Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision
Develop repeatable and scalable instances of community resilience through community wealth building (communal asset creation, acquisition and development) in Black communities and develop a solidarity economy that we define as dynamics of reciprocity and solidarity that links individual interest to collective interest. We pursue the creation of a solidarity economy through Policy Development and Advocacy, Cooperative Enterprise Development, and Community Based Participatory Outcomes Measurement.
Our Mission
The goal of this work is to spur economic equity, job growth and entrepreneurial activity for residents of our most vulnerable communities through a community-led cooperative ecosystem development initiative- one designed to strengthen communities through cooperative economic activity that combats the devaluation of assets and people, develops a power base for building wealth, and organizes groups to activate and dismantle racist systems. We use a place based approach to support neighborhood development through a series of community based strategies that address the focus areas of:
Economic Sustainability
Economic Inclusion
Equitable Labor Force Participation
Business Support Service
Equitable Development
Quality of Life
Cooperative Economic Leadership
This effort will support the development and use of knowledge from excluded communities to deepen civic engagement and strengthen political power, improve community practice, inform policy, mobilize community assets and generate shared wealth.