The Wellspring Cooperative Corporation is a community-based cooperative development organization with a mission to create a network of worker-owned companies in marginalized neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts that provide on-the-job training, employment, and wealth creation opportunities for low-income and unemployed residents of the city.
Wellspring's development strategy is to:
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Wellspring builds on the Evergreen Cooperative model in Cleveland, which leverages profits from anchor institutions to create worker-owned companies and jobs in the inner city. Since 2009, Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives has launched three worker-owned businesses: a $5.7 million, state-of-the-art green laundry, a hydroponic greenhouse the size of a football field that grows greens and herbs, and solar installation business that installs photovoltaic panels. |
Wellspring’s focus on supporting co-op development in the Springfield region is an expression of our commitment to these values:
Solidarity and cooperation are guiding principles of cooperatives and rooted in democratic values.
Equity: Wellspring helps to build co-ops in Springfield's underserved communities. Within the co-ops, workers share profits equitably and build wealth as the businesses thrive.
Democracy: co-ops are democratically owned and controlled by their members.
Sustainability: Local ownership strengthens the local economy and resilience. Shorter supply chains reduce the carbon footprint and keep money circulating in the community. Worker-owners tend to care about the local community that they live in.
Pluralism: We strive to always be humble and open to new ideas, learning, and action.