During the past year, we have accelerated our efforts to help businesses adopt the worker-owned model. This is a model that broadens wealth and supports family-sustaining jobs.
We are so grateful for the generosity of our donors who make this work possible.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to empower more worker-owners in the coming year.
Preserving a Childcare Center:
A Worker-Owner Story
Mary Wilder, a worker-owner at Shine Nurture Center, cares for one of the children enrolled in the childcare center.
Mary Wilder and other worker-owners participate in a coaching session with Ellen Vera, the Director of Co-op Organizing at Co-op Cincy.
“I like the democratic idea of a co-op. I love that we all get to make decisions about our everyday work life.”
When the founder of Shine Nurture Center initiated the process of selling the business to her employees, Mary Wilder knew nothing about the worker co-op model. The idea of shared ownership appealed to her.
"I never wanted to own a daycare by myself," Mary explained. "Then the opportunity with worker-ownership came along with Shine. And it wasn’t just me."
Shine now has 4 worker-owners, including Mary, who run the business together. Co-op Cincy supported them as they took ownership of Shine in February of 2022, helping finance their purchase of the business and assisting them in ongoing management through our coaching program.
"There were so many things we didn’t know about being a business owner. Ms. Ellen was like, 'I’m going to help you guys. I’m going to train you guys and give you the resources you need,'" Mary said, referring to Ellen Vera, our Director of Co-op Organizing, who helps run our program to transition businesses to the worker-owned model.
Shine's workers celebrate the transition to the shared ownership model in February with Ellen Vera, Director of Co-op Organizing at Co-op Cincy.
With Co-op Cincy's ongoing support, Shine has flourished. The worker-owners purchased the building in October of this year.
"I like the democratic idea of a co-op," said Mary. "I love that we all get to make decisions about our everyday work life."
Why did Mary decide to become a worker-owner?
"I made this decision for my kids," she said. "I want to be able to leave them something.
Please consider making a donation to empower more worker-owners like Mary.
Family-Sustaining Jobs
Worker-ownership increases the wealth of working families. Overall, worker-owners have a 33% higher median income, according to one study. Lower-wage workers who become worker-owners have a 17% higher median household net worth, while worker-owners of color have a 79% higher median household net worth.
As you plan your year-end giving, please donate to help us empower more worker-owners, building a more equitable and resilient local economy here in Greater Cincinnati!
If you become a new monthly donor of at least $15, we'll give you a Co-op Cincy t-shirt as a thank-you! We'll also send you a t-shirt if you've been an existing monthly donor of at least $15 for one year!
The t-shirts, which were printed by a union worker-co-op, are available in white and purple.
Please consider making your donation recurring
Thank you, and have a safe and happy new year!
