By Kenzie Love As young web designers and developers in Quebec City, the founders of MamboMambo were unfulfilled in their professional lives. Guillaume Beaulieu says the working conditions at their employers left them feeling undervalued and unfulfilled. “When we co-founded the Co-op, we were all working for different agencies,” he says. “And so from day … MamboMambo’s Members Think Outside the Boss
Founded in 2021 by five Vancouver-based graduates from the Co-operative Management Education Masters of Management program at the International Centre for Co-operative Management Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, GIA Consulting Co-op works to serve new and established co-ops by providing support for operations and governance grounded in the co-operative principles and values. Coming out of … Love of Co-ops Unites Members of GIA Consulting
By Kenzie Love Co-operative Cleaners of Ontario (CCOO) began in 2019 when Janet Bennett-Cox, the Co-op’s Vice President, stumbled upon an upcoming event organized by the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre (WMRCC) in Durham. The organization had received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to establish worker co-operatives, and CCOO was one of the … Co-operative Cleaners of Ontario Harnesses the Power of Worker Co-ops
CWCF Associate Member TREC Renewable Energy Co-operative was founded in 1998 by a group of Torontonians interested in addressing their carbon footprint collectively. They drew particular inspiration from Germany, where the renewable energy co-operative model had achieved great success. “They could see they could make small steps in their own life,” says TREC’s Co-Executive Director, … TREC Sees a Bright Future for Renewable Energy – Kenzie Love
Flourish Community Development Co-operative comes by its name for a reason. It seeks to create caring, just, sustainable and resilient communities. Communities that will, as its name suggests, “flourish”. The Co-op was founded in 2019, arising from an earlier event called Linking Arms which had brought together progressive consultancies from Nova Scotia and elsewhere in … Co-op Helps Communities to Flourish – Kenzie Love
Transform Practice, a not-for-profit consulting group, is a worker co-op that specializes in design, facilitation, reflective practice, evaluative learning, and strategy, working with community, non-profit, philanthropic, government and private sectors. As its name would suggest, however, the members of Transform Practice seek to go beyond merely tinkering with the framework of the organizations they serve. … Transform Practice Works Towards Change One Organization At a Time – Kenzie Love
Founded shortly over a decade ago in Victoria, The Makehouse Co-op had established itself as a local pillar for anyone interested in sewing when founder Jenny Ambrose decided she was ready to sell. Concerned about what their employment would look like under new ownership, the store’s five employees talked it over and decided they were … The Makehouse Co-op: A Successful Conversion – Kenzie Love
Ten years into the sole proprietorship he had founded in Nanaimo, BC, in 2013 Ben Geselbracht was looking for a change. Geselbracht wanted to remain involved with the business without having to shoulder all the day-to-day responsibilities by himself. The worker co-op model beckoned, and armed with a technical assistance grant from CWCF to help … Nanaimo Co-op Does Yeoman’s Work – Kenzie Love
By Kenzie Love Co-op conversions are a hot topic of conversation these days, with many small business owners across Canada poised to retire in the coming years, and few with a succession plan in place. Research suggests that while it may not work in all instances, converting to a worker co-op is one way … CoActive Developments Has Zeal for Co-op Conversions
By Kenzie Love Local Investing YYC, an associate member of CWCF through its participation in Common Good Capital, was incorporated in the fall of 2017. Its founders were looking for ways that all types of investors could invest into the local economy in businesses having a positive environmental or social impact. Travis Inlow, the Co-op’s … Local Investing YYC Looks Beyond the Bottom Line