Hello again, fellow co-operators, hope you all had a warm and wonderful holiday and are having a great 2023 so far! We, GBCC and USFWC Boston, would love to see you and any of your friends who are interested in co-ops at Democracy Brewing from 6:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, January 31st for a social. We’re planning to provide appetizers and a drink ticket!
Hola de nuevo, compañeros cooperadores, ¡espero que todos hayan tenido unas cálidas y maravillosas vacaciones y que estén teniendo un gran 2023 hasta ahora! Nosotros, GBCC y USFWC Boston, nos encantaría verlos a ustedes y a cualquiera de sus amigos que estén interesados en cooperativas en Democracy Brewing de 6:30 p. m. a 8:30 p. m. el martes 31 de enero para una reunión social. ¡Estamos planeando proporcionar aperitivos y un boleto de bebida!
Boston Center for Community Ownership is hiring a Co-op Organizer to provide hands-on business support to worker-owned cooperatives and other small businesses in our region. We are looking for someone with Spanish language fluency and authentic cultural competencies relevant to the communities we serve, who has practical experience working in small businesses as an entrepreneur or in a bookkeeping, financial management, or other managerial capacity. This role is intended as a full time position, but we may consider part time applicants as well. We are a Boston-based organization with headquarters in Dorchester, and are looking for candidates within commuting distance of our primary office.
BCCO is a worker self-directed non-profit co-op development center rooted in community organizing. Cooperative businesses are just like other small businesses, except they are owned by the people that use them – usually the workers, customers, or some combination of the two. Cooperatives are part of the larger movement for social entrepreneurship and Solidarity Economy.
We provide organizing support in English and Spanish for startup co-ops and co-op conversions, as well as ongoing training and technical assistance for existing cooperatives. Our co-op organizers live in the communities we serve, and have extensive practical experience in cooperative and small business management. BCCO provides hands-on assistance including bookkeeping, financial management, financial projections, loan readiness, business plans, strategic planning, governance support, and board and membership training.
Responsibilities:
Providing technical assistance to small businesses, including support for bookkeeping, financial management, sales, marketing, legal and tax requirements
Providing workshops, coaching, and technical assistance to co-ops related to decision making processes and the healthy functioning of boards of directors
Working closely with lawyers and accountants to assist co-ops in creating their bylaws and profit distribution procedures
Managing client projects, including: developing a scope of work, milestones, timeline and budget; moving the project along according to schedule; completing the project objectives and documenting processes and results
Representing BCCO in networks, coalitions, and organizations of which we are a member
Contributing to fundraising efforts by assisting with grant applications and small donor campaigns
Travel to clients’ place of work, when needed. Most of our work is in or around Boston, but we occasionally work with clients, or attend conferences, in other states.
Requirements:
Fluent in Spanish and English
Experience working in small business as a bookkeeper, financial manager, or other management capacity, particularly in Black or POC-owned businesses
Cultural competencies related to one or more of Boston’s Black and/or POC communities
Strong verbal communication skills; ability to break down complex business and financial topics so they are easily understood
Proficiency with spreadsheets, word processing software (MS Office, Google Drive)
Commitment to our values of respect and empowerment for low income workers and entrepreneurs
Eagerness to participate in training to develop additional skills in small business support and deepen your understanding of the cooperative model of doing business.
Passion for our mission of building a cooperative economy
Good judgment, ability to respond calmly and constructively to challenging situations
Other qualities that would strengthen your application:
Familiarity with various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Point of Sale (POS) software options
Strong writing skills and enthusiasm for writing, experience writing marketing materials and/or grant applications
Experience with community organizing or social justice movements
Experience and/or training as a meeting facilitator or mediator
Coursework in accounting or business topics, economic development, or public policy
Experience leading workshops or trainings
Experience working in cooperatives or other democratic organizations
This is an exempt, salaried position starting at $65,000 (full time), or part time as requested, with paid time off for vacations, sick/personal, and holidays. To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to jobs@bcco.coop.
This job was posted 11/14/2022 and will remain open until filled.
We are using Picnic Area 5, which is on the West side of Houghton’s Pond, off Blue Hill River Rd. USE THIS LINK for GPS directions to the nearest parking lot.
If this lot is full, try looking for spaces along Blue Hill River Rd along the South side of the pond. The road is marked with a sign that says “Houghton’s Pond – Picnic Sites and Ball Fields”. These parking spaces are a 5-10 minute walk from our picnic site.
Tomorrow is expected to be a hot day, but the picnic site is in a cool, shady area under some lovely pine trees, next to the pond. If you would like to swim, the swimming area is a 5-10 minute walk away from our picnic site, as are the nearest bathrooms. The picnic area has tables and benches, and we will have a grill and coolers for cold drinks, plus veggie and non-veggie options for the grill.
Things you might want to bring: camp chairs, side dishes or stuff for the grill, bug spray, towels, swim suits, blankets for sitting on, and toys/games for kids. These are only suggestions! Nothing is required to attend, just yourself.
If you need help finding us, please call or text 617-446-3608.
Hello co-operators, it’s been a while since we’ve seen you! Please join us (GBCC and USFWC Boston) at Houghton’s Pond from 11-3PM on Sunday, June 26th for a cookout! In addition to providing some basics (drinks, chips, and the usual bbq items – burgers/dogs/buns), we’re planning to make this a fully bilingual event, so we’d appreciate it if you could answer a few questions to help us adequately prepare
If you have any questions or thoughts about this event that aren’t covered by the form, please email greater.boston.coops@gmail.com or boston@usworker.coop.
Saludos cooperativistas, ¡hace tiempo que no nos vemos! Les invitamos a un convivio, únase con (GBCC y USFWC Boston) en Houghton’s Pond de las 11 de la mañana a 3 de la tarde el domingo 26 de junio para un asado. Además de brindar alimentos básicos (bebidas, chips, y lo común de una barbacoa – hamburguesas/hot dogs/pan), este evento será totalmente bilingüe, por lo que le agradeceríamos si pudiera contestar algunas preguntas para ayudarnos a prepararnos mejor.
Si tiene alguna pregunta o idea sobre este evento que no está incluido en el formulario, por favor envíe un correo electrónico a greater.boston.coops@gmail.com o boston@usworker.coop.
Boston Center for Community ownership is partnering with Codman Square NDC, with support from the City of Boston, to launch a new worker-owned cooperative, designed to provide opportunities for immigrant workers. The program will build on CSNDC’s training program in Green Infrastructure – an emerging field of work that aims to divert storm water away from municipal sewers and into the soil. The benefits include reduced pressure on sewer systems, and a cooler and greener urban environment. More firms will be needed to do this work in future years, as cities and towns work to reduce their carbon emissions, while mitigating the effects of climate change.
Participants in the program will first complete CSNDC’s Green Infrastructure Course for three weeks in October (Oct. 12-30). The second part is 16 weeks (Nov. 8 – Mar. 6) of co-op work and study to create a business plan and bylaws for a new co-op. Those who complete both parts and are confirmed as members of the co-op will receive a minimum of $2,000 to invest in the co-op as their membership share. Co-op members are the legal owners of their businesses, and participate in democratic decision making on the principle of one-person-one-vote. They also share in any profits generated by the company.
To be eligible for this free program, participants must be Boston residents who self identify as immigrants (or adult children of immigrants), and have enough English skills to communicate effectively in a work situation. Participants will be asked to show a bill in their name, received by mail to a Boston address, or a self-attestation to Boston residence.
The training will be begin online via Zoom, and may change to an in-person format if COVID restrictions allow unmasked gatherings indoors.
BCCO seeks to hire a Co-op Organizer who has experience with bookkeeping and small business support, and would like to continually expand and broaden their skill set. We are looking for someone who has spent time working for small businesses in a bookkeeping, financial management, or similar capacity. This could be a family owned business, an employer, a co-op, or your own sole proprietorship. If your colleagues, friends, and family come to you for answers to their questions about bookkeeping, filing taxes, registering with the state, filling out business certificates, writing business plans, applying for loans, etc – you are who we are looking for. If you’ve often heard people say, “Wow, I never understood it until you explained it like that!” – you are who we are looking for.
We are a young organization with a small but dedicated team, and we’re looking for someone who is excited about contributing to the organization and culture we’re building. The job title “Co-op Organizer” reflects our community organizing approach to the development of cooperative businesses. This new position is for 20 hours per week at a rate of $30/hour, with room for hours and compensation to grow. Hours are flexible and may include weekend or evening meetings, depending on the client’s needs. We have a generous paid time off policy and a healthy training budget for each person. BCCO is organized as a membership based non-profit organization, where the members are the employees and dedicated volunteers. Employees become members after a candidacy period of 6 months, and as a member, you will have a vote in our annual meeting where we elect our board of directors, as well as the opportunity to run for the board yourself. Under normal circumstances, we work primarily from home, using a co-working space in Dorchester for client meetings and workshops, or meeting with clients on-site at their business. Due to the pandemic, we are currently conducting all our work remotely through Zoom. This position will remain open until filled. (Posted [date])
Initial responsibilities:
Regular weekly/monthly bookkeeping for co-op clients, including entering receipts and bills, invoicing customers, running payroll, recording sales and expenses, reconciling statements
Maintaining a bookkeeping manual and checklist for each client
Producing periodic financial reports (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet) and reviewing them with clients
Providing training to clients on understanding their financial reports
Making recommendations to clients on how to manage cash flow, control costs, and increase profit margins
Setting up financial management procedures for clients that allow for full transparency and quality information for decision making
Facilitate inclusive budget development processes that involve members from all parts of the co-op
Interface between our clients and their accountants to prepare clients’ yearly taxes
Participation in weekly or biweekly BCCO management meetings and board meetings as needed
Along with other staff, sharing in administrative tasks related to management of BCCO
Helping to promote BCCO to prospective clients, organizations, and funders
Representing BCCO in various coalitions and organizations in which we are members
Keeping a detailed and accurate time sheet logging all your activities so we can accurately bill them to projects
Depending on your interest and inclination, responsibilities may grow to include:
General support for co-op businesses through the course of their development, from the intitial idea and team building phase, through startup and launch, to ongoing support through the life of the business.
Developing financial pro formas for co-ops, including projected Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements
Delivering existing BCCO workshops for clients and the public, and developing new training content
Managing our catalog of training offerings – promoting, scheduling, and managing registrations for workshops
Participating in fundraising through grant applications and small donor requests
Internal bookkeeping for BCCO
Other responsibilities, depending on your interests. We welcome your ideas for how to build a more just and sustainable economy.
Requirements for this position:
Practical, hands-on experience with bookkeeping or accounting in a small business setting, particularly with Quickbooks
Strong verbal communication skills, and the ability to explain complex financial and business concepts in a way that is accessible and empowering to the listener
Cultural competencies related to one or more immigrant communities or communities of color in the Boston area currently underrepresented on our staff, particularly African American, Cape Verdean, Haitian, and/or other Caribbean communities
Committment to our values of respect and empowerment for low income workers and entrepreneurs
Eagerness to participate in training to develop additional skills in small business support and deepen your understanding of the cooperative model of doing business.
Passion for our mission of building a cooperative economy
Good judgement, ability to respond calmly and constructively to challenging situations
Other qualities that would strengthen your application:
Familiarity with various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Point of Sale (POS) software options
Strong writing skills and a love of writing, experience writing business plans, marketing materials, and/or grant applications
Fluency in a language other than English or Spanish that is commonly spoken in our region
Experience with community organizing or social justice movements
Experience and/or training as a meeting facilitator or mediator
Course work in accounting or business topics, economic development, or public policy
Experience leading workshops or trainings
Experience working in cooperatives or other democratic organizations
The City of Boston has launched a Worker Cooperative Initiative in concert with Mayor Walsh’s efforts to expand support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and create opportunities for economic mobility for every Bostonian.
You will learn about selling businesses to employees, different types of employee ownership, and improving business by engaging workers from the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF), Boston Center for Community Ownership, and the ICA Group.
This event is presented by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Women Entrepreneurs Boston, and the Roxbury Innovation Center.
We’re very excited that the City of Boston, from the Mayor’s office to the City Council, is getting fired up about cooperatives. Today is the City Council’s hearing on co-ops, and we will be there giving testimony on the economic impact of cooperatives to our city. If you’d like to read more, check out our new resource, The Case for Cooperatives as a Local Economic Development Strategy. It has links to all the most recent research from the US and abroad.
“Perhaps the most common received idea about worker co-operatives is that they must be small. It is often thought worker co-operatives must be financially constrained, and a small size is sometimes regarded as a condition for workplace democracy to function… People will also commonly remark that very large worker co-operatives are extremely rare…. What is not widely understood is that most firms actually are very small.” (p.6)
Pérotin cites research studies from Italy, the US, Spain, France, and Uruguay, which all indicate that, on the whole, worker-owned cooperatives tend to be slightly larger than conventional firms (p. 6-9).
In the US, the best estimate of the size distribution of cooperatives comes from the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) . Their 2013 survey of US worker-owned cooperatives shows a size distribution consistent with Pérotin’s research: on the whole, US worker co-ops seem to be somewhat larger than other firms:
Source Data: 2013 DAWI survey of cooperatives (n=117); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Business Employment Dynamics Data by Firm Size Class, Table G. Distribution of private sector firms by size class
Now, by definition, a worker cooperative has three or more employees. Any fewer, and the business would be considered a partnership or sole proprietorship. Since the US economy, like most economies, is dominated by small firms, especially sole proprietors with no employees, perhaps we should exclude the smallest firms from our analysis, to see what happens when we take away both the smallest co-ops and the smallest conventional firms:
Source Data: 2013 DAWI survey of cooperatives (n=117); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Business Employment Dynamics Data by Firm Size Class, Table G. Distribution of private sector firms by size class
Excluding firms with 10 or fewer employees, the distribution of businesses by size looks very similar, whether the business is a worker co-op or conventional firm. DAWI’s sample size of 117 firms is quite small, of course, although it is an impressively large sample, considering that there were only 256 worker co-ops in the US at the time of this survey, according to their analysis.
While this quick analysis doesn’t constitute the same type of rigorous academic research cited by Pérotin, it also doesn’t contradict the finding that, in the US and worldwide, worker cooperatives are by no means smaller firms than conventional businesses – if anything the data suggest they may consistently be larger.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Business Employment Dynamics Data by Firm Size Class, Table G. Distribution of private sector firms by size class http://www.bls.gov/web/cewbd/table_g.txt
