r/cooperatives

I know this doesn't happen all that often, however, I've noticed a handful of AI bros coming to this sub and advocating for their revolutionary AI "tool" while co-opting (ha) the language of our movement while also clearly not being part of it (just trying to turn a quick profit on our "market").

As a long-time worker co-op member (and member of a few consumer co-ops and, of course, my local credit union) I'm a bit fan of our movement and what we do here, whereas AI (at least in it's current corporate-owned, mass-polluting, worker/job-replacing, IP-stealing, ruining-the-stock-market form) seems to be antithetical to everything we stand for (in the EXACT same way and by the SAME PEOPLE that Rule 8 exists for).

Like, the worker co-op I'm part of literally made a blanket ban on AI in our workplace for just those reasons.

Hey wanted to get feedback on our platform for demand coops. Its called cahootz coops, it works by "taxing" members and business into a shared treasury that accessible by members based a openly published charter.

Anyone feedback would be helpful.

www.cahootzcoops.com

I’m looking for web developers to help build a free-to-use, cooperatively and democratically owned mutual aid platform: a website, and later a mobile app, that connects people and groups who need or offer goods and services.

Core features: location-based matching, local-first prioritization, secure messaging, verified reviews/reputation, customizable user and group pages, and strong privacy protections.

The long-term goal is to make mutual aid a common, accessible practice that strengthens community and reduces reliance on corporations.

I’m currently an unpaid founder looking for collaborators who are interested in helping shape this project from an early stage. If this sounds like your kind of project, comment or message me.

Hello, I am a second-year university student studying Finance and Accounting, and I'm also currently a Project Lead for a consulting club that focuses on supporting social enterprises. My recent interest in a Solar Punk future has led me to think about forming a community, group, or even a club for students to join and tackle projects or initiatives that contribute to this movement with a similar structure to the consulting I am doing now.

I've never led something like this, so what is some advice, potential ideas, and considerations that I might need to make? If you've done a similar thing, or have seen others do this, I would love to hear those stories and take inspiration from them.

Lastly, I just want to note that I got referred to this subreddit and I'm not completely sure if this post is relevant (LMK).

A review of Worker Cooperatives and Deep Democracy: Transformative Politics and Planetary Care from Below from Pluto Press

I'm super excited to announce that Subvert.fm is finally live, so go and check it out, if you're into music and you like the idea of shared ownership : )

By the time of this post, Subvert is run by 19,653 artists, 2,838 labels, and 2,522 supporters across more than 120 countries. That's already massive, isn't?

I'm a supporter / member since the early beginnings and just want to support by spreading the word.

Hi Fellow Nerdfighters,
When my dad and I go on vacation far away, there is a small bookstore/ice cream parlor located there that we always make sure to visit. It is one of those rare places that feels genuinely alive. Locals gather there, travelers stop in, kids get ice cream, people browse books, and conversations just naturally happen.
The original owners had a simple but powerful goal: create a community meeting spot that was not just another bar serving alcohol. Not that there is anything wrong with bars either. They just wanted to build a different kind of third space for their town.
They took an old abandoned building on Main Street and, using much of their own retirement savings, slowly turned it into a thriving local business over the next decade or two. A few years ago, they decided they wanted to spend more time with their family and eventually sold the business. Thankfully, the new owners have done such a wonderful job carrying things forward that honestly I can barely tell the difference between the old and new ownership.
That whole experience got me thinking.
Independent bookstores, cafés, diners, and other small community gathering spaces are disappearing in a lot of places. Even businesses that people genuinely love often operate on razor-thin margins. Meanwhile, loneliness and isolation seem to be growing almost everywhere.
So I started wondering:
What if communities like Nerdfighteria could help preserve and strengthen local third spaces?
I know this is a huge idea, and I fully realize it may completely fall flat on its face. But I still think it is worth talking about.
My thought was maybe someday creating something almost like a cross between Kiva, Wefunder, and StartEngine — but focused specifically on helping independent bookstores and community gathering spaces survive and grow.
Maybe instead of huge donations, thousands of people could contribute smaller amounts like $100 or $200 each. Not to “get rich,” but to help community-focused businesses get enough runway to survive, improve, and hopefully become self-sustaining over time.
Long term, I think it would be amazing if some of these businesses could eventually transition into worker-owned cooperatives where the employees themselves slowly gain ownership stakes over time. Obviously there would be legal and financial hurdles to figure out, and worker ownership does not magically solve every business problem either. Running any small business is still incredibly difficult. But I still think the idea of community-supported, locally rooted businesses is worth exploring.
I also think it could start much smaller and simpler than outright buying businesses.
For example:
Every month Nerdfighteria could spotlight and support one independent bookstore somewhere in the world.
We could organize coordinated online book purchases or fundraising campaigns.
We could help stores fund accessibility improvements, repairs, events, or café expansions.
Authors could potentially partner with local indie bookstores for signings and community events.
Local Nerdfighters could use these places as real-world community gathering spots.
One thing I admire about the Little Free Library movement is that it reminds people that books and community still matter. I think third spaces matter too.
At the end of the day, I am not really talking about “saving bookstores.” I think I am talking about trying to preserve places where human beings can still gather, talk, read, think, laugh, and simply exist together offline for a while.
Thoughts?
Comments?
Suggestions?
Concerns?
Thanks everyone.

What’s the feasibility of a co-op being run as a not for profit? In my country (Australia) you need to have a board of at minimum 3 members and a secretary. Could your board members just be made of employee owners. Sorry if this is a remedial question. Trying to get started somewhere. If anyone has any resources they can recommend for initial research and learning I’d appreciate it! Thank you!🙏🏻

Anyone here managed to stay living with someone you had a conflict with and it was okay? How did you manage it? Got any tips for me?

There was a conflict in my house a few months ago and although we followed the procedure as best we could (conflict is messy right? It’s rarely a cut and dried thing between two people)…

The “primary” conflict was resolved but there ended up being an un-named, much subtler conflict between me and someone else who fuelled the primary conflict.

I’ve tried to sort things out with her but it hasn’t worked. I feel so terrible seeing her every day and being reminded of it all. We’re lucky enough to have two houses in my co-op so I’m moving in to the other one to get away from her, but the two houses are still very intertwined and I’m worried it won’t be enough. It’s really affecting my mental health.

I don’t know how to keep living with her.
wondering if anyone has any advice or has been through similar situations?

Who ever heard of such a thing? But, we need more people who have visited intentional communities to leave reviews of them in relevant places. Or, any place. This will stop dysfunctional communities from wasting people's time and exploiting their labor.

Riverwest Co-op and Outpost serve as examples of how food co-ops are faring today.

Has anyone every thought about starting/know of a health captive for cooperatives?

I'm trying to get out of the health insurance market and still meet federal regulations and know Third Party Administrators can run captive health insurnaces. I currently have one for solopreneurs but since starting our cooperative there is this really annoying gap of having 10 people to get group rate discounts on health insurance through the private market.

Plus the idea of a cooperatively owned health captive sounds really nice too.