Space battle in Birmingham
Solidfund members have agreed to pledge £30,000 from their cash reserve to buy loan stock in Stirchley Co-op Development.
Cooperative Loan Fund, managed by our bankers CCF, have matched the members' commitment, making a total of £60,000. We hope and expect other organisations to contribute to this really important - perhaps once in a generation - effort to secure a new worker-led cooperative campus in Birmingham.
Why did Solidfund members agree to such a potentially risky commitment? Perhaps it's because they recognise that to build long term worker power, we need more than day-to-day cash, confidence, negotiating skills and good trading models. We also need to combine forces and resources to secure long-term space for working and living that isn't extractive, and isn't dependent on the goodwill of external landlords and landowners ('social' or otherwise).
Cooperative Loan Fund, managed by our bankers CCF, have matched the members' commitment, making a total of £60,000. We hope and expect other organisations to contribute to this really important - perhaps once in a generation - effort to secure a new worker-led cooperative campus in Birmingham.
Why did Solidfund members agree to such a potentially risky commitment? Perhaps it's because they recognise that to build long term worker power, we need more than day-to-day cash, confidence, negotiating skills and good trading models. We also need to combine forces and resources to secure long-term space for working and living that isn't extractive, and isn't dependent on the goodwill of external landlords and landowners ('social' or otherwise).
A surprising amount of runway
For more than 10 years, Solidfund members have been supporting worker cooperators in countries where there isn't an existing organising body. After being invited to contribute to an exploratory conference on worker cooperation in Dublin, sponsored by the SIPTU union, Solidfund members agreed to give material support for a new network initiative.
In April this year - and very much enabled by that support - our friends in Ireland took a step further, and founded a new co-op federation inspired by worker and social-community cooperatives like Great Care, Dublin Food Co-op and Belfast Cleaning Society.
Sam Toland is the Secretary of the new organisation and a long time Solidfund member himself. Here he reflects on the journey, Solidfund's part in making it happen, and their strategy for building awareness and solidarity through worker-led cooperation.
In April this year - and very much enabled by that support - our friends in Ireland took a step further, and founded a new co-op federation inspired by worker and social-community cooperatives like Great Care, Dublin Food Co-op and Belfast Cleaning Society.
Sam Toland is the Secretary of the new organisation and a long time Solidfund member himself. Here he reflects on the journey, Solidfund's part in making it happen, and their strategy for building awareness and solidarity through worker-led cooperation.
Solidarity with worker cooperators in Gaza
Early in 2024, Solidfund members responded decisively to Yalla Cooperative's crisis appeal, as the disaster unfolded in Gaza. While some of its workers stayed and fought to maintain themselves in the territory, others ended up as refugees in neighbouring countries. Supporting those workers by any means necessary had to take priority over building websites, apps and software for non-profit clients.
We talked to Joe Friel, one of Yalla's founders, about what Solidfund's intervention meant to them at the time - and what's happened since.
We talked to Joe Friel, one of Yalla's founders, about what Solidfund's intervention meant to them at the time - and what's happened since.
What goes around, comes around
Two summers ago, tech co-op Animorph’s members were running out of both cash and morale. Potentially in big trouble while waiting to find out if they’d been successful in shortlisting for £1m of innovation competition funding, they needed cash, and fast.
Szczepan from Animorph remembers feeling hung out to dry by mainstream sources of finance, and even by the co-op institutions. “We were starting to hallucinate that we’d made a crazy mistake, and were losing hope. We’re Solidfund members, so I ran it by a couple of people then made a request for help in the members' Loomio forum. Two weeks later, we had the £6,000 we needed to survive the crisis. I can hardly express how that simple, no-strings expression of worker co-op love helped renew our energy and belief.”
Szczepan from Animorph remembers feeling hung out to dry by mainstream sources of finance, and even by the co-op institutions. “We were starting to hallucinate that we’d made a crazy mistake, and were losing hope. We’re Solidfund members, so I ran it by a couple of people then made a request for help in the members' Loomio forum. Two weeks later, we had the £6,000 we needed to survive the crisis. I can hardly express how that simple, no-strings expression of worker co-op love helped renew our energy and belief.”
Organising on a hot asphalt roofroof
In 2025, the fund gave money to support seven projects, events and formations. Here’s just one example of how a small amount of money made a difference - in this case, helping grow our tribe and spread the word.
Our members at Cooperation Town asked for £1,000 to promote and organise a grass-roots ‘Cooperation Day’ festival on the spectacular roof garden at their hub in Camden, bringing together experienced cooperators and the co-op curious from London and further away to celebrate, learn and discuss co-op strategies for working class control and ownership. In the blistering heat of July 13th, a brilliant session on ‘Controlling work’ was put on by Kitty’s Launderette, Principle Six, Cooperation Town and Nanny Solidarity Network.
Our members at Cooperation Town asked for £1,000 to promote and organise a grass-roots ‘Cooperation Day’ festival on the spectacular roof garden at their hub in Camden, bringing together experienced cooperators and the co-op curious from London and further away to celebrate, learn and discuss co-op strategies for working class control and ownership. In the blistering heat of July 13th, a brilliant session on ‘Controlling work’ was put on by Kitty’s Launderette, Principle Six, Cooperation Town and Nanny Solidarity Network.