Bridging the Gap: finding the financing you need to get your co-op started or growing (Financial)

Securing finance for a home or business is difficult in general – securing financing for a co-op can be doubly so! Many financial products do not automatically work well for co-ops, and many financing decision makers do not understand what co-ops are and how they work.

In this workshop, we will:

1) explore the various conventional, e.g. loans and grants, and unconventional ways, e.g. bartering and crowdfunding, you can secure financing for your co-op – either in a startup phase or existing co-op growth phase,

2) provide case studies on how various co-ops have secured needed capital in different stages, and

3) share some strategies on how to make the case for financing your co-op and how to adapt certain funding sources to fit your co-op’s needs.