Co-op Ed Center (CEC) focuses on advancing economic and racial justice by bringing awareness, training, and developing cooperatives in BIPOC communities. Our mission is to build democratic businesses and entities in BIPOC communities across Chicagoland that abide by values of equity, cooperation, solidarity, and democracy. We do this through the following approaches:
RESTORATIVE ECONOMY ORGANIZING
After years of experience building democratic collective spaces, we have learned that for cooperatives to thrive and develop a strong foundation and support, we first need to invest the necessary time and resources in engaging communities around a larger vision and theory of change such as the restorative economy model.
We define Restorative Economy as the process of assisting the recovery of communities that have been degraded, damaged, or excluded by the current economic system. This is part of a global movement, also known as the Solidarity Economy, which aims to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth. This system provides real alternatives such as creating democratic spaces where all community voices are heard; promoting cooperative and inclusive relationships; and building models of community wealth and ownership to leverage joint economic power to collectively assert rights and exercise political power.
The restorative economic system focuses on the process of building economic practices and institutions based on the values and principles of equity, justice cooperation, solidarity, democratic control, community-driven and long-term sustainability. RE entities include: cooperatives (worker-owned, consumer, producer), public banks, community land trusts, and time banks. Additionally, this system also promotes community civic engagement and participation such as participatory budgeting processes.
With this approach, we aim to bring awareness about the Restorative Economy and cooperative model to the communities we serve, which include Maywood IL and Chicago's Little Village and Logan Square neighborhoods.
These are some of our goals:
We define Restorative Economy as the process of assisting the recovery of communities that have been degraded, damaged, or excluded by the current economic system. This is part of a global movement, also known as the Solidarity Economy, which aims to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth. This system provides real alternatives such as creating democratic spaces where all community voices are heard; promoting cooperative and inclusive relationships; and building models of community wealth and ownership to leverage joint economic power to collectively assert rights and exercise political power.
The restorative economic system focuses on the process of building economic practices and institutions based on the values and principles of equity, justice cooperation, solidarity, democratic control, community-driven and long-term sustainability. RE entities include: cooperatives (worker-owned, consumer, producer), public banks, community land trusts, and time banks. Additionally, this system also promotes community civic engagement and participation such as participatory budgeting processes.
With this approach, we aim to bring awareness about the Restorative Economy and cooperative model to the communities we serve, which include Maywood IL and Chicago's Little Village and Logan Square neighborhoods.
These are some of our goals:
- Offer community leaders an in-depth understanding of the Restorative Economy, including cooperatives and spark conversations on how this can be replicated in their communities.
- Provide opportunities to deepen relationships for those interested in creating a RE framework within their communities.
- Encourage and support a community-led network for restorative economy initiatives.
COOPERATIVE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
We offer different types of trainings and services. Some of these include:
1. Co-op 101 Workshops
These workshops provide a basic understanding of the cooperative model from a BIPOC perspective, including principles and values and history as well as the current worker cooperative efforts and impact on local economic and community development.
2. Cooperative Culture Trainings
These trainings introduce participants to a culture of cooperation and tools needed for collective work and decision-making. In addition to a theoretical framework, these trainings work to build an internal culture of trust, solidarity, and trust among participants through popular education.
3. Cooperative Development Training
Starting a worker cooperative might seem easy for some people; however, there is much more to consider, especially for people of color who already face crucial barriers such as lack of access to resources, information and support networks. This co-op training program aims to meet the needs of people of color by providing a comprehensive training that incorporates in-class popular education methodology with hands-on experience while receiving technical and professional assistance.
1. Co-op 101 Workshops
These workshops provide a basic understanding of the cooperative model from a BIPOC perspective, including principles and values and history as well as the current worker cooperative efforts and impact on local economic and community development.
2. Cooperative Culture Trainings
These trainings introduce participants to a culture of cooperation and tools needed for collective work and decision-making. In addition to a theoretical framework, these trainings work to build an internal culture of trust, solidarity, and trust among participants through popular education.
3. Cooperative Development Training
Starting a worker cooperative might seem easy for some people; however, there is much more to consider, especially for people of color who already face crucial barriers such as lack of access to resources, information and support networks. This co-op training program aims to meet the needs of people of color by providing a comprehensive training that incorporates in-class popular education methodology with hands-on experience while receiving technical and professional assistance.
ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
For the last few of years, we have been working on creating an internal structure of technical assistance and community partners to support the development of worker cooperatives. This collective of partner organizations and businesses is the supportive layer of the RE ecosystem, necessary for the long term sustainability of worker cooperatives and the success of the RE model in BIPOC communities in the Chicagoland area.
This is particularly important to us because our internal collaborative approach is not only focused on organizational skill sets but also on shared values of solidarity, trust and collaboration. These values shape the way we interact with one another and how we keep our communities at the center. They also help us create a collaborative culture focused on shared goals, effective communication and team-building, thereby learning and troubleshooting together.
This value-driven approach allows for the creation of a cooperative system that provides effective services. Our partnership network includes: Food.Partners, business development consultants; ELCESQ LLC, a crowdfunding securities law firm that provides securities legal services to Black and Latinx-owned small businesses, cooperatives, and nonprofits; Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart School of Business; Women for Economic Justice whose focus is collective learning and healing justice for Domestic Violence survivors; and Embrace Corazon Counseling, a WOC mental health provider. We expect this network to continue growing as we service more cooperative projects across the Chicagoland area.
This is particularly important to us because our internal collaborative approach is not only focused on organizational skill sets but also on shared values of solidarity, trust and collaboration. These values shape the way we interact with one another and how we keep our communities at the center. They also help us create a collaborative culture focused on shared goals, effective communication and team-building, thereby learning and troubleshooting together.
This value-driven approach allows for the creation of a cooperative system that provides effective services. Our partnership network includes: Food.Partners, business development consultants; ELCESQ LLC, a crowdfunding securities law firm that provides securities legal services to Black and Latinx-owned small businesses, cooperatives, and nonprofits; Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart School of Business; Women for Economic Justice whose focus is collective learning and healing justice for Domestic Violence survivors; and Embrace Corazon Counseling, a WOC mental health provider. We expect this network to continue growing as we service more cooperative projects across the Chicagoland area.