How do we know that development without displacement is possible? Why are we interested in cooperatives? We suggest the following readings on mechanisms for pooling money, on permanently affordable space, and on pooling money for permanently affordable space.
Cooperatives
- What is a cooperative?
- What are cooperative principles?
- How many kinds of “co-ops” exist?
- Search through this library of cooperative resources
- Watch a video about a worker cooperative in NYC called Third Root
- Watch a video about a worker cooperative in NYC called Cooperative Homecare Associates
Pooling Money
- The Working World: investment capital for worker cooperatives
- Community Development Financial Institutions, and how they are less risky than “mainstream” counterparts
- Direct Public Offerings (this is how Ben & Jerry’s raised their first chunk of money): Seeking Capital, Some Companies Turn to ‘Do-It-Yourself I.P.O.’s,’ New York Times (July 31, 2013)
- More Direct Public Offering details here, or you can watch a video
- Workers Diner In NYC a Direct Public Offering that could have worked, if only enough people had wanted to own a diner business together.
- Community Economic Development Investment Fund in Alberta, Canada
- The Cooperative Fund of New England
- Investment Cooperatives in Minneapolis and Canada, a summary
- Northeast Investment Cooperative in Minneapolis
- Community Bonds in Toronto
- Iroquois Valley Farms, LLC, using a regulated security to invest in farmland
- The Alberta Community & Cooperatives Association (ACCA) which has helped seed six “Opportunity Cooperatives” to invest in real estate and infrastructure. They provide education and templates for groups seeking to start new investment coops in their area, including a great Guide for Community Leaders.
Permanently Affordable Space in New York City
- Cooper Square Committee Community Land Trust and Mutual Housing Association
- The New York City Community Land Initiative and Community Land Trusts
- Community Land Trust Resources for Commercial Properties
Pooling Money to Make Permanently Affordable Space
- Weeksville (19th century inspiration, one of America’s first free black communities)
- Mietshaeusersyndikat (sorry! in German!)
- Cooperative Bakery Tied to a Community Land Trust in the UK
Webinars
-
Who Will Own the Land? Models for Community Owned Real Estate
What would it look like if communities had more ownership in how their neighborhoods and cities developed? This webinar features communities who are creating pathways for community members to become owners and investors in real estate cooperatives and trust models that would buy and rehab properties in their community – models that can be replicated and adapted to the spaces you know and care about. Discussion by the NYC REIC, the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, Mercy Corps – Community Investment Trust and The Guild. Hosted by LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to create, model, and share a locally self-reliant economy that works for the benefit of all life.