Christian Arnsperger: Drawing ideas from Switzerland’s “horizontal metropolis”- Wed., July 19, 2017 at L.A. Eco-Village

Veggie Potluck and talk on L.A.’s perma-circular future:

According to Dr. Christian Arnsperger, Los Angeles has never been just an unsustainable, sprawling,

Christian Arnsperger

resource-guzzling behemoth. At least since the 1930s, and especially since the 1960s, there has been a small, persistent, and varied underground that wants “another LA.” The city has been variously (re)imagined by Olmsted and Bartholomew as a garden-and-park idyll, by Richard Register as a network of ecocities, and by Paul Glover as a network of ecovillages. People have puzzled about how to make Los Angeles more regenerative, more bioregional, and more human-scale. In his talk, Christian Arnsperger  will reflect on this “other LA” as a sympathetic outsider, looking at our city from the Swiss vantage point, drawing elements from his ongoing collaboration with Swiss and Italian urbanists. Switzerland can be viewed as a “horizontal metropolis” — a city-territory of 8 million inhabitants with a very specific way of weaving together the urban and the rural, the cutting edge and the traditional, the dense and the diffuse — a time-tested recipe against sprawl and wastefulness but also against destructive densification and concentration. There may be very interesting things to learn about a sustainable, “perma-.circular” future from a comparison between the LA metropolitan area and the Swiss horizontal metropolis.

***********************************
About Christian Arnsperger
An economist by training, I’m a professor at the University of Lausanne. My affiliation is with the Faculty of Geoscience and Environment, and I am a member of the Institute for Geography and Sustainability. We are a multidisciplinary institute focused mainly on the human- and social-science aspects of environmental issues.  My own teaching and research revolve around Sustainability and Economic Anthropology. That’s what my chair at the University of Lausanne is called. Yes, really …

read more about Christian and see his blog here.

Christian visited L.A. Eco-Village
last year to a full house.  Please come join us again this year.


EVENT DETAILS:
Reservations please:  crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254

Date & Time: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 
6 to 7:30pm:  Veggie potluck.
Please bring your own non-throwaway eating ware and make this a zero waste event

7:30 to 10pm: Talk, Q&A, discussion

Fee:  $5 to $15 sliding scale at the door
If paying by check, make checks out to “CRSP”

Location: 
Los Angeles Eco-Village
117 Bimini Pl – Lobby and courtyard
Los Angeles 90004

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Area Intentional Community Summit – Sunday, April 23, 2017

We’re putting on the second Los Angeles Intentional Community Summit this Sunday!
It’s for all folks who live in or are interested in community living to get together and create a larger network, to learn about how other communities operate, discuss the issues that affect community life, etc.

Let’s eat some snacks and drink some drinks and get to know one another and our city’s communities. 

Where:     Sugar Shack, 4402 W Pico Blvd, LA CA 90019
When:      Sunday, April 23 at 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Bring:       Veggie Snacks and/or drinks to share + non-throwaway plates, utensils, cup

This is a leave no trace event

Please read details to make sure you’re a fit for this event.

 Please share it with anyone who might be interested!
Peter Dean
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Mutual Aid Network Cooperative with Stephanie Rearick Sat., Dec 10 from 2 to 4pm at L.A. Eco-Village

Communities around the world are piloting Mutual Aid Networks (MAN) designed to meet life’s economic needs – food justice, work redesign, sustainable energy, community justice, housing and transportation access, travel and culture exchange, etc. Local MANs are connecting in a global cooperative, the Main MAN, in order to support each other’s success and build a network of networks that can engage the 100% in a neighborly global economy.
http://www.mutualaidnetwork.org/ 

We’re hosting a gathering of people and organizations in Los Angeles to learn what the Mutual Aid Network framework can do and explore how it might help us meet our goals – as individuals, as organizations, and in partnership with one another. Those of us who choose to proceed will determine goals and next steps.

 

About Stephanie Rearick
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Stephanie  is founder of the Dane Countysr-akron-hi-14l0247 TimeBank, a 2800-member time exchange, and Creative Director of Mutual Aid Networks. In addition to her work in cooperative economics, Rearick is co-owner of Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse and works as a musician.
DETAILS:
Date & Time:      Saturday, December 10, 2016 from 2 to 4pm
Place:                     L.A. Eco-Village
                                 117 Bimini Pl

                                 Los Angeles 90004*

No Reservations required:  mailto:crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254
Free event but donations welcome to benefit MAN and Arroyo Sustainable Economies Community Organization (Arroyo S.E.C.O.)

 

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North American Students of Cooperation Conference Nov 11-13, 2016 in Ann Arbor MI

Over 400 participants will converge on Ann Arbor, Michigan from November 11th through 13th, 2016 to share ideas, learn new skills, and look at issues affecting the cooperative movement worldwide.

Since 1977, NASCO’s Cooperative Education & Training Institute has been widely recognized as one of the most important training and networking opportunities available to members, directors, staff and managers of group-equity cooperatives.

The annual NASCO Institute is always a one-of-a-kind opportunity to network with hundreds of cooperative leaders and employers, to caucus about pressing issues, and to work on building an inclusive and accessible cooperative movement.

Conference registration and scholarship applications will open on September 1st. If you have any questions about NASCO Institute, please contact Morgan Crawford at morgan@nasco.coop.

Apply to Lead a NASCO Institute Session

NASCO is inviting proposals for presentations at this year’s Institute. The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, August 19, 2016. Proposals will be evaluated on a rolling basis, so apply early! Final programming decisions will be made by the end of August.

This is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and sharpen your skills as a cooperative educator. Also, presenters are eligible for conference travel and registration compensation!

To apply, and for more information, please see our website.

Conference Theme: Cooperative Resilience

As the wealth gap continues to grow and our systems of production and consumption are increasingly revealed to be unsustainable, people around the world are building alternative structures to a degrading and dehumanizing economy.

Cooperatives are robust and resilient organizations that succeed in times of crisis. Rather than prioritizing shareholder profits, they are driven by the needs and desires of their member-owners. As they provide necessary goods and services, they can provide hope that a just and sustainable economic system rooted in democracy and solidarity is possible.

In service of their members, cooperatives provide dignified jobs and business ownership to undocumented and low-income people, create access to healthy food in communities that have been neglected by grocery corporations, keep money local by providing communities with strong financial services and access to capital, unite small farmers banding together to sell their goods at market, and drive away the predatory landlord by providing affordable resident-controlled housing.

This year’s Institute focuses on the innovative and resilient nature of cooperatives, and how these qualities are essential to adapt in a changing world as we build the next economic systems.

Keynote: Changing the World in a World that is Changing

As we see social alienation, economic crisis, international contention, and the growing social movements in response to it all, many of us are moved to try to change the world. But, to state the obvious, the world is not just sitting there waiting for us to change it. In fact, the world is changing every day and we cannot stop it. The challenge, then, is how can we change a world that is already in motion.

In his keynote presentation, Ed Whitfield will explore how we go about changing the world for the better, recognizing the motion and counter-motion all around us. In particular, Ed will talk about how the access to tools and resources is the key to the power to direct change along the path we care about, toward a wholesome, equitable, sustainable and just world.

Ed Whitfield is a social critic, writer, and community activist who has lived in Greensboro, North Carolina since 1970. He is co-founder and co-managing director of the Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC).

Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Ed’s political activism started with attending Little Rock Central High School and beginning to do anti-war work as a teenager. Ed retired after 30 years in industry before becoming involved with philanthropy. He now speaks and writes on issues of cooperatives and economic development while continuing to be interested in issues of war and peace, as well as education and social responses to racism. Ed serves on the boards of the New Economy Coalition and The Working World.

While he spends much of his time practicing bass guitar, Ed can often be found playing jazz or blues flute along with singer-songwriters and bands in Greensboro and wherever he goes in the world. He recently won the “Plays the Most Instruments” award at Greensboro’s long-running Open Mic night.

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North American Permaculture Convergency Sept 14-18, 2016 in Hopland CA

More info here

Join us at the North American Permaculture Convergence!

 

Transition workshop track, network gathering, scholarship fund, work-trade opportunities, and more!   

We’re excited to be partnering with the North American Permaculture Convergence and Northern California Building Resilient Communities Convergence happening September 14-18 at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California! This is the first collaborative event of its kind in the US, and we anticipate a potent, energizing gathering that will enhance synergies between Transition, permaculture, community resilience, and social justice movements.

Transition US will be hosting a workshop track as well as a network gathering during the Convergence for Transitioners from across the country to connect, build relationships, learn from each other, and strengthen our movement. We hope you can join us!

Learn more about the Convergence and register here.

Whether or not you can attend, you can still support fellow Transitioners and help strengthen our network by contributing to the scholarship fund that will support several Transition leaders from different parts of the country to the Convergence to learn, network, share their own skills, and increase the impact of their local Transition efforts.

Work-trade opportunities are also available – here’s your chance to be part of the Convergence team AND receive discounted registration!

Stay tuned for more information, and we hope to see you at the Convergence!

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The Green Festival at the L.A. Convention Center – September 16 – 18, 2016

 

 

Green Business Network at Green America

Your free ticket to join us at Green Festival Expo

LA Green Festival Expo

The 6th annual LA Green Festival Expo is almost here!

Join us September 16-18 for America’s largest and longest-running sustainability event. Claim your free ticket using free ticket code GAGF16.

Los Angeles presentations and mentoring sessions kick off on Friday, September 16 at the LA Convention Center.

Voting is now open for the Green Festival Community Award. Help your favorite non-profit working to improve the LA area win a $5,000 grant. Cast your vote »

Please vote now for “Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance”, an L.A. Eco-Village associated organization

LOCATION: Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall K.
1201 So. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles 90015
All public transit leads to the
Los Angeles Convention Center. No need to drive!

HOURS:
Friday 9/16 from 12 noon – 6pm
Saturday 9/17 from 10am – 6pm
Sunday, 9/18 from 10am – 5pm
Come visit L.A. Eco-Village at Booth #514

Exhibitors at Green Festival Expo

Free ticket
Enjoy the vibrant green marketplace and attend programming all weekend long on green business and green living.

See you in LA,

Denise Hamler
Director
Green Business Network®

ASLSign language interpreters are available on Saturday and Sunday.

Expert Dojo B2B Power Seminars
Free Onsite B2B Mentoring Services
Get the most out of Green Festival to grow your business. Sign up for a free 20 minute power session on topics critical to your success, from leading entrepreneur growth engine Expert DOJO. To register or for more information, contact Rob Butler at rbutler@greenfestivals.org.
Speakers at Green Festival Expo

Learn from leaders in social enterprise, and hear from sustainability experts. Check out some of the weekend’s inspiring speakers below or apply to become a speaker at an upcoming Green Festival.

Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Actor, Activist
Board Member, Greenwish

Ian Fisk
John Lewis
Founder
Bad Ass Vegan

Moby
Moby
(Richard Melville Hall)
Musician

Carolyn Parrs
Carolyn Parrs
CEO
Mind Over Markets

Brian MacMahon
Brian MacMahon
Expert Dojo

Sica Schmitz
Sica Schmitz
Owner
Bead & Real

Abigail Steinberg
Abigail Steinberg
Author
Recipe for Success

Val Wright
Val Wright
Innovation Expert
Val Wright Consulting, LLC

Stephanie Nicora
Stephanie Nicora
Designer, Entrepreneur
NICORA

Featured Session from Green America

Alisa Gravitz
Clean Energy, Agriculture & Climate Justice: The Three Essential Climate Strategies 
Alisa Gravitz, CEO/President, Green AmericaAfter the hottest summer on record, we need to ramp up climate solutions. Alisa Gravitz will discuss the trends and the most effective climate strategies. We can win—if we double down now. Find out how we can do it.

Exhibitor
Join the nation’s leading sustainability event and reach new green customers.

Save 10% on exhibiting with your exclusive discount as a Green Business Network member.

Exhibit »

Download the Exhibitor Invite »

Awards
Help your favorite non-profit working to improve the LA area win a $5,000 grant. Green Festival supports inspiring organizations that educate and benefit their local communities with the Green Festival Community Award. Voting is now open »

PLEASE VOTE FOR “NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCE,” an L.A. Eco-Village affiliated organization.

All exhibitors are nominated for the Green Festival Brand Award. Invite your followers to vote for you »

 

Claim your free ticket »

Use Free Ticket Code GAGF16

 

 

.Green Festival is back in LA for our 6th year! Join the Green Festival Marketplace by exploring over 250 exhibitors, learning from over 50 inspirational speakers, indulging in some delicious vegan or vegetarian food and learning all you need to know to live a more sustainable lifestyle! SHOP.TASTE.ENJOY

F  Join the conversation by joining the Los Angeles Facebook Event

play button  Green Festival Expo Video 

 

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The Communities Conference at Twin Oaks, Virginia, Sept 2-5, 2016

The Communities Conference is held Labor Day weekend, Sept 2 – 5, at Twin Oaks Community in Louisa County, Central Virginia.  The event hosts between 150 and 200 participants, including people who are members of, interested in, and new to intentional communities and other kinds of cooperative living and working.

The focus of the event is on intentional communities, although workshops sometimes cover a broader array of topics in cooperative and alternative lifestyles, economics, and organizing. If the workshop is not specific to intentional communities the presenter will  address the topic in relation to intentional communities.

The conference site is rustic and mostly outdoors.

More info about Twin Oaks here: http://www.twinoaks.org/

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Designing a “Perma-Circular” Economy: Wed. July 13 at 7pm at L.A. Eco-Village

Join us for an informative and provocative talk with Christian Arnsperger of the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. And a veggie potluck before the talk.

Christian will argue that the there is a serious imbalance when industrial societies promote wholesale recycling without also limiting economic growth, rendering such policies essentially useless for building resiliency.  He’ll share with us a permaculture approach to the economy in which natural, human and cultural capital are primary over advancing technological and financial capital, and how this transition from capitalism can take shape.

This type of dialog and civic engagement can lead us to explore radical ideas about what tomorrow’s “sufficiency economy” might look like.”

EVENT DETAILS:

Date:     Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Time:     Veggie Potluck at 6pm in the courtyard*
Talk and discussion: 7 to 9 pm
Where:  Los Angeles Eco-Village
117 Bimini Place
Los Angeles CA 90004
Directions

Reservations required:  crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254

Fee:      $10 (self selected sliding scale)

* If attending the potluck, please bring a veggie dish to share and your own non-throwaway eating ware to make this a zero waste event

ABOUT CHRISTIAN ARNSPERGER

Christian Arnsperger is professor of sustainability and economic anthropology at the Institute for Geography and Sustainability (IGD) of the Faculty of Geoscience and Environmental Studies (FGSE). He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and has been teaching and researching for many years at the interface between economic analysis, human sciences, and existential philosophy. A specialist of post-consumerist/ post-growth economic alternatives and of the link between ecological transition and the change of mentalities and lifestyles, he is also a scientific adviser to the Alternative Bank Switzerland (ABS) and, in that capacity, he develops “action research” field projects and collaborations in the area of sustainable finance.At the IGD, Prof. Arnsperger more specifically centers his activities around the following areas:

  • Spatiality and territoriality as factors of ecological sustainability
  • Sustainability of lifestyles, sustainable consumption, and existential economics
  • Money, finance, and sustainability: Towards a “monetary eco-geography”
  • The cultural roots of unsustainability in the United States

Read Christian’s blog and more about Christian here

Next GEN – North America gathering

2016 California Co-op Conference April 29-30 in Sacramento


California Co-op Conference:

Friday, April 29th & Saturday, April 30th, 2016
Co-op Tour: May 1, 2016

Conference Location: Sierra 2 Center
2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818

The CA Co-op Conference offers tracks for both startup and existing cooperatives that focus on governance, communication, and technical topics for food, worker, housing, and other co-op types. One track is devoted to successful co-op development and another is dedicated to legal education and is MCLE* accredited.

Register now for the conference online or download the
Registration Form!

Keynote Addresses
Friday Keynote Address: Farmworker Housing Cooperatives: Born Out of Crisis & Resilient through Four Decades, Horacio Amezquita will share the story of how San Jerardo Housing Cooperative was born from the farmworker unionization campaign of the 1970’s, and how the cooperative is meeting the challenges it faces today. Horacio’s parents were co-founders of the cooperative and he was raised in the co-op. Today he is the co-op’s manager.Panel: Transforming Communities through co-op development.Saturday Keynote Address: Great Basin Food Co-op: Spinning the Food Web to Strengthen Local Food System, Amber and Nicole Sallaberry. In 2005, with a hand drawn flyer announcing a buying club forming in Reno, the seeds of Great Basin Food Co-op were planted. Today, the cooperative has 7,000 member-owners serving more than 10,000 customers. GBFC is a crucial player in the local food and farming economy, not only because they are creating connections between urban city dwellers and Great Basin farmers and ranchers, but because they are central players in addressing policies affecting organic farmers and ranchers. Amber and Nicole, co-op co-founders and current managers, will share the history of how they got started, how they were able to mobilize local talent to create a beautiful store and innovative tools for linking consumers and farmers.Panel: Echos of the Past–Food System Movement of the 1970s–Panel will help compare experiences of San Francisco collaborations to create healthy food.

Conference Workshops For the workshop descriptions, click on the workshop title

Click Here for:

Friday
SESSION I: Concurrent Workshops

Co-ops 101
Cooperatives and Community Impact
Transitioning your Business to a Worker Co-op MCLE
Be the Change!  Anti-Opression Assessment and Co-op Transformation

SESSION II: Concurrent Workshops

Starting a Cooperative
Union Cooperative Initiatives
Entity Choice Options for Worker Cooperatives After AB 816 MCLE
Co-op Financing Options

SESSION III: Concurrent Workshops

Strategic Tools for Worker Co-op Development in Marginalized Communities
Financing The Cooperative Dream: Smart Borrowing for Co-ops
AB 816- The Worker Cooperative Act MCLE
Tech Co-op Panel

SESSION IV: Concurrent Workshops

Growing the Worker Co-op Movement
Governance: Strengthening your Board of Directors
Member Investment Shares MCLE
Peer Evaluations: Getting Better Every Year

Saturday
SESSION I: Concurrent Workshops
The History of the People’s Food System
Capital Campaigns that Work
Legal Aspects of California Cooperative Corporations MCLE
Financial Strategic Planning for Housing Co-ops

SESSION II: Concurrent Workshops

Discussion Group: Building Community Support for Opening Food Co-ops
Consensus Decision Making
Fair Housing and Member Relation Issues in Housing Cooperatives MCLE
Public Policy for Advancing the Cooperative Movement

SESSION III: Concurrent Workshops
Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills
Feasibility: What is it Really?
Worker Cooperative LLCs MCLE
Crowdfunding for Co-ops
Housing Co-op Workshop

Closing Plenary

 Co-ops 101, Mai Nguyen. This workshop is a primer on the cooperative model, discussing cooperative principles, governance, and finance. Examples from a range of cooperatives will be used to show how cooperatives of different types use the model to meet member needs and how the cooperative business is distinct from other business structures.

Cooperatives and Community Impact, Christina Jennings. This session will look at real cases of cooperative impact in local communities, and examine the community development tools that can help – or hinder – co-op development.

Transitioning your Business to a Worker Co-op MCLE, Alison Ligane, Lars Ortegren, and Sushil Jacob. This workshop will present the process of transitioning your business to a worker co-op by sharing the story of one solar company’s journey. California Solar Electric (CSE), a Grass Valley solar company, is in the process of transitioning its business to a worker-owned cooperative as a member of Project Equity’s Cooperative Business Incubator. While focusing on CSE, alternatives and specific legal elements will be discussed.

Be the Change! Anti-opression Assessment and Co-op Transformation, Marc Mascarenhas-Swan. The work of centralizing anti-oppression values in your co-op is a many layered thing. This workshop will discuss the specific process of anti-oppression assessment of your organization’s internal workings and how the results can be used as a dynamic tool to inform your policies and the direction of your co-op in a meaningful way. Examples of how to use to use these tools in facilitation and communication to promote full participation are included. Participants should come with curious minds and a lot of questions

Starting a Cooperative, Alex Stone. This workshop will cover the critical steps needed to get your co-op up and running, including the creation of bylaws and articles of incorporation, determining the governance structure, how to incorporate, ensuring feasibility and more. We’ll also learn directly from co-opers through a panel of folks with experience starting different types of co-ops.

Union Cooperative Initiatives, Liz Ryder and Gary Holloway. Worker cooperatives have, among their core principles, a democratic workplace. Unions have historically struggled for greater workplace democracy. Recent efforts in Cincinnati and Los Angeles highlight the convergence of these two traditions as “union cooperatives”. Join in a discussion of efforts in those two cities and brainstorm how to do outreach to the labor community in your area to build bridges between the union movement and the worker cooperative community.

Entity Choice Options for Worker Cooperatives After AB 816 MCLE , Sushil Jacob, Tim Huet.
Worker cooperatives have, among their core principles, a democratic workplace. Unions have historically struggled for greater workplace democracy. Recent efforts in Cincinnati and Los Angeles highlight the convergence of these two traditions as “union cooperatives”. Join in a discussion of efforts in those two cities and brainstorm how to do outreach to the labor community in your area to build bridges between the union movement and the worker cooperative community.

Co-op Financing Option, Elena Fairley.
The workshop description will be available soon.

Strategic Tools for Worker Co-op Development in Marginalized Communities, Kim Coontz. This workshop will discuss particular circumstances that make cooperative development among marginalized community members both exciting and challenging and focus on strategies that contribute to development success. The workshop will include rich “co-op stories” as examples.

Financing The Cooperative Dream: Smart Borrowing for Co-ops, Christina Jennings and Estee Segal. The session will address how to plan, structure, and access financing for start-up or expanding cooperative businesses. Drawing on case studies from worker and food co-ops, the interactive session will look at a) factors you should consider when deciding whether to borrow; b) how much you need and how much you can borrow; c) what you can do to qualifying for a loan and understanding how the lender will assess your plans; and d) how to find co-op friendly financing.

AB 816- The Worker Cooperative Act MCLE, Sushil Jacob and Cameron Rhudy. This workshop will introduce AB 816, the Worker Cooperative Law, and put it into context with the existing formation options for CA Worker Cooperatives, including general partnerships, LLCs, stock corporations, mutual benefit corporations and the California Cooperative Corporation.

Tech Co-op Panel, TBD.
This is an exploratory workshop discussing how people engaged in various aspects of tech work can organize as a cooperative and build an alternative to “business as usual.”

Growing the Worker Co-op Movement, Mike Leung. Why are so few startup businesses worker cooperatives? This workshop will explore the strategic issues limiting the growth of the worker co-op community. We will discuss the main reasons for the low rate of startup formation and the rarity of worker cooperatives in capital-intensive industries. We will look at key distinctions between worker cooperatives and non-cooperative businesses and show how the standard framework for business valuations, investments, and accounting has inadvertently restricted the growth of worker cooperatives. We will discuss how reevaluating our assumptions can overcome these barriers.

Governance: Strengthening your Board of Directors, Linda Brockway. This workshop presents the fundamental legal and ethical responsibilities for the elected cooperative leadership: the Board of Directors. Discussion will include the roles of various stakeholders in the co-op, strategies for encouraging board member cohesion, and how to avoid any perception of conflict of interest.

Member Investment Shares MCLE, Therese Tuttle, now a potentially attractive consideration for California Co-ops and their members. This workshop explains the benefits and mechanics of offering preferred-share financing programs for California cooperatives. * This workshop has been approved for 1.25 MCLE credit hours.

Peer Evaluations: Getting Better Every Year, Marc Mascarenhas-Swan.
What would it be like to look forward to your evaluation each year? Unfortunately, too often evaluations end up as places wrought with hurt feeling and conflict because complaints are shared without solutions for growth. Learn how to develop and implement a strong and healthy evaluation system that can strengthen communication, prevent conflict, decrease turnover, and help hold people accountable to the group. Where evaluations nurture a culture of growth and mutual support. This workshop focuses on worker co-ops but can be applicable to other arenas as well.

History of the People’s Food System, Shanta Sacaroff. In the late 1960’s a second wave of cooperatives started in the San Francisco Bay Area through Food Conspiracy Clubs. Over about 10 years, buying clubs, grocery stores, and even a warehouse was developed to create an alternative food system. The attempt to coordinate these activities through the People’s Food System attempted to unite all of the count-cultural players of the era: hippies, communists, cults, even armed revolutionaries. It came apart in dramatic fashion but some individual members gave birth to several cooperatives and businesses that are key players in the cooperative and sustainable agriculture food system today. Panelists who were part of the People’s Food System will share juicy stories from the era, discuss the impact that they have on Northern California’s food system today, and what they see for the future of cooperatives in the next 30 years.

Capital Campaigns that Work, Stuart Reid. New co-ops need money to start their businesses, sometimes a lot of money. Much of that capital will come from your owner-members. Learn how to budget and plan for member loan and preferred share campaigns. We will be introducing Food Co-op Initiative’s new Capital Campaign Workbook with detailed guidance, actual campaign examples and templates you can use for your own campaign. This session is focused on capital for consumer co-ops, but may have applicability for other types of co-ops.

Fair Housing and Member Relation Issues in Housing Cooperatives MCLE, Karen Tiedemann.
This MCLE accredited workshop explores how fair housing and related laws apply to Housing Co-ops. Important topics will include member selection/screening, member “termination,” occupancy restrictions, and membership transfers.

Consensus Decision Making, Kate Sassoon. In this workshop we will explore Consensus as both a Decision Making Process and a ‘decision rule’. We’ll place Consensus within the spectrum of Democratic Decision Making practices, take a decision through a standard Consensus process, and unpack the Pros Cons and Conundrums facing organizations using Consensus. Participants will be encouraged to share experiences, policies, and practices within a safe communication space, and will come away with tools to improve decision making – of any kind – in their cooperative communities.

Discussion Group: Building Community Support for Opening Food Co-ops, Stuart Reid, Luis Sierra. Food Co-op organizers and other supporters will meet to discuss challenges in building community support for opening a food co-op. Each food co-op organizing effort has its own challenge, and we’ll share how we’ve built on our community’s assets to address the different bottlenecks for getting closer to opening day.

Financial Strategic Planning for Housing Co-ops, Linda Brockway. This workshop is a housing co-op essential. It will discuss how to monitor and assure co-op financial health and to plan for the future. Topics will include recommended reserves, the reserve study, tools for projecting the anticipated life of appliances and all physical plant aspects of the co-op, capital improvement plans and other important information.

Legal Aspects of California Cooperative Corporations MCLE, Van Baldwin.
This MCLE accredited workshop will discuss the important legal aspects pertaining to the California Cooperative Corporation Law, normally used by consumer, worker, and some other cooperatives. The presentation will cover legal aspects of this statutory framework, including elements that differentiate cooperatives from other types of corporations (e.g., governance, profit distributions). In addition, there will be a cursory discussion of California securities regulation as it applies to cooperatives. Subchapter T of the Internal Revenue Code, applicable to co-ops distributing tax-deductible patronage refunds, will also be discussed. (Note—this workshop will not discuss in any depth the new worker co-op portion of the law, as that is covered in other workshops.)

Public Policy for Advancing the Cooperative Movement, Christina Oatfield, Ricardo Nuñez, and Camille Kerr. The Sustainable Economies Law Center and the Democracy At Work Institute staff will share about their recent work in the area and facilitate a brainstorm and discussion about possible future policy campaigns to help cooperatives grow and/or foster the creation of new cooperatives, and/or to promote conversion of existing businesses to cooperatives.

Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills, Georgia Kelly. In this interactive workshop, we will discuss and practice techniques for improving our communication skills and respectfully dealing with difference. Areas covered include boundary setting, ground rules, reframing issues that are difficult, and understanding how to approach different types of people. We will also explore meeting facilitation, team building, and group dynamics. If there is time, we will review the Basque Parliament’s Plan for Peace that reflects the Mondragón Cooperatives’ ethics and philosophy. There will be handouts for future reference.

Feasibility: What is it Really? Stuart Reid.
Food Where do dreams, plans, and mission intersect with stark reality? Feasibility. Feasibility is the evidence that your co-op can provide the goods, services, education and everything else you want to offer your community and be successful as a business. We will discuss what must be considered in a feasibility study and what it actually means for a co-op to be “feasible.”

Worker Cooperative LLCs MCLE, Camille Kerr and Sara Stephens.
This MCLE accredited workshop is an in-depth discussion of organizing a worker cooperative as an LLC. It will cover the reasons or circumstances when LLCs may be more appropriate than co-op incorporation or other statutes. Discussion will include the pros and cons using an LLC and how to do it well.

Housing Co-op Workshop, TBD. The workshop description will be available soon.

Crowdfunding for Co-ops, Danny Spitzberg. This workshop will discuss how to build community around a celebration and how to use crowdfunding to raise funds for cooperatives.

Closing Plenary, Kate Sasson.
A great closing with the possibility of games.

With appreciation to the 2016 California Co-op Conference Sponsors:

*This conference is co-sponsored by the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC), a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. SELC certifies that this activity, except as otherwise provided, has been approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit per accredited workshop.

 

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