News
Members debated and approved a £5,000 distribution to MyCool Class, to help with the growing pains of recruiting new teachers and students to the world's first international platform learning workers' co-op.
MyCoolClass (MCC) grew from an idea to a fully-fledged, platform enabled co-op in around 12 months. The founders are based in Poland, Malaysia, the US and South Africa. They have worked flat out - so far, unpaid - to make their vision of a new, worker owned and controlled learning platform a reality. The UK was chosen as the preferred country of registration because it has an internationally recognised co-op society legal model, and at the same time fairly light-touch regulation.
MCC has already recruited 300…
Members voted £7,000 towards startup costs for Selgars Mill in Devon - the first residential events and organising space for co-ops in the UK since the Co-operative College sold Stanford Hall more than twenty years ago.
Run by a new worker co-op and established by Solidfund members Stir to Action, the Mill has excellent training, accommodation and camping facilities. Promoted as 'a centre for the democratic economy, climate emergency and social change', it will give worker co-operators the opportunity to run affordable events like Worker Co-operative Weekend and Solidfund meetups in a movement space - the first time since our legacy federation Industrial…
Solidfund members supported and helped organise Cooperation Jackson's UK speaking tour in the spring, and voted money towards startup costs for a new All-Ireland solidarity economy network.
Cooperation Jackson's long term vision is to develop a cooperative network based on four interconnected and interdependent institutions: a federation of local worker cooperatives, a cooperative incubator, a cooperative education and training centre (the Kuwasi Balagoon Center for Economic Democracy and Development), and a cooperative bank or financial institution.
Cooperation Jackson’s basic theory of change is centered on the position that organizing and empowering the structurally under and unemployed sectors of…
Solidfund members voted to make a £2,500 contribution to Birmingham Warehouse Café, which re-opened as a worker co-op in February.
Unicorn Grocery, whose members are also Fund subscribers, put in another £1,000. All this helps with cashflow in a notoriously tricky and fast-moving business. Co-op member Sean Farmelo says the Café got its alcohol license two weeks ago, and is now in full swing. "The first few weeks we have taken quite a lot at the weekends and been very busy, but we expect this to increase as we get more events organised and now that we have the license. Currently we have 7 members, one of whom used to work in the previous establishment, and…
Members voted to support Sailboat Projectand its new venture, Sail Cargo South East (SCSE), with £1,000 towards the cost of developing a strategic brand identity.
The aim is for SCSE to spin out as a sister worker coop to Sailboat, which has been established for 10 years. Sailboat provides a range of learning activities - widening access to the sea, offering sail training onboard, navigation training on land. It aims to use these activities to increase confidence and a sense of well being among people living in marginalised coastal communities. Sailboat has doubled its level of regular contribution to the fund, and will treat 25% of the money as an interest-free loan.
Fund members also overwhelmingly supported a £500 contribution…
North Liverpool residents are opening a new launderette in the Everton-Anfield area. It's a worker-community coop, so its members will be both employees and service users.
It's called Kitty’s Launderette, in honour of Kitty Wilkinson, who was instrumental in establishing the UK's first public wash house in 1842 in the same neighbourhood, in the wake of a cholera epidemic. Kitty's will provide affordable washing and drying facilities while providing a warm, welcoming space for a variety of social and creative activities, from film screenings and local history groups, to crafts and ironing clubs. Kitty's will also be serving up coffee, conversation…
Members agreed to budget up to £2,000 worth of bursary tickets and travel costs for low-income worker cooperators wanting to attend the Open:2018 two-day event.
The theme of Open:2018 is 'Collaborative Technology for the Cooperative Economy', and it's the second such event, bringing together thinkers and doers around platform coops and peer-to-peer technology. The format is a blend of formal presentations, workshops, discussions, open space sessions, networking and socialising. The dates are 26-27 July and the venue is Conway Hall in central London.
Olly Sylvester-Bradley has written a nice blog post about the bursaries, and how to apply, here…
SolidFund has voted to donate £3,750 to Creative Workers Co-operative (CWC)to help with the purchase of video production equipment.
CWC have been members of SolidFund for 3 years, and running since 2012, providing graphic design, web design, photography and film services to various co-operatives, NGOs, public bodies and the private sector. They have also done free work for Rally For Choice, Reclaim the Agenda, Thart Aris Co-operative, Loveworks Co-operative and Belfast Cleaning Society.
In six years of trading, CWC have grown steadily, creating employment for three members and casual work for up to 6 people every year. They have never had any external funding for equipment, and have financed it…
By a unanimous vote on Loomio, SolidFund members approved a grant to support this year's successful CoTech retreat.
Here is a transcript of the successful proposal, from Chris Lowis of Go Free Range.
"Co-operative Technologists (CoTech) is a growing network of UK worker co-operatives operating in the digital / technology sector. Since our inception we have grown to 28 member co-operatives with over 160 individual members. Our mission is to grow the size of our network, to encourage others to start their own co-operatives,…
Solidfund members have agreed funding for up to £6,600 to find the next generation of worker co-op development advisers.
The worker co-op movement has a problem. We have an ageing and dwindling number of co-op development advisers, many due to retire in next few years. This will lead to a lack of capacity to support the growth of worker co-ops.
After discussing the issue and putting forward a proposal, members are supporting an initiative costing up to £6,600 to find new people from within existing worker co-ops to be advisers.
Starting with two workshops in Manchester and London we will investigate what they would need both financially and in training to have the confidence and…
Fund members voted to pledge £1,000 to a coop buyout crowdfunding by the employees of Natural Food Store in Diss, Norfolk, UK.
The four current workers plan to take ownership and control on the retirement of the present owner. Natural Food Store has been trading for 30 years, and specialises in retailing fresh, locally sourced, whole and organic foods.
This support from Solidfund brings the group just £1,500 short of their all-or-nothing £10,000 target, with the funding appeal due to close on Saturday 29 July 2017. You can help them get over the line by making a personal pledge …
In 2016, SolidFund members agreed to underwrite a programme of events to inspire and educate young people and freelancers about organising in coops.
An impact report from project organiser Constance Laisné, describing the design and delivery of the programme, the outcomes in terms of potential new coops, and learnings, is available as a PDF via the Worker Cooperatives group on Loomio at http://bit.ly/2pOKm0i. It's good reading - and shows how supportive action by SolidFund members is vital for bringing new people into the movement.