Queen City Commons continues to grow and has partnered with the City of Covington to collect compost!
"Ultimately, Covington wants to do a better job of reducing its collective impact on the water, air, and the earth," said Sheila Fields, the City’s Solid Waste & Recycling manager.
Heritage Hill Seeking New Space
Heritage Hill is looking for a new warehouse space to rent that has the following characteristics:
Approx. 1,500-3,000 sq. ft.
Access to a loading dock
Located within the City of Cincinnati
Temperature control
Office space Have a space?
Contact Brandon Hoff at brandonz@heritagehill.co or 513.237.0240.
2 Co-op Members Named National Fellows
Congrats to Bethany Heeg of Shine Nurture Center and Victoria Russell of A Touch of TLC Home Care for being named in the 2022-2023 cohort of the Worker Ownership State Advocacy Fellowship by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives! The Fellows are advocating to increase worker ownership in their home states. Learn more here.
Co-op Cincy in the News
As mentioned above, the Business Courier wrote about the 2022 Business Legacy Fund: "As in the rest of the country, Greater Cincinnati faces an ‘unprecedented’ wave of retirements by baby-boomer business owners, a shift known as the ‘silver tsunami.’”
In Nonprofit Quarterly, Ellen Vera, our director of co-op organizing, wrote about the state of the care economy: "The child care system in the United States is broken."
Movement News
Cincinnati was ranked #4 in the country for the top 25 cities for employee ownership! According to the Cincinnati entry in the article by Certified EO: “Cincinnati is home to 32 employee-owned companies, including Al. Neyer, Intrust IT, Ohio Valley Electrical Services, Parallel Technologies and The Motz Corporation.”
The California Employee Ownership Act is now law! The act will work to “increase awareness and understanding of employee ownership among stakeholders, assist business owners and employees in navigating available resources, and streamline and reduce barriers to employee ownership.” Read more.
Events
Nov 15: deadline for businesses to apply to participate in our 2022 Business Legacy Fund
Nov 17 from 6-8 pm: Co-op Cincy's annual event and fundraiser: A Celebration of the Cooperative Movement in Greater Cincinnati
Jan 24 & 25: 3rd Biennial Cooperative Law Conference
