We provide accessible incubation services for worker-owned cooperatives from idea to launch—with a focus on supporting business ownership for poor and working class people of color.
Let Us Help You Create a Coop
Interested in starting a cooperative with other workers? Want to sell your business to your employees? Our cohort-based incubation programs support groups of people creating and launching cooperatives and worker owned businesses — and we'll support you through the entire process.
Starting a business takes time. We know that for poor and working class people, time spent in trainings and developing a business means missed shifts and lost income. To keep services accessible, our cohorts offer:
Monthly stipends
We offer some participants stipends to offset the cost of participating in training, so that you don’t have to choose between earning income and investing in your cooperative’s future.
Language interpretation
As part of our commitment to prioritize communities of color, our cohorts and trainings are language accessible through interpretation.
Convenient hours
We work with your schedule to make sure meetings are held at convenient times for your team of worker-owners.
Guaranteed Income Cohort
We're partnering with Muslims for Just Futures to run the country's first combination guaranteed income project and coop incubation project for local workers.
Meet us in person at one of our open events to learn about how cooperatives, the solidarity economy, and how to get involved in our programs and offerings.
Growing a Cooperative Landscaping Business Rooted in Justice and Ecology
Swamp Rose is a worker-owned landscaping cooperative based in the Washington, DC area, founded in 2021 by four friends connected through community organizing.
Are you interested in starting a worker-owned cooperative, or looking to sell your business to your employees? Reach out to us to learn more about our your options for cooperative incubation.
We’re building a real alternative to traditional lending through the DC Solidarity Economy Loan Fund (DC SELF), which offers solidarity loans to local worker-owned businesses and community projects.
We support cooperatives and solidarity economy organizations in DC, Maryland, and Virginia with business development, administrative, and legal assistance through the BCI Network.
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