Resources

Updates Overview Examples Resources

1worker1vote.org

1worker1vote.org was established in 2014 to support and incubate the development of union co-ops around the U.S. in conjunction with Mondragon USA.
 

Ohio Employee Ownership Center

The Ohio Employee Ownership Center, a non-profit outreach center of Kent State University, supports the development of business across Ohio and around the world by its efforts that are proven to save jobs, create wealth, and grow the economy. The OEOC’s work rests on a simple philosophy: broader ownership of productive assets is a good thing for employees, communities, and our country.
 

U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC)

The USFWC was launched 10 years ago as a national organization to support and advance worker-owned co-ops in the U.S.  The Union Co-ops Council within the USFWC connects union co-op activists around the country through monthly conference calls, a listserv and unioncoops.org web site. USFWC recently established a separate 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Democracy at Work Institute, to support the development of worker-owned cooperatives in economically and socially marginalized communities.
 

Canadian Worker Co-op Federation

The Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation is a national, bilingual grassroots membership organization of and for worker co-operatives, related types of co-operatives (multi-stakeholder co-ops and worker-shareholder co-ops), and organizations that support the growth and development of worker co-operatives. CWCF was incorporated in 1992.
 

National Cooperative Bank (NCB)

National Cooperative Bank (NCB) provides comprehensive banking services to cooperatives and other member-owned organizations throughout the country. What makes NCB unique is that the bank was created to address the financial needs of an underserved market niche – people who join together cooperatively to meet personal, social or business needs, especially in low-income communities.
 

Cooperative Fund of New England

The Cooperative Fund of New England is a community development financial institution (CDFI) that is a bridge between socially responsible investors and cooperatives, community oriented non-profits, and worker-owned businesses in New England.
 

Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund (NCDF)

NCDF has been providing financing to cooperatives for almost 35 years.  Because we are a co-op of co-ops ourselves, we understand the unique ownership and governance structure of cooperatives and the benefits that co-ops provide to their communities. NCDF was recently awarded $1.5 million by the U.S. Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) to continue to expand access to capital for cooperatives throughout the U.S. For NCDF's members and partners, this award will increase the dollars available to finance cooperative projects, allowing us to expand our work and our impact.

Ownership Associates
Chris Mackin, the founder of Ownership Associates in Cambridge, MA, has been involved with worker ownership for nearly 40 years.  Chris also serves as a Special Adviser to American Working Capital, LLC  a financial advisory firm for broad based employee ownership, and is a member of the core faculty of the Harvard Trade Union Program.
 

ICA Group
Since 1977, the ICA Group has applied expert analysis, results-based planning and a collaborative management approach to start and grow worker cooperatives, democratic ESOPs, and other social purpose ventures.  Inspired by the Mondragon experiment in Northern Spain, the founders of ICA promoted worker cooperatives as a means to prevent job loss and create stable communities. Over the last 38 years, this remains at the core of our approach. We utilize best practices to build democratic ownership for a new economy.