January 2022 Newsletter

Happy New Year! We hope you got some rest during the holiday season. We're thrilled to start 2022 with Pitch Night for Power in Numbers, our business co-op training course for Black-led teams. We also have other exciting news.

power in numbers

We encourage you to join us virtually at 6 PM on Tuesday January 18 to hear the Power in Numbers groups pitch their co-op business plans!

Vernon Oakes, host of the Everything Co-op radio show, will speak during the event, and a panel of judges will offer feedback to help strengthen the co-op businesses. Here are our judges:

John Holdsclaw IV, Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the National Cooperative Bank
Alison Powers, Manager of Cooperatives and Communities at Capital Impact Partners
Ashlee Young, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Initiatives at Urban League of Greater SW Ohio

To attend via Zoom, go to this link at 6 pm on Tuesday January 18:

Zoom Link for Pitch Night

Meeting ID: 852 5000 7651
Passcode: 974465

Thank You for Your Donations!

A huge, huge thanks to our donors!

In December, we raised $8,531! We’re so grateful for your support and commitment to building an economy that works for all. And we’re very excited for what 2022 will bring! 💗💗💗

Co-op Cincy Happenings

6 Certificate Graduates

In December, 6 individuals graduated from our Co-op Management Certificate course, which we offer in partnership with the Xavier Leadership Center. The 3-month course explores the power and possibilities of cooperatives.

The next course starts in April, with applications due March 1. More details to follow.

Strategy Session

Also in December, we met for a 2-day strategic planning session to discuss how to increase our impact. We’re looking forward to strengthening our co-op network in 2022!

New Symposium Recordings

Over the upcoming weeks, we'll be posting recordings of the sessions from our 2021 Union Co-op Symposium, which drew 200 people from around the world.

During the 2-day hybrid event, we discussed practical tools on how to start and run union worker cooperatives. Here's what 1 participant said: "So much profound exploration of ideas and sharing of experiences!"⠀

We recently posted the recordings of 2 sessions to our YouTube channel:

Co-op Education in Local School

As part of a new program, we're getting ready to teach local high school students about the co-op model. Here's a photo from December of a student talking about a past co-op education course.

We can’t wait to see the possibilities we can co-create with these students!

Worker Co-op Week Session Online

The Worker Co-op Week virtual conference session with Ellen Vera (our Director of Development and Co-op Organizing) and Flequer Vera (CEO of Sustainergy) is now online.

The session, titled “2 Years of Learning and Tools for Effectively Building Thriving Union Worker Co-ops,” explored ways to strengthen the ties between the worker cooperative and union labor movements. Check out the recording on YouTube.

Co-op Updates

In 2021, we loaned approximately $95,000 to our network of co-ops. We're thrilled to report they continued to grow!!!

A few highlights:

Sustainergy's sales grew more than 50% in 2021, and they began their search for a New Market Director to lead an expansion into Dayton.

Our Harvest continued offering fresh, local food and and celebrated the donation of Bahr Farm to the Cardinal Land Trust.

Hopes Fulfilled, one of our newest co-ops, purchased a used food truck. They are working toward opening their food truck business this year in the neighborhood of Evanston.

Queen Mother's Market, another of our newest co-ops, is having a launch event at Esoteric Brewing on March 1! More details to follow. Queen Mother’s Market has created a regional buyer's club and is working toward starting a co-op grocery store in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Shine Nurture Center started transitioning to worker ownership, joining our network of co-ops. Shine has become a successful business since its founding in 2015, with 12 workers and a waiting list that typically includes more than 70 families.

Queen City Commons collected 112,405 pound of food scraps and served more than 100 residential dro-off members. They also partnered with Morsel and Nosh and Unity Christian Church Food Pantry in Hartwell. Queen City Commons was also accepted to present at the US Composting Council Emerging Composter Competition!

Cincy Cleaning Co-op's team went from working 2 to 5 days a week. In addition, they welcomed a 2nd worker-owner and put a 3rd employee on the path to worker-ownership.

In the News

Listen to Co-op Cincy Board Member Jaime Love in "Including Communities of Color in Efforts To Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change" on WVXU
Read "How Cooperative Gig Economy Companies Managed To Flourish During the Pandemic" in Fast Company
Watch "This New Cooperative Business Model Could Change Everything" on The Laura Flanders Show (via YouTube)
Read "COVID Pandemic Has Shown the Value of Employee Ownership" in The Mercury News

Events

January 19 from 430-6 PM GMT: Trade Union Education: Its Role in Developing Union-Coops, a free webinar from Union Co-ops UK. Register now.
February 23 from 430-6 PM GMT: The Role of a Trade Union in a Union-Coop Structure, a free webinar from Union Co-ops UK. Register now.
March 1: Applications for Cooperative Management Certificate course due. Details TBA.
March 1: Launch event for Queen Mother's Market, one of the newest co-ops in our network, at Esoteric Brewing. Details TBA.
March 30 from 430-6 PM GMT: Workplace/Economic Democracy: What May This Look Like to Union Members and Ordinary Workers, a free webinar from Union Co-ops UK. Register now.

pitch night & More