Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Meerkat Media Worker Cooperative
Announcing Board Members and Board Officers
Welcome our new Loan Administrator
Loans Made to Date in 2019
Annual Meeting Report Back
Shared Capital In The Media
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Economic Justice Through Cooperative Development
How many co-ops can claim they were founded directly out of the Civil Rights movement? Or that they prevented a crisis predicted by government statisticians? The Federation of Southern Cooperatives has demonstrated that level of leadership throughout its 52-year history, and Shared Capital is proud to support their operating model through our work together. Read more…
Meerkat Media Collective
Shared Capital is proud to support the creative workers behind some of the country’s most cutting-edge documentary filmmaking.
Meerkat Media Collective is a production company owned and run by the filmmakers who power it. Besides being a member of Shared Capital, Meerkat participates in worker cooperative networks in New York and nationally, and seeks to “break down traditional power structures in [their] industry.” Meerkat Media was first founded informally as an arts collective in 2005 and has evolved into a collectively-owned production company which works hand in hand with a collective of artists in residence. According to Meerkat, their “collaborative, consensus-based process…values diverse experience and expertise.”
Sounds like a recipe for success. The collective’s work has been broadcast on networks that range from HBO to PBS, and screened at festivals around the world.
You may recognize some of the films highlighted on their website, or in this stunning 2-minute highlights reel.
Announcing Board Election Results
We are thrilled to announce our recently elected Shared Capital Board of Directors, all of whom were incumbents. This year we had an excellent field of seven candidates for four board seats in another successful election process made simple through online voting and snail mail options for all members.
From left to right:
Alex Betzenheimer (three-year term): Nominating member – Seward Community Co-op Dana Curtis (three-year term): Nominating member – Black Star Co-op Repa Mekha (one-year term): Nominating member – CP Local 001 Julie Ristau (three-year term): Nominating member – Lakewinds Food Co-op
We are also happy to announce the election of board officers for 2019-2020: Alex Betzenheimer, President; Me’Lea Connelly, Vice President; Repa Mekha, Secretary; Dana Curtis, Treasurer.
Join us in congratulating our board members and thanking them for their willingness to bring their knowledge, experience and commitment to Shared Capital’s work.
Welcome our new Loan Administrator
Please join us in welcoming Jessica James, our new Loan Administrator. Jessica brings years of experience in mortgage and finance. As Loan Administrator, Jessica will be working with borrowers on loan closings and compliance. We are delighted to add her expertise to assist Shared Capital in ensuring a positive and responsive experience for our members.
Loans Made to date in 2019
Cooperative Home Care Associates – $1,000,000 in working capital to worker owned home care provider in the Bronx, New York East Aurora Cooperative Market – $305,600 to refinance of existing debt for consumer owned grocery cooperative in East Aurora, New York Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund – $233,000 line of credit for association of African American and family farm cooperatives in Southeastern United States Marquette Brewing Cooperative – $75,000 in financing for start‐up consumer owned brewery in Marquette, Michigan Mutual Aid Twin Cities Housing Cooperative – $241,000 in mortgage financing for start‐up, 5‐person, affordable housing cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota Outskirts Vintage – $28,000 in a conversion of vintage clothing store to a worker cooperative in Chicago, Illinois Regeneration Farms – $136,000 in an equipment loan for start‐up multi‐stakeholder, free range poultry enterprise in Northfield, Minnesota Seattle Wholesale Growers Market – $125,000 in a line of credit and financing for expansion for producer owned wholesalr market of sustainable flower growers in Washington The Nokoma – $38,000 to the affordable housing co-ops for rehab and improvements in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Annual Meeting and 40th Anniversary Celebration
Above: Board member Repa Mekha discusses education and policy at the Shared Capital Roundtable
Shared Capital Executive Director Christina Jennings, and Board officers Alex Betzenheimer, Dana Curtis and Me’Lea Connelly, led our annual business meeting for members. They reported on the financial performance, outcomes and impact of Shared Capital’s work. In 2018, Shared Capital
Made 17 loans totaling $2.1 million;
Provided 85% of loans to co-ops by and for women, people of color and low-income communities; and
In early May, Oscar Perry Abello of Next City published a piece about our work going into great detail of our board operations and co-op structure. Check it out here.
Shared Capital was the feature of another piece as Christina traveled to Bermuda to support the creation of cooperative capital with the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. Read that piece here.
Thank you! to Next City and The Royal Gazette for covering cooperatives and cooperative capital.
