Business Cooperative Development Program

Trainer providing a presentation to group of people sitting at a table in a conference room

Whether worker-owned, business-owned, resident-owned, or community-owned, cooperatives center the needs of people that the mainstream economy too often overlooks or excludes. Cooperative businesses offer an impactful tool to distribute wealth and power. 

Denver Economic Development & Opportunity has partnered with the Center for Community Wealth Building to provide local small businesses education and training on how to create or convert to an employee-owned model. The program aims to create sustainable, equitable wealth in Denver, especially among historically under-resourced communities.

Overview

The Business Cooperative Development Program (BCDP) supports the creation of cooperatives with Denver communities most economically impacted by involuntary displacement as one of the strategies for wealth building. 

This program provides technical assistance, incubation and coaching for entrepreneurs, residents, community groups and existing businesses who wish to explore the cooperative model. These trainings ultimately lead to the creation of new cooperative businesses in the City of Denver,  including startup worker cooperatives, shared service cooperatives, and worker cooperatives formed through converting an existing business.

Services

Training & Education

Cooperative Incubation - a six-month business formation process designed for groups new to worker cooperatives and business management. Participants will learn adaptive training and support through weekly training sessions to facilitate the launch of the cooperative.   

Co-op Development Sprints - Half-day to two-day retreats focused on completing one aspect of the co-op development process. Participants will obtain support in creating one of the following deliverables: member recruitment plan, feasibility study, business plan, membership model, pre-legal support, marketing plan, board development, or capital raising plan. 

Train the Trainer Network - a four-day intensive training for community members that covers cooperative principles, business model options, legal design, accounting and capital raising. CCWB provides ongoing bimonthly training sessions and customized support for our trainers, whether they choose to launch their own cooperatives or to support their neighbors in co-op development. 

Technical Assistance

Startup cooperatives - a 3-6 session sequence designed to complete one aspect of the co-op development process. Participants will obtain support in >creating one of the following deliverables: member recruitment plan, feasibility study, business plan, membership model, pre-legal support, marketing plan, board development, or capital raising plan. 

Established cooperatives - a 3-6 session sequence, individualized based on need. Established cooperatives obtain support in one of the following areas: governance, decision making, growth strategy, accounting, financial planning, marketing, membership, or conflict resolution. 

Supportive Network

Solidarity Circles - a 4-5 month study group designed to bring socially-minded entrepreneurs into alignment around a shared idea for a social enterprise, which could take the form of a cooperative. CCWB facilitates weekly sessions to support the group’s creation of a viable business plan and bylaws.    

Cooperative Peer Network - a bimonthly gathering of worker cooperatives throughout the State of Colorado. These sessions serve as a space for learning about concepts relevant to cooperatives, discussing and sharing experiences, and building connections. With a focus on informal ways of supporting one another in the short term, and formal ways for supporting one another in the long term.