Having stockholders can offer confusing incentives for business owners with a mission–but not if those stockholders are employees who believe in the mission, too.
Based in Durham, Carolina Common Enterprise (CCE) aims to help people, especially those living in low-income and socially disadvantaged rural and urban areas, to create, expand, and improve community-based enterprises, with a focus on those that are cooperatively or mutually owned and governed. Services include business and organizational guidance, technical assistance, and cooperative education. To date, CCE has helped launch three cooperatively-structured enterprises.
Tangerine Clean is a locally-owned natural home cleaning cooperative serving the Durham and Chapel Hill area. Committed to creating a more sustainable world, the co-op only uses natural and organic cleaning agents.
Anchor collaboratives are stronger and can accomplish goals that once seemed out of reach by combining efforts and resources. However, forming an anchor collaboration isn’t automatic; it takes effort and time to get institutions to see their common interests and potential alignment. The article discusses some ways it can work.
