Is your co-op facing challenges due to COVID-19 business disruption or closure? Shared Capital is offering emergency loans to cooperatives. Click here for more information.
We encourage all cooperatives to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Here is a quick list of resources for cooperatives surviving COVID-19.
For other resources on COVID-19 and co-ops, click here.
Want to go right to the Emergency Loan Application? Click here.
Board Elections
Your Vote Matters! Vote for the Board of Directors opened April 2
This year’s vote will be held electronically from April 2 to April 15. The election is for both cooperative members and individual members. This year we have six candidates: five candidates for the three cooperative member seats that are up for election and one candidate for the one individual seat that is up for election. All seats have three-year terms.
Members have received an email with your voting credentials. If you haven’t received credentials, if you’d like a paper ballot or if you have any questions, please email adam@sharedcapital.coop.
For biographies and candidate statements of this year’s candidates please click here.
Save the Date – Annual Member Meeting
Please plan to join us for the Shared Capital Cooperative Annual Member Meeting and Cooperative Forum. It will be held virtually on Thursday, May 28th.
This event will be free and open to the public. All are welcome! More details coming soon at www.sharedcapital.coop.
Loans Made Since November 2019
Clockwise from top left: Pilsen Housing Cooperative, Seattle Wholesale Growers Co-op, Works Progress Co-op and Happy Earth Cleaning Co-op
Happy Earth Cleaning Cooperative
Minneapolis, Minnesota
$180,000 for the employee purchase and conversion of an eco-friendly residential cleaning company
Oxbow Design Build Cooperative
Easthampton, Massachusetts
$200,000 for employee purchase and conversion of architectural and design firm
Anytime Union Taxi
Montgomery County, Maryland
$483,000 to finance the purchase and retrofitting of 15 vans for accessible transportation
Forty Acre Cooperative
Rutledge, Minnesota
$324,000 to finance the purchase of hemp seed production technology and working capital
Works Progress Cooperative
Seattle, Washington
$30,000 to finance relocation and leasehold improvements for a consumer owned coworking space
Central Co-op
Seattle and Tacoma, Washington
$100,000 in working capital for the stabilization of a new grocery store
Highlights from 2019, our 40th Anniversary Year
We marked 2019, our 40th Anniversary, with more lending, more events and more opportunities for members to tell their stories. Firstly, we’re excited to report that our lending increased. We built more media presence, organized panels for members to tell their stories and worked with partners to convene regional events to connect and learn from members. Here are some highlights:
Lent $4.1 million, a 95% increase from 2018
Supported seven conversions to worker cooperatives
Held three regional events in Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Maryland and Minneapolis, Minnesota
Received a 2019 CDFI Fund award for $565,000 grant to support our lending to co-ops
Launched Accelerate Employee Ownership in partnership with Project Equity and Quality Jobs Fund
We’re so thankful to you, our members, supporters and partners, for all you do to make our work possible. We’re thrilled to start a new decade with this momentum. Thank you and onward!
