Berkshire County is home to a vibrant, democratically controlled local currency called Berkshares, now used by nearly 400 local businesses. We’re joined by Berkshare’s former Director Alice Maggio to discuss how local currencies can create stronger communities and economies at the same time. Alice also discusses the crossover between Berkshares and her current job as Senior Project Officer at The Working World, which makes loans to cooperative businesses in New York City.

Related links:

https://berkshares.org/

https://centerforneweconomics.org/

https://www.theworkingworld.org/us/

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Community Bonds allow citizens to invest—and get repaid, with a return—in cooperatives and non-profits, raising the capital needed to create and expand democratic alternatives to the status quo. In just 5 years, Tapestry Community Capital has raised over $100 million in Community Bonds for 59 iconic projects, including renewable energy cooperatives and community land trusts. Tapestry’s Co-Executive Director, Ryan Collins-Swartz, explains how Community Bonds work, what they have and can be used for, and what iconic projects citizens can invest in right now.

Related Links:

https://tapestrycapital.ca/

https://solarbonds.ca/

https://www.propoliscooperative.com/

https://www.placesforpeople.ca/p4p-bonds

https://www.trec.on.ca/

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Just Like Family has quickly grown from the first social acquisition by a charity in Canada into a large-scale success. Carla Leon, who spearheaded the process and serves as the company’s President, explains how the acquisition took place and why a similar transition could make sense in a great many other cases.

Related Links:

https://www.justlikefamily.ca/locations/british-columbia/vancouver

https://catalystcommdev.org/

https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/

https://newdawn.ca/home/

https://scalecollaborative.ca/ https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/social-innovation-social-finance/social-finance-fund.html

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In 2018, the Legacy Leadership Lab (L3) estimated an astonishing 700,000 small Canadian businesses risked closure due to insufficient succession planning. Dr. Sean Geobey explains the different forms of Social Acquisition that can use a “community wealth building focus” to save companies, jobs, and expand the legacy of these enterprises in their community. Dr. Geobey is the Co-Director of the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience, and served as Principal Investigator for L3.

Related Links

https://uwaterloo.ca/legacy-leadership-lab/

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canadas-small-businesses-could-be-saved-by-converting-them-to-co-operatives https://www.coopconvert.ca/

https://www.coopzone.ca/

https://esopbuilders.com/

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Worker cooperatives are not just democratic: they have above average rates of success, and a growing number of municipalities are supporting their development to fight poverty and build community wealth. Hazel Corcoran, the Executive Director of the Canadian Worker Cooperative Federation, breaks down resources available for building worker cooperatives—as well as gaps in the current Canadian landscape.

Related Links:

https://canadianworker.coop/

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Scotland is a global leader in community wealth building and land reform. In recent decades, they’ve developed a Community Right to Buy land policy, as well as a Scottish Land Fund to help finance community ownership of land. We delve into these policies and practices with Dr. Calum MacLeod, a sustainable development expert specializing in land reform.

Related Links

https://www.gov.scot/policies/land-reform/community-right-to-buy/#:~:text=Community%20right%20to%20buy%20allows,it%20comes%20up%20for%20sale.

https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/scottish-land-fund https://www.westharristrust.org/

https://www.gov.scot/policies/cities-regions/community-wealth-building/

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Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are increasingly turned to for their versatility and their ability to provide permanent sources of affordable housing. We’re joined by Tiffany Duzita, Executive Director of The Community Land Trust in B.C., which now stewards land for thousands of housing units

Related Links

https://www.chf.bc.ca/community-land-trust/

https://www.communityland.ca/

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Over the past 18 years, Cleveland has used a combination of local procurement and worker cooperatives to get money into marginalized communities, create quality jobs, provide climate solutions and more. In this episode we learn about the development of groundbreaking Cleveland Model with Stephanie McHenry: the Executive Director of the Democracy Collaborative and a Cleveland organizer.

Related Links:

https://democracycollaborative.org/

https://www.evgoh.com/

https://blog.candid.org/post/buy-local-hire-local-live-local-the-greater-university-circle-model-for-equitable-development/

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