Video Resource Library

In this workshop we focused on the topic of community wealth building:

"A system-changing approach to community economic development that works to produce broadly shared economic prosperity, racial equity, and ecological sustainability through the reconfiguration of institutions and local economies on the basis of greater democratic ownership, participation, and control (community-wealth.org). "

During this workshop, we discussed the process of building community wealth via social entrepreneurship, specifically the cooperative business model. Following the 'mini-lecture,' we introduced the panel of Arizona-based knowledge sharers who spoke to how community wealth building seeks to empower local communities with democratic ownership, shared prosperity, and equitable opportunities.

Panelists include:

Kalila Martinez (Coldwater Coffeehouse & Bakery)

Dionne Washington (Project Roots and Phoenix Food Co-Op)

Michael Langley (Greater Phoenix Leadership)

Dave Castillo (Native Community Capital)

Vida De Jesus Lopez (Local First Arizona)

One of the greatest barriers that have been identified in working with cooperative entrepreneurs is the need for formal procedures, informational support, and guidance in the cooperative incorporation process.

To address this challenge and promote the continued growth of Arizona's cooperative economy, we are collaborating with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) and cooperative entrepreneurs to offer this workshop that aims to provide a roadmap for cooperative incorporation.

In this workshop, participants will learn about the cooperative incorporation process and why entrepreneurs are choosing this model. Workshop speakers will include directors of the ACC, and trailblazing cooperative members in Arizona - the Phoenix Food Coop and the Food Forest Cooperative.

The target audience of this workshop is financial loan officers and business lenders. The City of Phoenix is joining other major cities in support of developing a cooperative business economy. Critical to the success of any business is having access to financial institution support. This workshop was prepared with Shared Capital Collective, a cooperative financing institution in Michigan, to provide Arizona financial institutions with a roadmap of how they can grow their cliental base and support emerging cooperative businesses.

Designed in collaboration with ASU’s Sustainable Food Economy Lab, this workshop served as the kick-off event for a series of workshops and other interactive events that deal with the future of the local food economy in Arizona. .This workshop, aims to provide insight into the current state of Arizona’s cooperative food economy from sustainable business experts and a panel of cooperative entrepreneurs.