Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 221 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

These co-op restaurants didn't need to open indoor dining to survive the pandemic

Jaisal Noor

May 20, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Two Baltimore restaurants, Red Emma's and Joe Squared, show how running or starting as worker-owned cooperatives gave them pandemic-survival skills in a business climate that killed many other small businesses. By tapping into larger networks providing financing on favorable terms and other expertise, these co-ops used their workers' ingenuity to offer services that didn't depend on sit-down dining. Like many co-ops, they were able to survive the pandemic and preserve jobs where so many traditionally run businesses were not.

Read More
Go to Original Story
San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District Keeping Hope Alive After a Tough Year

Oscar Perry Abello

May 18, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

“UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

Read More
Go to Original Story
This Real Estate Co-Op is Looking for Investors Who Want to Put Community First

Oscar Perry Abello

April 13, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The 2012 federal JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) took some time to gain traction, but in recent years it has democratized the financing of worker-owned co-ops and other community-based entities that ordinarily would be frozen out of capital markets. By making possible what is called a direct public offering, the law has made it easier to finance businesses that promise greater social benefits than just profit maximization, by opening investment opportunities to a more diverse and egalitarian mix of investors.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A collaboration of local orgs is working to boost minority-owned businesses in Kensington

Courtney Duchene

April 05, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Four local organizations have teamed up to provide $15 million in loans for the Latinx community in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. The affordable loans have gone to affordable housing, small businesses, residential mortgages, and development projects.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Susu as a Vehicle to Advance Economic Mobility

Nana AmaAddo

March 19, 2021 |

FunTimes Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A traditional African method of mutual aid, Susu, is helping members of the African Diaspora access capital for businesses, education, housing, and more. The informal loan network enables people to contribute periodically to a group fund with each contributor taking turns receiving the collected money. The informal loan club is a centuries-old African tradition that serves as a security net and can also provide economic mobility.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Fighting Gentrification

Chris Rudisill

March 19, 2021 |

QNotes Carolinas |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

When gentrification made housing unaffordable for many people in Houston's historically Black Third Ward neighborhood, local activists sought remedies beyond standard federal tax incentives for affordable housing. A city-sponsored Community Land Trust developed a plan for more affordable housing. At the same time, a development catering to low-income, older LGBTQ residents, adjacent to the Third Ward, got developed on donated land. Charlotte has many similar challenges, making Houston a model for what is possible.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Seattle Bets on Equitable Development

Isabella Garcia

February 17, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

An Equitable Development Initiative was launched as a result of a racial equity analysis that gauged the effect that Seattle’s economic growth would have on communities of color. Funding for the initiative has gone toward capital for these communities to purchase real estate and develop projects that build up affordable housing, child care, food security, and other issues that would best serve longtime residents and prevent gentrification.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Seattle's Newest Community Hub Was Built, Literally, By Neighbors

Emily Nonko

February 09, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A collective of artists in Seattle bought real estate for a community center with the help of city funding. Known as Black and Tan Hall, the space drew funding and sweat equity from community members who sought a safe and affordable place to gather. The initiative to buy the building is “an anti-gentrification model that combats displacement, keeps dollars hyper local, and sustains good jobs.”

Read More
Go to Original Story
An Atlanta Neighborhood Will Finally Own Property as a Community

Adina Solomon

February 09, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

A new model for community-owned real estate is attempting to bridge the racial wealth gap and build neighborhood wealth in Atlanta. Instead of watching prime real estate go to investors who would hold onto the building for a profit without any regard for how the space served the community, The Guild is purchasing local real estate. The organization has previously worked with entrepreneurs and business initiatives to boost Black-owned business profitability and combat commercial gentrification.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Worker-Owned Cooperatives are Building Their Own Investment Network

Oscar Perry Abello

January 28, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Cooperatives are getting the funding they need through a “nationwide network of loans funds and incubators that specialize in supporting and investing in cooperative businesses.” Coops lack access to traditional funding and are typically member funded. The new source of funding has allowed historically marginalized Black and Hispanic communities the opportunity to create coops where workers share ownership equally.

Read More
Go to Original Story