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Overview

What is the Solidarity Economy?

The solidarity economy is a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth. Growing out of social movements in Latin America and the Global South, the solidarity economy provides real alternatives to capitalism, where communities govern themselves through participatory democracy, cooperative and public ownership, and a culture of solidarity and respect for the earth.

In our vision, regional solidarity economy ecosystems are essential building blocks for global economic transformation. A solidarity economy ecosystem is an environment where all of the things a community needs are controlled and governed by everyday people: like housing, schools, farms and food production, local governance structures, art and culture, healthcare and healing, and transportation. The members in our network are primarily building community control in the following areas:

This capitalist economy was built on stolen land with stolen lives and labor. Without reparations for America's original sin, there can be no justice. As we work to build community control and restore our relationship to land and agriculture, it's critical we follow the leadership of Indigenous and Black communities to advance land return and food sovereignty.

Models we love: Community Land Trusts, Community Gardens, Food and Farm Co-ops, Community Fridges, Regenerative Agriculture, Agroecology, Food Sovereignty

Instead of serving to concentrate profits into the hands of executives and investors, we need systems of labor and production that are democratically run and build wealth among those who build a business' value - the workers. Worker ownership of businesses, along with non-monetary forms of production and exchange can decommodify labor and repurpose it to meet local need.

Models we love: Worker Cooperatives, Time Banking, Barter Systems & Non-Monetary Exchange, Platform Cooperatives

Transforming our financial systems is key to transforming our economy. In our current economy, finance is based on extracting value from land and people in order to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few - fueling economic, political and ecological crises globally. By divesting from private banks and Wall Street and reinvesting in public banking and community-controlled capital, we can create a financial system that fuels a regenerative economy and meets the needs of communities and the planet.

Models we love: Participatory Budgeting, Credit unions, Public Banking, Local currencies, Non-extractive lending, CDFIs, Postal banking

Why should essential services like water, internet, and electricity be in the hands of a small number of unaccountable bureaucrats and private companies? City governments and cooperatives can provide these services in the interests of people instead of profit - providing more affordable, accessible services while building energy democracy.

Models we love: Rural Electric Co-ops, Community Solar, Community Broadband, (Re)municipalization and Public Ownership,

Creators shift the culture! We envision a world where culture workers are valued and paid justly for their labor, and where the media and technology works in service of the people - not tech giants and corporations.

Models we love: Platform cooperatives, Worker-owned media, Solutions Journalism, Open Source, Copyleft, Artists Co-ops

HOW TO DO IT

Our Action PLan

To achieve our long-term vision of building self-sustaining, interconnected solidarity economies, we ground our work in four strategies:

Contest for Power

Control the Capital

Tell the Story of Our Freedom

Train the People

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The Solidarity Economy - New Economy Coalition

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Overview The solidarity economy is a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth. Growing out of social movements in Latin America and the Global South, the solidarity economy provides real alternatives to capitalism, where communities govern themselves through participatory democracy, cooperative and public ownership, and a culture of solidarity and respect for the earth.

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Community-Wealth.org brings together, for the first time, information about the broad range of community wealth building activity.

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Comprehensive information on state-of-the-art strategies for democratic, community-based economic development, including community development corporations, employee-owned firms, land trusts, non-profit organizations, co-ops, universities, and more.

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[Book]

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Duke University Press - The Revolution Will Not Be Funded

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Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex

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"Do we have compassionate budget lines?" 

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"Do we have compassionate budget lines?" 

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Anticapitalism for Artists is a community dedicated to raising the class consciousness of artists.

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CCI Creative Cooperatives Toolbox Workshop

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CCI Creative Cooperatives Toolbox Workshop

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Coming up next Tuesday, May 25th

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May 25, 2021, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Topic: Career Development: Multiple Topic Business Training

Provider/Presenting Organization: Center for Cultural Innovation

Location: Online Classes/Webinars

with Janelle Orsi
Part 2 in CCI's 2-part Intro to Co-ops series for artists and creatives.
Don't miss part 1, Creative Cooperatives in Practice on May 18.
(Note: You will need to register separately.)
Collective and cooperative models are rapidly becoming a new normal, but no two cooperatives are alike. Like snowflakes, cooperatives have some basic structural similarities, but they take infinitely diverse shapes, as they are molded by the culture and creativity of a group. There's so much to learn about cooperatives, but don't let that stop you from diving in! In this workshop, cartoonist-lawyer Janelle Orsi will share a treasure chest of tools that any artist, entrepreneur, or group could adapt as they move toward more cooperative ways of working. With the help of cake cartoons, Janelle will explain core legal and tax structures, and then she'll share some of the policies, everyday practices, language, and cultural ingredients that give cooperatives their real flavor.

A recording will be made available to those who register, but live participation is encouraged!

Janelle Orsi is a cartoonist, lawyer, and advocate focused on cooperatives, land trusts, housing justice, community-owned energy, and democratizing finance. She co-founded and works for the cooperatively-structured nonprofit, Sustainable Economies Law Center. Most of her time is spent learning and creating with inspiring groups who are advancing permanent community stewardship of land (check out the Radical Real Estate Law School) and channeling retirement savings and other investment away from Wall Street and into our local communities (check out The Next Egg). She likes to have fun conversations and make cartoons about abolishing private property, abolishing the legal profession, and abolishing private wealth accumulation.

Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Time: 4:00-6:00pm PT / 7:00-9:00 ET
Online platform: A Zoom link will be emailed to those who register.
Cost: $5-25 (sliding scale). Please pay what you can afford. Those who are able to afford full price tickets will help subsidize those who cannot.

This workshop is made possible with support from:

This event is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

To enroll in a workshop, you must first become a member of CCI and create a user name and password. CCI membership is free of charge and open to the public.

Cancellation Policy: Full refund on registration fees up to 48 hours prior to workshop date. Fees non-refundable after that date.
***IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS*** (DON'T SKIP STEPS 5-6!)

1. Select a price point that you can afford from the options below, and click the green REGISTER NOW button.

2. Enter the required information.

3. Click SUBMIT.

4. Review your Shopping Cart, and add additional registrants (if desired).

5. Click CHECKOUT.

6. Enter your billing information and click CONTINUE.

7. When you see your Receipt, you have successfully registered!

Registration

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May 25, 2021, 4:00 - 6:00 PM Topic: Career Development: Multiple Topic Business Training Provider/Presenting Organization: Center for Cultural Innovation Location: Online Classes/Webinars Part 2 in CCI's 2-part Intro to Co-ops series for artists and creatives. Don't miss part 1, Creative Cooperatives in Practice on May 18.

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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/588996/decolonizing-wealth-by-edgar-villanueva/

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"Edgar outlines with compassion and clarity thoughtful and practical steps toward aligning our money with our values. There are important lessons here for anyone working in finance or philanthropy."
-Keith Mestrich, President and CEO, Amalgamated Bank

" Decolonizing Wealth is a must-read for philanthropists and donors looking to achieve the change we want to see in the world. Compelling, honest, and kind, Edgar is clear that we must free funding resources and the philanthropic sector itself from frameworks that further exacerbate the problems rather than bring us closer to identifying and activating the solutions."
-Alicia Garza, cocreator of Black Lives Matter Global Network, and Principal, Black Futures Lab

"Edgar has broken through the tired jargon of philanthropy-speak and written a fresh, honest, painful, and hopeful book, grounded in his own truths and Native traditions. He offers some radical thinking about what it would take to bring about a world where power and accountability shifted and communities controlled the resources vital to their strength and futures."
-Gara LaMarche, President, Democracy Alliance; former President, Atlantic Philanthropies; and former Vice President and Director of US Programs, Open Society Foundations

"Due to years of detrimental federal Indian policy and discriminatory economic systems, Native American communities have been marginalized and left out of the economic opportunity experienced by other Americans. Edgar offers a new vision and an Indigenous perspective that can put us on a better path. Everyone should read Decolonizing Wealth, especially those who control the flow of resources in government, philanthropy, and finance."
-LaDonna Harris (Comanche), politician, activist, and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity

"Edgar's sojourn into the soul and depths of philanthropy is equal parts thoughtful, discomforting, and illuminating . . . It challenges the reader to confront matters of race, oppression, privilege, and arrogance in the pursuit of humanity and social justice."
-Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and CEO, The California Endowment

"By anchoring the solutions to America's ills in the wisdom and knowledge of its original people, Edgar challenges all of us to analyze how our nation's history of racism and disenfranchisement has infected its financial and giving institutions."
-Heather McGhee, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos

" Decolonizing Wealth offers a refreshing and inspired look at how wealth can better serve the needs of communities of color and atone for the ways in which it has traditionally been used to inflict harm and division. Using a solutions-oriented framing, Edgar makes a solid case for how Indigenous wisdom can be used as a guiding light to achieve greater equity in the funding and philanthropic world."
-Kevin Jennings, President, Tenement Museum

"Edgar has gone out on a limb to help lead us to a place of healing. He bravely calls out the power dynamics within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, particularly the white supremacy institutionally embedded into the system of nonprofit supplicant and philanthropic largesse."
-Kathy Ko Chin, President and CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

"Finally, a Native perspective on how to heal internal systemic challenges. Decolonizing Wealth not only is an unflinching examination of today's philanthropic institutions and the foundations upon which they were built but also offers critical wisdom applicable to many sectors."
-Sarah Eagle Heart (Lakota), CEO, Native Americans in Philanthropy

"Edgar reinserts purpose and humanity into a philanthropic industry that has too often been driven by wealth accumulation, grant cycles, portfolios, and metrics. Inspired by an Indigenous worldview, the book pushes philanthropy back toward its original meaning, 'love for humanity.'"
-John H. Jackson, President and CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education

"If you want to know how funders can redeem our souls, this book is a critical step in the right direction. Edgar is a courageous voice shaping a new era of activist grantmaking, one centered on achieving, not just studying opportunity and racial equity."
-Eric K. Ward, philanthropist and Executive Director, Western States Center

"Finally! A book that tackles a topic previously only discussed in the hallways and lobbies of conference spaces. Until we acknowledge that the wealth of this country is built on this legacy, we can't be deliberate in our efforts to decolonize and heal our communities."
-Dana Arviso (Diné), philanthropist and former Executive Director, Potlatch Fund

"Edgar's raw examination of the funder world acknowledges the imbalanced power dynamics that exist but puts forward innovative thinking to challenge the status quo and identify solutions that benefit us all. Decolonizing Wealth is a book that will leave you hopeful and inspired for the future."
-Mayra Alvarez, President, The Children's Partnership

"Edgar's voice will help shape the future of a philanthropy that systemically reverses the toxic inequalities that threaten the very fabric of our human existence. It gives me hope for the soul of our sector."
-Pia Infante, Co-Executive Director, The Whitman Institute

"We should all be grateful to Edgar Villanueva for helping us understand, by sharing Indigenous wisdom, that there is a path toward a more transformative approach to wealth, to investment, and to giving. We cannot truly call ourselves ethical, progressive, or mission-aligned investors until we have wrestled honestly with the fundamental issues raised in this book."
-Andrea Armeni, cofounder and Executive Director, Transform Finance

"With Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar offers a much-needed and timely gift to help funders listen, learn, and act in a different and better way by thinking and giving indigenously."
-Michael E. Roberts (Tlingit), President and CEO, First Nations Development Institute

"Charity and philanthropy rarely offer meaningful challenges to systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Decolonizing Wealth is an important contribution to the grassroots struggles to transform society and shift the way we think about our relationship with money."
-Jordan Flaherty, author of No More Heroes

"For charities and donors trying to shift the giving paradigm and channel resources in ways that are truly equitable, Edgar's ideas for solutions-based on Indigenous culture and traditions-couldn't come at a better time."
-Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice

" Decolonizing Wealth offers an arrow to pierce the status quo. While the heart of the revolution for justice is not dependent on philanthropic support, there can be a powerfully effective role for mindful philanthropy to respectfully contribute to the reimagining and actualization of a more just world for future generations."
-Tia Oros Peters (Shiwi), Executive Director, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Having been both grantseeker and grankmaker, I welcome any wisdom that can release us from a relationship of paternalism and enable true partnership. Nothing is more important to decolonize than money - without it, change is slower and harder, and comes too late for too many people. Edgar Villanueva is a fresh voice in the money scene, one we should all heed.
-Rinku Sen, author and strategist

Get the latest updates from Edgar Villanueva

And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.

And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.

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Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva: 9781523097890 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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"Edgar outlines with compassion and clarity thoughtful and practical steps toward aligning our money with our values. There are important lessons here for anyone working in finance or philanthropy." -Keith Mestrich, President and CEO, Amalgamated Bank " Decolonizing Wealth is a must-read for philanthropists and donors looking to achieve the change we want to see in the world.

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I am very interested in learning more about this in a theatre setting.  Lots of questions but please share any resources you have.

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Free templates from FORGE for financial and long-term planning.

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Founded by Chie Morita + Greg Taubman, FORGE is a boutique consulting agency grounded in the philosophy that how you work matters as much as why you create and what you want to make. We believe in the power of process, and in building the skills, systems, plans, and practices that will carry you not only through your next set of goals, but your life’s work as a creator.

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HELPING ARTISTS A PATH TOWARDS

BLACK

LIVES

MATTER

June 3rd, 2020

Friends,

​

As we behold the events unfolding in our communities--Greg through the warped lenses of news sites and social media, and Chie through the egg-splattered glass of our apartment window just south of Union Square--we feel the urgent necessity to raise our voices in the collective call for change, and to act on that call with intention and alacrity.

​

FORGE NYC stands in solidarity with black artists, makers, and the black community in the struggle against white supremacy, systemic injustice, and institutional violence. We see the suffering of our friends, neighbors, and fellows, and mourn with them. We recognize the persistent violence and pernicious oppression that emerge from racism, permeating our country from its earliest days and now claiming the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and still more as we write these words.

​

​

​

In order to confront racism we must examine and exhume its influence on our choices, voices, and values. We are walking this path in the footsteps of those who had no choice but to learn through suffering. Though we are many steps behind and our footing is uncertain, we are committed to coming side-by-side and pushing together towards a more inclusive, equitable, and just society.

​

Today, FORGE is rededicating itself to:

Interrogating our assumptions and attending to the impact of our work;

Holding space in our consulting and developmental process for those who are hurting and grieving;

Aligning our core practices with anti-racist values while pushing our clients to do the same;

Offering opportunities for collective action at our remote and in-person events;

Broadening our reach to serve more BIPOC creators;

And generating substantive resources for the artists, makers, and companies we work with to add their voices to the call.

​

This is only the next step. We will keep finding new ways to forge ahead--in solidarity, humility, compassion, and action--because we cannot stop until it is understood by every human being and reflected in every aspect of our culture:

​

Black Lives Matter.

​

-Chie Morita + Greg Taubman

Co-Founders & Partners

FORGENYC

MEET the 2021 FORGE FELLOWS

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Forge NYC I Arts Consulting & Development I New York

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FORGE is a boutique consulting agency grounded in the philosophy that how you work matters. Our attention to process-skills, systems, plans, & practices-provides our clients with a framework to view their entire scope of work as a creator, not just their next steps.

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Ownership design for a sustainable economy

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Ownership design for a sustainable economy

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[Research Report] Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Fifty By Fifty uncovered 50-plus employee-owned, mission-driven firms that provide a model for business in the 21st century.

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karenkahn33@outlook.com · ·

Research finds mission-driven employee-owned firms best environmental stewards

by Sarah Stranahan and Marjorie Kelly

What is the relationship between employee ownership and sustainable business practices? Our research, conducted with support from Partners for a New Economy, suggests the answer to this question is far from simple. While traditional public ownership almost certainly will put profits before planet, employee ownership doesn't guarantee a firm will prioritize environmental impact.

Rather, we found the business design that is most suitable to solving our planetary crisis combines employee ownership with moral leadership that values sustainability. Most often that moral leadership comes from founders and/or the executives who strive to make the company's values a reality. Where employee ownership makes a real difference is when mission-driven companies transition to new leadership. Employee owners, steeped in company culture, are the ones most likely to continue to steward that mission.

"Ownership design for a sustainable economy" is our final report, summarizing the research methodology and findings related to our inquiry into this question. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we uncovered 50-plus employee-owned, mission-driven firms that provide a model for business in the 21 st century. These businesses demonstrate design lessons that will need to be adopted far more broadly if we are to solve the two greatest threats to our planet and our democracy: growing inequality and the climate crisis.

Ownership-design-for-sustainable-economy-FINAL-CX

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Ownership design for a sustainable economy - Fifty by Fifty

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karenkahn33@outlook.com · · by Sarah Stranahan and Marjorie Kelly What is the relationship between employee ownership and sustainable business practices? Our research, conducted with support from Partners for a New Economy, suggests the answer to this question is far from simple.

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ABC is a worker-owned union cooperative providing accounting + bookkeeping services to cooperatives, non-profits, freelancers, and small businesses.

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Free policy templates published by ArtsPool.

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An arts nonprofit bookkeeping, finance, workforce compliance, and budgeting service company.

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Tired of traditional outsourced nonprofit bookkeeping services? Through a cooperative model, ArtsPool's services help you control costs, save time, and free your head to focus on what matters most.

Finance

In addition to your bookkeeping and accounting, ArtsPool will take care of your budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and audit prep.

Workforce Administration

Whether it's processing payroll or ensuring labor compliance, ArtsPool's streamlined workforce administration makes hiring and paying workers a breeze.

Compliance

In addition to compliance related to your workers and finances, ArtsPool coordinates your core funder and regulatory reports, filings, and policies.

What our members are saying...

"The people who run [ArtsPool] have been in the field for many years and know it from both an artistic vantage point, as well as the tricky business side of our world...It is this institutional memory and knowledge of the field that drew us to ArtsPool, and it is what makes us feel safe in their hands."
Annie-B Parson, Co-Director, Big Dance Theater
Membership

Learn More

Whether you're looking for an administrative partner or looking for support on a specific project, ArtsPool has the tools and resources to free your head so you can focus on the art.

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Outsourced nonprofit bookkeeping and fiscal management | ArtsPool

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Tired of traditional outsourced nonprofit bookkeeping services? Through a cooperative model, ArtsPool's services help you control costs, save time, and free your head to focus on what matters most. Finance In addition to your bookkeeping and accounting, ArtsPool will take care of your budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and audit prep.

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A framework for thinking about the roles you play and the power you have in creating social change.

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In our lives and as part of organizations, workplaces, and movements, many of us play different roles in pursuit of equity, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often get overwhelmed, lost, and burned out. Some of us are newcomers to ongoing social change efforts and don't know where to start. Still others are catalyzed into action in the midst of a crisis in our community.

The Social Change Ecosystem Map is a framework that can help individuals, networks, and organizations align with social change values, individual roles, and the broader ecosystem. It has two components: shared values embodied in the yellow circle in the middle; ten roles that people and organizations often show up in when they are participating in social change efforts. These are premised on an ecosystem concept, that we are more effective and more sustainable in our social change work when we build connections with others.

The framework has become a tool used by people and organizations, particularly during a time of unprecedented challenges, from the global pandemic to the 2020 uprisings to climate disasters, to find ways to engage in social change efforts more effectively, collaboratively, and sustainably.

Learn more about the social change ecosystem map on our YouTube here.
Interested in trainings/workshops on the social change ecosystem map? Learn more about our offerings here and fill out this contact form to connect with the SolidarityIs team.

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Social Change Ecosystem Map - Building Movement

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In our lives and as part of organizations, workplaces, and movements, many of us play different roles in pursuit of equity, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often [...]