New Loan Fund for Green Worker-Owned Cooperatives









For Immediate Release

For Media Inquiries Contact:



Janvieve Williams-Comrie janvieve@greenworker.coop (718) 617-7807, ext 3 Brendan Martin

brendan@theworkingworld.org

(646) 286-0846









New Loan Fund for Green Worker-Owned Cooperatives

Announcing the Cooperative Green Seed Fund

Green Worker Cooperatives & The Working World are pleased to announce a unique collaboration to provide seed funding to startup worker-owned cooperatives with environmental & social missions in New York City, with a priority on cooperatives in the Bronx.

The Cooperative Green Seed Fund will be managed by the Working World in partnership with Green Worker Cooperatives and is tailored to the specific needs of worker cooperatives which are often discriminated against by traditional lenders. This year, the fund will make loans to qualifying cooperatives of up to $25,000 each, with the possibility of loans of greater size for cooperatives with greater capital needs. Upon return, all investment money will be reintegrated back into the fund to support other cooperatives.

Unique Features of the Cooperative Green Seed Fund

Low-Interest Loans: Loans will be made available at a low-interest rate of 9%.

No Personal Guarantees: Unlike virtually all other lenders, no personal guarantees are required. This addresses a longstanding need of worker cooperatives, which are often required by banks and other business lenders to have all members sign personal guarantees, no matter the size of the cooperative.

No Payments Due Until the Co-op Becomes Profitable: Unlike virtually all other loan programs available to small businesses which demand immediate loan repayments, Cooperative Green Seed Fund loan repayments are scheduled to begin only after the cooperative is able to show a profit. Thus the fund acts more as an equity investment without demanding that the cooperative give up a percentage of ownership or control of the business.

10% Crowdfunding Match Requirement: in order to boost each cooperative’s community of supporters, each co-op is required to generate 10% of the loan amount requested through an online crowdfunding campaign.

Priority Funding for Bronx-based worker cooperatives: While the fund has no geographical restrictions, preference is given to worker cooperatives that are based in the Bronx.

Commitment to Green: Cooperatives must be able to show how their operations will improve environmental conditions or set model standards of environmental responsibility.

Eligibility Limited to Graduates of Green Worker Cooperatives’ Coop Academy: The Coop Academy is an intensive 5-month long training & development program for worker-owned green businesses. Successful completion of the Coop Academy will serve as a prerequisite for all applicants.

Why Worker Cooperatives?:

Worker cooperatives represent a valuable alternative to more traditional business structures. All members of a cooperatively-run business share the labor, decisions, responsibilities, profits, and ownership shares. The result is a democratic workplace that encourages active participation and shared wealth creation. And as a model based around its members’ desires and needs, worker cooperatives are deeply rooted in local communities, growing out of and in turn nurturing the neighborhoods that surround them.

About the Creators of the Fund:



Green Worker Cooperatives is a South-Bronx based organization dedicated to incubating worker-owned green businesses in order to build a strong local economy rooted in democracy and environmental justice. We train and develop worker cooperatives that have a positive environmental impact and enable the transformation of their members and community. We value the principles of solidarity and decision-making by those affected by decisions. And we are committed to contributing to worker cooperative and environmental justice movements around the globe.

The Working World is a non-profit organization that provides investment capital and technical support for worker cooperatives using an innovative finance model that puts money at the service of people, not the other way around. We help design, fund, and carry out productive projects, only requiring that cooperatives pay us back with the revenues the investments generate. As active partners, we are more motivated to ensure that these projects are successful, or in other words, that finance is only used as a tool to create real, lasting wealth for those that it serves.

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