The Greater Boston Chamber of Cooperatives is working to build the cooperative movement for racial and economic justice. We’re bringing together worker, housing, and consumer cooperatives locally to build a more just, democratic, and sustainable economy.
Boston was recently reported to rank first place for income inequality nationwide. People of color and the working class are being pushed out of the city by rising housing costs and the lack of decent job opportunities. We recognize that cooperatives are one of the most powerful tools available to us for addressing income inequality, creating jobs with dignity, and preserving permanently affordable housing. But growing a cooperative movement requires an ecosystem. We need policy changes at the city level. We need more financing opportunities for startups and conversions. We need more support for education and networking.
We need to organize.
Co-ops are on the move. Cross sector associations in other cities have had big success convincing local governments to fund co-op development. The city of Boston itself has been studying initiatives for worker co-ops and inviting us to the table. Now is a particular powerful time to leverage our shared power.
Who We Are
The Chamber centers racial and economic justice in its work of strengthening and expanding the Greater Boston cooperative economy through education, advocacy, and collaboration among its member organizations. Through shared resources and cross-sector collective action, we are working to build a more just, democratic, and sustainable economy.
To accomplish this mission, The Chamber will work in the following channels:
Education: Foster opportunities for member education within and among cooperative entities in areas of management, democratic process, and cooperative development, incubation of new cooperatives, and broader movement building.
Marketing: Raise the profile of cooperative businesses and the benefits of the cooperative model among the general public and business owners to encourage the formation of new co-ops and increase membership for existing co-ops.
Networking: Provide opportunities for collaborations within and across sectors and contribute to building a thriving cooperative ecosystem in the greater Boston area.
Advocacy: Serve as an effective voice for cooperative business on legislative, business, social, governmental, and community issues affecting the cooperative economy.