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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

6 Reasons Why Foundations Should Invest in Worker Cooperatives

If you’re a coffee lover, you’ve likely enjoyed beans cultivated by farmers from a fair trade worker cooperative. If you haven’t yet, sip a delicious brew of fair trade coffee in the spirit of this past Saturday’s World Fair Trade Day, which celebrates fair trade as a “tangible contribution to the fight against poverty and exploitation, climate change and the economic crisis that has the greatest impact on the world’s most vulnerable populations.”

When fair trade comes to my mind, instead of coffee and other ethically-sourced products, the first thing I associate it with is worker cooperatives – defined by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives as “business entities that are owned and controlled by their members.” Whether rural or urban, philanthropy can look to worker cooperatives as a way to reduce poverty and inequality, empower workers and anchor jobs and wealth in a community.

Here are six reasons why foundations need to consider investing in worker cooperatives as a way to ensure that their grantmaking and investment dollars benefit underserved communities:

Read the full article at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy website

 

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