Solidfund members have agreed to pledge £30,000 from their cash reserve to buy loan stock in Stirchley Co-op Developments. Our financial services partner ICOF (Industrial Common Ownership Fund) agreed to match our members' commitment, making a total of £60,000. We hope and expect other organisations to contribute to this really important - perhaps once in a generation - effort to secure a new worker-led cooperative campus in Birmingham.
Why did Solidfund members agree to such a potentially risky commitment? Perhaps it's because they recognise that to build long term worker power, we need more than day-to-day cash, confidence, negotiating skills and a good business plan. We also need to combine forces and resources to secure space for working and living that isn't extractive, and isn't dependent on the goodwill of landlords and landowners ('social' or otherwise).
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