Community and Economic Development

Community and Economic Development

Seeding Equity Report Cover

Seeding Equity: A New Community-Based Model of Public Investment in Worker Cooperatives for Excluded Workers

In 2021, California launched Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED), an innovative grant program fostering high-road business ownership opportunities for excluded workers (individuals who cannot access stable, gainful employment relationships and whose economic opportunities are severely constrained due to their immigration status or other significant barriers to employment).

The Municipal Playbook For Employee Ownership

The Municipal Playbook for Employee Ownership

Author(s) : Zen Trenholm (DAWI) and Kyle Funk (NLC)
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The Democracy at Work Institute and the National League of Cities have developed The Municipal Playbook for Employee Ownership to assist with integrating employee ownership into municipal economic and workforce development strategies. It offers three approaches that address specific pain points faced by many municipalities:

Working With Small Business Cooperatives: A Guide for Public Sector, Private Sector, and Nonprofit Allies

Author(s) : Margaret Lund
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SPACING
 
Produced for public sector, private sector, and nonprofit allies of worker cooperatives, Working With Small Business Cooperatives is a guide for the use of worker cooperatives as a proven model for equitable economic development. The resource provides in-depth answers to foundational questions of starting and operating a small business cooperative, making connections to the benefits of cooperative business in regards to economic development.

Becoming Employee Owned: A Small Business Toolkit for Transitioning to Employee Ownership

Author(s) : Democracy at Work Institute
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Transitioning your small business to employee ownership can have positive impacts on employee engagement, productivity, and retention; anchor a lasting legacy for your efforts building the business; and offer a financially rewarding exit path that can be supported by experienced professional assistance.

Legacy Business: Our opportunity to build wealth, economy, and culture

Author(s) : Democracy at Work Institute
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Together with Citi Community Development, Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is collaborating with National Urban League and key local leaders to enable more people to share in business assets in their communities– not through creating new businesses, but through leveraging and preserving assets already invested in communities, specifically by promoting shared ownership of existing businesses.

Raising Our Future Together: How Cooperatives Can Create Better, More Affordable Child Care in NYC

Author(s) : Anh-Thu Nguyen, Tim Palmer, Osman Ahmed
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The development of worker cooperative child care providers, from centers to in-home providers to nannies, should be included as part of a long-term strategy to address affordable childcare in New York City. This report, co-authored by DAWI and FPWA, spells out key recommendations that the Mayor’s office and City Council could implement to increase access to child care while increasing the quality of child care jobs.