Sustainable Economies Law Center

Resources for Workplace Democracy

What do you get when you cross a worker cooperative with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit?
A worker self-directed nonprofit!

We compiled a bunch of resources for you and your comrades to explore how worker self-direction can help nonprofits better achieve their missions. Check them out below!

JUMP TO: Bylaws Toolkit for WSDNs | Teach-in Recordings and Other Videos | Bite-Sized Legal Guides | Model Legal Documents | Blog Posts and Other Resources

bylaws

Check out our new (2021) bylaws toolkit, complete with template bylaws and a guide for how to draft more participatory, equitable, and accessible bylaws. Our guide lays out processes and templates for how you can establish a self-governing organization deeply rooted in your values and politics, whatever those values and politics are. It walks you through important conversations about how you will make decisions, balance power between stakeholders, coordinate work, and manage your organization while also ensuring that you are within the bounds of the law and prepared for the kinds of unforeseen events that can create legal liability.

videos

We've recorded ourselves presenting webinars, teach-ins, and silly skits! If you have an hour, you can dive into our 2015 webinar on Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: Workplace Democracy in Nonprofit Organizations.

But if you only have a few minutes to spare, check out our ~2 minute episodes on WSDN TV! The episodes include:

☑️ Episode 1: Who sets priorities at a worker self-directed nonprofit?
☑️ Episode 2: The role of the board
☑️ Episode 3: Meeting processes and decision making
☑️ Episode 4: Tour the office of a worker self-directed nonprofit
☑️ Episode 5: Onboarding new staff
☑️ Episode 6: Assigning responsibilities in a worker self-directed nonprofit
☑️ Episode 7: WSDNs under fiscal sponsorship
☑️ Episode 8: Staff compensation in a worker self-directed nonprofit

We also recorded a 1.5 hour teach-in on How to Write Bylaws for Worker Self Directed Nonprofits that we organized with Simon Mont from Harmonize.

bites

Click here to view this Bite-Sized Legal Guide, where we explore how worker self-direction can help nonprofits better achieve their missions, as well as the legal considerations for becoming a worker self-directed nonprofit. This bite-sized guide also includes a sample board resolution for worker self-direction.

Click here to view our full collection of Bite-Sized Legal Guides.

templates

This public Google Folder also has an ever-growing collection of handouts, slides, and model documents such as our legal guide for Boards of Directors, template bylaws, the Law Center's Policy Document, where we record all of the policies we've adopted over the years, and more!