DevSummit07:Co-Op Story Share in Nonprofit Technology Enterprises

Facilitated by Brattleboro Tech Collective, Chicago Technology Cooperative, Electric Embers, Openflows, Sulá Batsú and others

A range of participants from nonprofit and social change technology co-ops will be present at the Summit. This session will employ a story-telling format to share learnings and compare experiences around co-op oriented business models.

Session Notes

Attendees

Brent: Electric Embers (formerly of TechUnderground) Kevin: TechSoup Larry: Open Flows Jessi: Riseup Collective? Dan: working to support low-income women led co-ops Jim: Chicago Technology Cooperative (no Illinois co-op tax status, filed at Inc) Elijah: Riseup Collective (co-op referrals) Dave, Josh: Brattleboro Tech Collective (lots of changes) Antoine: Koumbit (open business model) Lena: Costa Rica Knowledge Co-op (goverance issues, social enconomy movement) Eric, Colin, Ben: Quilted

Topics

• Worker Co-op Forum
• Workplace Democracy, Worker Co-op
• "real" Worker Co-op vs LLC, Inc, etc
  • lack of legal/financial knowledge around worker co-op model
• How to do distributed co-op?
• How to start of cooperative?
  • bylaws.coop idea
• Worker Co-op Conference?
• Costa Rica Co-ops laws cause difficulty in starting and organizing. Model in Costa Rica designed for different economy.
• Difficulty in US is different rules/laws in each state.
• Vermont Cooperative Law?
• IRS require certain bylaws
• Worker Co-op: seperate goverance (1 member, 1 share, 1 vote.) from ownership.
  • Distribution of dividends based on work not ownerships
  • Can be free formed based on bylaws
• Salary in Co-op is a share of the income, not really "salary". Owners, not employees.
  • can be owner and employee in some cases
• Intellectual Property
  • shared ownership or IP or co-op ownership IP
• Non-profit registration vs Co-op registration
  • someplaces require critical mass of "owners" (5? Canada, 18 Costa Rica)
• ICA? prototype worker co-op format, by-laws.
  • customize by-laws
  • find lawyers that support co-ops
• Advocacy Groups for Co-ops can be less expensive than lawyers
  • National Society of Accountants for Co-ops
• Knowledge Bases, Federations, Support Groups
  • No Boss?
  • Participatory Economics
  • CWA Locals
  • Society for Technical Communicators
  • Freelancers Union

Structural Ideas

• split of new co-ops at certain number of owners
• separate into autonomous committees
• equal sharing of roles vs separting business roles
• equal sharing of profits vs work hours/quality/etc
• health insurance options (society for technical communicators, freelancers union, washtech)

Other Technology Support Co-ops

• GAIA Host Collective
• May 1st
• Chicago Technology Co-op
• Eggplant
• Kariva (Colombia)
• design action collective
• baluga in Washington.
• tech co-op in montreal (name?)
• igeric? (maybe Agaric Design Collective)
• twin oaks (was this the income sharing community or a tech group?)
• c4 tech collective
• skyhouse consulting (tech business of income sharing household Skyhouse)