How a Worker-Managed Nonprofit Adjusted to Growth
By Sue Bennett, Nonprofit Quarterly
Communities Take Development Into Their Own Hands
By Keith Schneider, The New York Times
Paper Knives Destroy poor peoples lives
By Tiny Gray POOR Magazine
At this point Terry’s family is literally on the street. We are trying to raise money to get them into a motel. And an attorney to get them some rights in that completely unjust, arbitrary Probate court system where the well-funded parties always take legal precedence over any kind of so-called justice. The liberation lawyers at Sustainable Economies Law Center are also working to support them and we are planning a press conference soon.
Read full article here.
(Originally published January 8, 2024)
Making Economic Democracy Work: How to Practice Shared Leadership
By Nicole Wires, Non Profit Quarterly
Can movement nonprofits create and sustain liberatory and resilient structures, cultures, and practices—and still be effective and efficient in their operations?
This question was at the center of an experiment led by the Nonprofit Democracy Network, a fiscally sponsored project of the Sustainable Economies Law Center. The experiment, called Collaborate to Co-Liberate, brought together over 200 practitioners from nearly 90 organizations across the country (and beyond) for 15 months to co-develop ways to build accountable, self-governing, and radically democratic organizations that embody liberatory visions while preserving overall effectiveness.
Read full article here.
(Originally published November 28, 2023)
How Our Nonprofit Got a 40-Week Paid Parental Leave Policy
By Tia Katrina Taruc-Myers, Nonprofit Quarterly
Excerpt: The Sustainable Economies Law Center is a nonprofit organization democratically run by staff co-stewards who are caring, trusting, and radical. Still, the proposal for a 40-week paid parental leave policy proposal was controversial. Along with my two co-workers, I helped draft an organizational policy proposal to support pregnant people and new parents.
Read moreHow to move your retirement funds out of Wall Street and into a good cause
By Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
Why My Nonprofit Has No Executive Director
By Niloufar Khonsari, Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine
Also we don't have an ED anymore either!
Excerpt: "We researched other democratically governed nonprofits and political organizations. Although we didn’t find any that had no executive director, we learned about various ways that organizations distributed authority. Our key role models were AORTA, Sustainable Economies Law Center, and Fortify Community Health. Our work was also informed by Frederic Laloux’s book, Reinventing Organizations, which deconstructs the myth that collectively managed organizations have no structure, organization, or leadership."
How We Converted to a Cooperative—and How You Can, Too
By
Excerpt: If you’re converting into a coop, you’ll need to valuate the company, then sell it to the workers. This can be a complicated process depending on a ton of factors (especially if the current owners will continue on as employees of the new cooperative). So you will need to urge everyone, including your lawyer, accountant, and the workers, to make a fair conversion plan for everyone. The Sustainable Economies Law Center’s “Legal Guide to Cooperative Conversions” is a great place to start.
Read moreClimate Adaptation: The Basics
By: by Vrinda Manglik, TheKneeDeep Times
Excerpt:
"We believe that transforming the way we relate to and made decisions with land is at the heart of a just transition away from an extractive economy and toward a more just and life-affirming one."-Chris Tittle, Sustainable Economies Law Center
Read full article here.
(Originally published March 17, 2022.)
Why has this housing for homeless Oaklanders been sitting empty for months?
By: Marisa Kendall, The Mercury News
From our friends at Poor Magazine
Excerpt:
“We have people on the street in this city, and they still refuse to open four beautiful, multi-family townhouses,” said Gray-Garcia, who goes by “Tiny.” Gray-Garcia used to be homeless herself. She planned to sleep in a tent in Frank Ogawa Plaza until the city grants the occupancy permit, but ended up leaving Tuesday night after the police showed up.
Read full article here.
(Originally published March 2, 2022.)