What We Do

Who we Serve

We work primarily with worker-owned cooperatives, but also support other types of cooperatives such as hybrid (worker-consumer) and housing cooperatives.

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Make use of our ongoing education and training opportunities. Existing co-ops can request technical assistance when they need support with governance, budgeting, financial systems, and a variety of other needs

Cooperatives Principle #5 is Education, Training, and Information

This principle is included on the international list of co-op principles for good reason.

Ongoing employee and member education is critical to the long term success of a co-op, to ensure that the members understand their rights and responsibilities, feel empowered to make changes to the co-op when needed, and have the knowledge they need to interpret the data and financial information they will have access to as co-op members.

Customized Training

BCCO offers customized, on-site training for your employees, members, and/or board. We also frequently partner with other organizations to offer training to their members, borrowers, and learners. We can provide annual or periodic trainings on subjects such as:

Rights & Responsibilities of Co-op Membership
Decision Making in Cooperatives
Co-op Board Training for Directors and Officers
Introduction to Financial Statements
Financial Analysis and Key Performance Indicators
Budgets: How to Make and Use Them

It’s easy to inquire about customized training for your co-op. Just use our contact form to send an inquiry, and we will schedule a time to discuss your training needs.

(If you are a W-2 employer in the state of Massachusetts, training may be subsidized through the Workforce Training Fund Program.)

Public Training

In addition to customized training by request, we offer periodic scheduled workshops that are open to the public. Below please find a schedule of our upcoming workshops.

Technical assistance is a term used to describe a specific improvement that would be helpful to an existing business.

BCCO regularly provides technical assistance to cooperatives and other small businesses that align with our mission.

Some examples of technical assistance:

Setting up your bookkeeping and training your bookkeeper
Creating financial control systems such as petty cash and cash drawer reconciliation procedures
Setting up Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and the process for converting leads into sales
Choosing and getting started with Project Management, Field Services Management, and/or scheduling software
Developing a handbook for your board of directors, with guidance and tools such as: ‘job descriptions’ for directors and officers; board calendar and checklist; guidelines for good meetings
Bylaws and Policy reviews - in partnership with a lawyer from our network, identify any gaps in your governance documents, or provisions that should be updated
Creating a budget or financial projection for your co-op
Capital planning and financing strategies: loan applications, finding opportunities for equity investment
Strategic Planning - charting a course for the future
Identifying Key Performance Indicators, Setting up data collection systems and format for KPI dashboard
Creating and implementing a process for employee and management reviews
Designing, administering, and reporting results of employee/member satisfaction surveys, ownership culture surveys
Coaching and support through periods of rapid growth or crisis

Depending on the needs of the co-op, technical assistance could mean a commitment of a few weeks to several months, and could be a regular part of the calendar every year.

BCCO provides technical assistance on a fee-for-service basis, but funding to cover the cost is often available for specific groups. For example, the City of Boston On-Site Technical Assistance Program provides free support to co-ops located in economically disadvantaged areas of Boston, and the Mass Growth Capital Corporation supports TA for co-ops in Massachusetts, particularly those with owners from economically disadvantaged communities. We often have access to funding from one or both of these programs, and will be happy to discuss funding options with you.

Bookkeeping & Back Office Services

In some cases, co-ops ask us for temporary or ongoing support with basic management functions such as:

Regular bookkeeping
Board administration: keeping notes, sending meeting reminders, working with officers on agenda and work plan, facilitating meetings
Producing weekly or monthly KPI dashboards on financial, sales, and/or operations data

We are happy to provide ongoing support services for an affordable price, whether the need is temporary or ongoing.

Organizing support for the US Federation of Worker Co-ops

We are organizers in two ways: we facilitate the process for individual people to create and sustain cooperative businesses, and we help to organize the co-ops into a movement of co-ops, to help spread and strengthen this idea of economic democracy. We have been working closely with the US Federation of Worker Co-ops to establish a local chapter in Boston, and we’re also active in the Greater Boston Chapter of Co-ops, which brings together worker co-ops with other kinds of co-ops, such as housing and consumer co-ops…

Incubating New Cooperatives

We love the challenge of starting new co-ops from scratch. Many of our clients are motivated by their desire to create a workplace culture that is more inclusive and respectful of workers, and feel that new organizations are the best way to do that.

Starting new co-ops, just like starting any new business – is very challenging, and inevitably some that start will not succeed. However, we agree that startup co-ops, particularly those started by those who have been systematically denied economic opportunities in the past, present an opportunity to create economic structures that prefigure a more just, sustainable, and cooperative future.

Over many years, we have learned what factors go into a successful startup process:

A strong, cohesive team
A business idea that has been carefully crafted for market, operational, and financial feasibility, and developed into a complete business plan
A governance structure that will allow for democratic participation but is not overly complex
Sufficient financing to pay for startup costs and any anticipated early losses;
A well-planned launch process without unnecessary glitches or delays
Clear and organized systems for financial management, sales, marketing, operations, and administration
Getting to profitability within the planned timeline
Implementing the education and training program and successfully onboarding the first group of non-founder members

When BCCO makes a commitment to a co-op startup process, we are ready for a long term (3-5 year) partnership. This level of commitment requires advance planning and fundraising, with responsibility shared between BCCO and the co-op or sponsoring organization. Our priority for startup incubation projects is for those initiated by workers who are Black, POC, immigrants, women or non-binary, and/or returning citizens.

Community based organizations: If you are thinking of helping your members create a worker-owned co-op, you will need a partner to supply the nuts and bolts information to make sure the process goes smoothly. For the greatest chance of success, get in touch early in your process. Our framework for co-op development can provide the structure your members need to create a successful business.

Co-op Conversions

Those that have been through a startup process understand how much time, money, and effort go into creating a sustainable company. A business that has figured out how to provide a product or service at a price customers are willing to pay, while paying workers a liveable wage, is truly a valuable thing, and often worth sustaining past the retirement of its founder.

BCCO Can Help to Preserve your workplace as a cooperative, through a process that in some ways resembles the process of starting a new co-op

Initial education and interviews to determine interest in a cooperative and to understand the interests of the workers and founder;
Assessment of the feasibility of success as a cooperative, including the prospect of future profits, a strong management plan, and a sale price and terms that will not place too great a burden on the co-op going forward;
Design of the new governance structure, including bylaws, policies, and a thorough understanding of the levels of decision making
Assembling any needed financing: applying for loans, agreeing on seller financing
Working with a lawyer and accountant on transfer documents, timing of the business transfer
Post-conversion: support for membership and board process; first year tax returns and patronage allocations

Our approach to co-op conversions emphasizes transparency, leadership development, and fairness for workers. Our goal is for the organization to be a source of stable employment for decades to come.