Early in our history, we realized that non-extractive finance can't work when lending decisions get made in a central office far from the communities impacted. That's why we don't just finance co-ops, but are ourselves a cooperative, governed by our local member organizations.

Yeleen's members can now access the equipment, technical expertise, and shared resources they need to scale their businesses, creating more opportunities and a stronger network for community-based manufacturing. Learn more:

We're thrilled to have been able to make a non-extractive investment in the launch of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in Washington, DC: "a shared production hub designed for women and founders of color to create, manufacture, and grow their beauty brands."

Learn more about the open-source Madeline system that powers our national financial cooperative:

We exist to distribute economic power to workers & communities—our software system needs to mirror that democratic financial logic in code. There’s no off the shelf software we could use, because there has never been anything that works the way Seed Commons does. So we built it.

What if those investments are non-extractive, demanding a different approach to repayment schedules and assessing risk? And if you need to do all this in a way which supports transparent, member-led governance and builds local, distributed capacity?

What kind of software do you need to manage, at scale, a portfolio of over $115 million in deployed investments, made across a cooperative of 39 local member organizations?

Looking for a career opportunity building non-extractive financial infrastructure that shifts power to workers and communities? We have an immediate opening for a Bookkeeper/Staff Accountant — this is a fully remote position. Learn more and apply: https://t.co/6tcdGAZB5k

Madeline (and Seed Commons) are one of those bright lights that are easy to miss in these brutal and terrifying times. 63/

USFWC Members - voting is open for your Board of Directors! @SeedCommons Gather your coworkers and head to https://t.co/fYdCQVmuu3 to read all the candidate statements and cast your vote! #ThisIsWhatDemocracyLooksLike

💸 Need funding to transition to employee ownership? #RMEOC partners with @SeedCommons to offer non-extractive financing that puts communities first—not profits. https://t.co/EzwNzkJril #SeedCommons #EmployeeOwnership #CoopFinancing #NonExtractiveCapital #ColoradoBusiness

Learn more in @EdibleHV's cover story:

Through a series of successful non-extractive loans—for startup, facilities expansion, and seasonal working capital—Seed Commons member Cooperation Hudson Valley has helped Gentle Time grow and thrive.

In addition to supplying local restaurants and markets, they are able to dedicate 75% of their harvest to food pantries and other mutual aid initiatives to feed communities.

Gentle Time Farm is a queer and trans-led worker cooperative farm in upstate NY that connects East Asian diaspora communities across the state with traditional vegetables, grown locally and sustainably.

“To be trans and outside is something beautiful we can share.” —Kaija Xiao, founding worker-owner at Gentle Time Farming

Read more on Northgate Greenhouses conversion to a worker cooperative here:

"The transition to a worker-owned model means 20 employees are keeping their jobs and giving input on workplace decisions." Congrats to Northgate Greenhouses on becoming worker-owned after 6 decades in business, and to Seed Commons member @coopcincy for making this happen!

@coopsantaana @lacooplab And this spring, La Colmena opened its doors to the community, along w/the initial co-op businesses it is home to: La Milpa Café, Duugich Art, and the SALSA community agriculture project. Read more at @VoiceofOC https://t.co/XGdx2qYJHD and @nextcityorg

@coopsantaana Through our member organization @lacooplab, Seed Commons made an initial non-extractive loan in 2022 to help Thrive get the ball rolling on construction. With momentum on the site underway, more funding from the state was unlocked.

The vision, developed w/@coopsantaana: create a home for the city's growing co-op ecosystem, making sure these businesses had the space they needed to flourish. But how could the 16,000 sq. ft. at the corner of Walnut + Daisy be turned into something more than just a vacant lot?