Please provide a brief update on your progress toward your proposed CWB goals in the last reporting period:
• Goal: Run a train-the-trainers program for staff of emerging worker cooperative developers We held the launch webinar for the Chicago Worker Cooperative Developer Fellowship, introducing participants to the program, defining worker cooperatives, dispelling myths, and exploring how cooperative development is rooted in Chicago's long history of community organizing and solidarity economics. 11 fellows attended the webinar (Maricela Estrada at CTU and Nurul Eusufzai at ChiCommons were unable to attend). We have since confirmed two new participants to the fellowship: Stacey Sutton from UIC and Deandra Cadet from Liberation Labs. Our fellowship now comprises 13 individuals from 12 organizations. We have begun planning for the in-person workshop in March, shaping the agenda, session content, and inviting speakers. This 2.5 day retreat will focus on the cooperative development roadmap, shaping mission statements, setting impact metrics (in alignment with the city's metrics), coop development models and lessons learned, and ecosystem assessment to leverage strengths to address resource and skill gaps. We also prepared for our second webinar in February on business model canvases. • Goal: Partner with local CBOs to hire, train and support local cooperators and other partners to co-execute stakeholder education and engagement work We have further refined our ecosystem education plans with input from UIC and other partners. We have begun meeting with business service organizations to understand their work, introduce them to worker ownership, and identify their interest and needs in attending our upcoming workshops and events. We specifically met with: Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation, Kola Nut Collaborative, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Center for Changing Lives, and Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. We are working on content and speakers for our upcoming worker cooperative webinar series focusing on small business resource centers, CDFIs, and accountants and bookkeepers. • Goal: Support CCWBE and the City of Chicago in assessing the impact Finally, we have worked closely with the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at UIC to shape tools and processes for collecting impact metrics. We specifically worked on 5 data collection templates for phase 1 and phase 2 grantees and walked through these tools and shared our best practices for metrics collection on an 'office hours' call with grantees hosted by the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at UIC. 47 people were invited, 19 attended. We have offered to meet with phase 1 and 2 grantees to address their questions about the templates or how to implement them with their own internal data systems.
What constraints or limitations, if any, did you experience in the last reporting period?
Several of the business service organizations we met with shared that they were unaware of the city's Community Wealth Building Initiative. While this is to be expected with a new initiative, it does mean that we will need to further socialize the purpose of the initiative and how it can align with the broader business service community's priorities and concerns. This is both a current limitation of the initiative's saturation but its also a major opportunity to invite important organizations into this work. Our vision for ecosystem education is on the right track but we recognize that some of what we have proposed has been attempted in the past and did not bear fruit. Our partners at the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at UIC support our plans but feel like it needs to be further refined to ensure that these efforts lead to lasting connections. We are working closely with them over the next two months to build a program that strongly establishes connections between the worker cooperative ecosystem and the business services community. This will require partnership development and practical and shovel-ready projects for service providers to support. We are addressing this on two fronts through the worker coop developer fellowship and our ecosystem education work. A planned January meeting with the Mayor's Office and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to discuss municipal interest in a legacy business preservation initiative was cancelled by the city. We plan to circle back in February to restart the conversation and be a partner in shaping a right sized approach to business preservation including support for transitioning to worker ownership as a succession option.
What opportunities, if any, did you take advantage of in the last reporting period?
We've been reaching out to the city's Neighborhood Business Development Centers. We've also connected with several phase 1 and 2 grantees such as Cutting Edge Counsel, Kola Nut Collaborative, and Center for Changing Lives to inform content and program design for our ecosystem education work and to coordinate outreach to business service providers.
Did you establish new CWB relationships/partnerships in the last reporting period?
Yes
Please describe the relationships you established pertaining to your CWB work.
Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.
Did you collaborate with other TA providers in the last reporting period?
Yes
Which TA provider(s) did you work with?
Center for Changing Lives, Kola Nut Collaborative, Upside Down Consulting
Please share on behalf of whom / which projects you collaborated with the TA providers above:
Chicago Worker Cooperative Developer Fellowship and our ecosystem education work.
Did you attend the Working Group meeting last month?
No
How would you rate the usefulness of the working group to your project last month? (on a scale of 1-5)
5 extremely useful
Optional Space
Community Area(s) (select all that apply)
| Community Area | Participants Served in this Community Area |
|---|---|
| Logan Square | 2 |
| Lower West Side | 1 |
| South Deering | 1 |
| Woodlawn | 1 |
| Near West Side | 2 |
| West Garfield Park | 1 |
| Austin | 1 |
| Englewood | 3 |
| Lincoln Square | 1 |
Race / Ethnicity of Participants (select all that apply)
Other Race/Ethnicity (please specify)
2 Hispanic that preferred not to state race or chose Other, 1 American Indian or Alaskan Native
Gender identity of Participants (select all that apply)
Age Range of Participants (select all that apply)
How many sessions of one-on-one consulting to Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. one group or individual with one training provider)?
12
How many group workshops for Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. convenings, workshops, events, etc.)
2
How many hours of support to CWB Pre-Development Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you provide this reporting period?
1
How many hours of support to existing Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers did you provide this reporting period?
5
How many co-op businesses did you develop last reporting period? (It's okay if the answer is 0)
0
How many jobs were created overall last reporting period? (It's okay if the answer is 0)
0
Please list the Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers Organizations you worked with this reporting period.
Other organization (please specify):
Center for Changing Lives, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Chicago Community and Workers Rights, Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at UIC, ChiCommons LWCA, Co-Op Ed Center, Cooperation Racine, Earthseed Native Landscaping & Edible Gardens LWCA, Kola Community Solutions, Revolution Institute, The K, Liberation Labs/Justice Cream
What type(s) of Technical Assistance did you provide to Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers this reporting period? Select all that apply.
Did you provide education to any Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers this reporting period?
Yes
How many hours of cohort education/training did you provide last month?
2
How many hours of popular education/outreach did you provide last month?
0
Number of curriculum material(s) created last month
2
How did you market your services and conduct outreach in the last reporting period? Select all that apply.
What are the greatest needs that your WC clients/partners expressed in this reporting period?
Coop development skills to both strengthen their existing businesses while also developing skillsets necessary for developing or advising future cooperative development projects
What are the greatest gaps in service or resources in Chicago's CWB ecosystem?
Cooperative fluent accountants and bookkeepers; cooperative fluent business service providers (e.g. business planning), infrastructure to ensure that this support continues to be provided beyond the CWB funding timeline
Please share any direct testimonials from Worker Cooperatives, Conversions, or Co-op Developers clients or storytelling about the impact of your work this period:
See attachment for webinar evaluation
Please upload media (document with testimonials, photos, or video links) from WC workshops or events held.
Did your organization provide any additional TA support this reporting period that was NOT covered in the previous tabs?
Yes
Please describe the type(s) of organizations you supported (i.e. nonprofits, business service orgs, etc.)
Mentioned in the General questions section but copying it here: We have begun meeting with business service organizations to understand their work, introduce them to worker ownership, and identify their interest and needs in attending our upcoming workshops and events. We specifically met with: Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation, Kola Nut Collaborative, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Center for Changing Lives, and Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.
How many total organizations or entities did you support (that were not covered in the previous tabs)?
3
How many total hours of support did you provide to these organizations?
5
Please share any other relevant details about the support you provided these organizations:
