At Center for Family Life, our Cooperative Business Development Program (CDP) organizes community members to create worker-owned cooperative businesses with the mission of economic and social justice. Through Center for Family Life’s holistic, neighborhood-rooted approach, CDP builds leadership and coaches cooperative members, cultivates relationships to strengthen the cooperative movement, and generates and shares best practices and models for cooperative growth.
Here are some of the program’s recent highlights!
Click the photo above to learn more about Up & Go’s services!
Up & Go celebrated its 7-year anniversary in May! When Up & Go launched in 2017 with the support of the CDP, it was the first worker-owned web platform for booking cleaning services in New York City. Since its inception, the cooperative has expanded to all five boroughs and beyond New York State. Last June, Up & Go officially launched in South Philadelphia and currently, Up & Go is looking to onboard new members in Detroit!
To book an appointment with Up & Go, click here.
The CDP offered new free workshops to cooperative members and to the broader community! These include computer literacy and English classes for domestic workers, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) trainings. These classes and trainings are important to cooperative entrepreneurs because they help them to build concrete skills that are essential to start and grow a small business.
Our CDP joined The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) as they celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI). The event included a panel discussion comprised of cooperative members who shared inspiring stories and program reflections. We are incredibly grateful for the WCBDI for supporting the creation, growth, and sustainability of cooperative businesses which provide a path for New Yorkers to access employment, build wealth, and gain entrepreneurial skills.
Our Cooperative Business Development Program has helped incubate over 20 cooperatives since its inception and it continues to provide essential supportive resources, trainings, and classes to cooperative members and the broader community. Through this work, the CDP helps cooperative members obtain access to jobs with fair and stable salaries and to gain control over their time and the business.
Thank you for supporting us and our Cooperative Business Development Program. These highlights wouldn’t be possible without all of you!
