Overview
The Cooperative Enterprise Development program generated living wage jobs in low-income communities through the creation of worker-owned cooperatives. The skills and experience of cooperative members were used to create new businesses where the workers were more than just employees -- they were owners.
In Detail
The King County Organizing Project used the skills of its members to create new cooperatives. One of the first ventures identified wsa Foreign Bridges, which provided multilingual interpretive services to Puget Sound businesses and organizations. The Institute for Washington's Future assisted members of Foreign Bridges in developing their business plan and taught them the skills necessary to operated and grow a successful worker-owned enterprise. Foreign Bridges was also a model for new cooperatives developed through a partnership of community-based organizations, community development corporations, and secondary cooperative organizations.
Port Jobs funded Cooperative Enterprise Development in 1996.
Program Partnerships
- Institute for Washington's Future
- King County Organizing Project
- Ethiopian Community Mutual Association
- Employment Opportunities Center
- Pacific Associates
- Puget Sound Co-op Federation
- Refugee Federation Service Center
- Street Life Gallery
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