In-Person Individual Donor Cultivation for Artists Nano-Training
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment.
Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.
Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.
Want to attend an Artist Legal Cafe? RSVP here to receive a free 30-45 minute legal consultation.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Resilient Movements Legal Cafe
Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Resilient Movements Legal Café is a legal advice clinic for grassroots groups, nonprofits, and community organizations seeking to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance. These sessions offer a supportive container to work through practical questions related to governance, entity structures, and internal policies, and to demystify how to navigate periods of heightened scrutiny, helping groups move from uncertainty to grounded strategy and planning in support of their missions and day-to-day operations.
Background
These Legal Café sessions build on our broader work supporting groups and organizations with nonprofit protection, risk education, and proactive legal planning. Over the past year, we’ve developed training, resources, and hands-on support, often in partnership with aligned organizations, focused on organizational resilience, entity structure options, and risk-aware operations. In 2025, we offered these new resources to grassroots groups, alongside limited-scope consultations for organizations seeking support. This year, we’re dedicating additional resources to monthly Legal Cafés to support durable structures and practices that help organizations sustain their missions over the long term.
To RSVP, please click the RSVP link for the session you’d like to attend:
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February 25, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by February 15 for priority)
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March 31, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by March 21 for priority)
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April 8, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by March 30 for priority)
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May 14, 2026, 12-1:30 PST (RSVP by May 4 for priority)
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June 10, 2026, 12-1:30 PSt (RSVP by June 1 for priority)
What this space supports
These sessions are for groups and organizations seeking proactive support to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance including groups navigating increased scrutiny or operational vulnerabilities. We welcome questions related to nonprofit governance (board/staff policies), entity structure considerations, resilience assessment, documentation practices, compliance, and operational planning.
Note: This space is designed for proactive planning and capacity-building and is not intended for urgent, time-sensitive emergencies. If your organization is facing an immediate legal deadline or acute situation, we recommend seeking direct counsel right away. One of our partners, Muslims for Just Futures, has also put together an excellent Community Defense Resource Hub.
Resilient Movements Legal Cafe
Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Resilient Movements Legal Café is a legal advice clinic for grassroots groups, nonprofits, and community organizations seeking to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance. These sessions offer a supportive container to work through practical questions related to governance, entity structures, and internal policies, and to demystify how to navigate periods of heightened scrutiny, helping groups move from uncertainty to grounded strategy and planning in support of their missions and day-to-day operations.
Background
These Legal Café sessions build on our broader work supporting groups and organizations with nonprofit protection, risk education, and proactive legal planning. Over the past year, we’ve developed training, resources, and hands-on support, often in partnership with aligned organizations, focused on organizational resilience, entity structure options, and risk-aware operations. In 2025, we offered these new resources to grassroots groups, alongside limited-scope consultations for organizations seeking support. This year, we’re dedicating additional resources to monthly Legal Cafés to support durable structures and practices that help organizations sustain their missions over the long term.
To RSVP, please click the RSVP link for the session you’d like to attend:
-
February 25, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by February 15 for priority)
-
March 31, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by March 21 for priority)
-
April 8, 2026, 12-1:30pm PST (RSVP by March 30 for priority)
-
May 14, 2026, 12-1:30 PST (RSVP by May 4 for priority)
-
June 10, 2026, 12-1:30 PSt (RSVP by June 1 for priority)
What this space supports
These sessions are for groups and organizations seeking proactive support to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance including groups navigating increased scrutiny or operational vulnerabilities. We welcome questions related to nonprofit governance (board/staff policies), entity structure considerations, resilience assessment, documentation practices, compliance, and operational planning.
Note: This space is designed for proactive planning and capacity-building and is not intended for urgent, time-sensitive emergencies. If your organization is facing an immediate legal deadline or acute situation, we recommend seeking direct counsel right away. One of our partners, Muslims for Just Futures, has also put together an excellent Community Defense Resource Hub.
Entity Selection for Artist Collectives Nano-Training
Presented by Renee Hatcher
Renee is a human rights and community development lawyer. She is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at UIC Law School. Prior to joining UIC Law School, Hatcher taught in the Community Development Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law and served a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Texas-Austin's Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis. Previously, Professor Hatcher served as a staff attorney and project director for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (CLC), where she directed a community development law project providing legal services to entrepreneurs, community-based organizations, and individuals interested in expunging their criminal history to create better opportunities for local marginalized communities. During her time at CLC, Hatcher also served as lead counsel on community benefit agreement campaigns and matters of regional equity, and represented individuals in matters of employment discrimination and prisoners' rights in the U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois.
Hatcher currently serves as a board member for the New Economy Coalition, co-chair of the AALS Clinicians of Color Subcommittee, and a member of the Law for Black Lives Clinic Cohort Development Team. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her work and research focus on solidarity economy theory/practice and the law.
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment.
Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.
Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.
Want to attend an Artist Legal Cafe? RSVP here to receive a free 30-45 minute legal consultation.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Online Legal Cafe
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom, by appointment.
If you need advice about starting a worker-owned cooperative, converting an existing business into a cooperative, organizing a housing cooperative, founding a nonprofit or other social enterprise, please RSVP below! Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:
-
Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?
-
Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
-
Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
-
Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
-
Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
-
Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
-
Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
-
Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
-
Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?
Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out.
Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Only one person per group needs to RSVP.
Online Legal Cafe
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom, by appointment.
If you need advice about starting a worker-owned cooperative, converting an existing business into a cooperative, organizing a housing cooperative, founding a nonprofit or other social enterprise, please RSVP below! Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:
-
Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?
-
Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
-
Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
-
Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
-
Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
-
Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
-
Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
-
Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
-
Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?
Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out.
Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Only one person per group needs to RSVP.
Online Legal Cafe
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom, by appointment.
If you need advice about starting a worker-owned cooperative, converting an existing business into a cooperative, organizing a housing cooperative, founding a nonprofit or other social enterprise, please RSVP below! Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:
-
Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?
-
Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
-
Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
-
Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
-
Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
-
Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
-
Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
-
Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
-
Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?
Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out.
Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Only one person per group needs to RSVP.
WAITLIST In Person Artist Legal Cafe
RSVP below!
In partnership with:
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment.
Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.
Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:
❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?
❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
❖ Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
❖ Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
❖ Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
❖ Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
❖ Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
❖ Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?
Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out.
Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.
Only one person per group needs to RSVP.
IN PERSON Artist Legal Cafe
RSVP below!
In partnership with:
The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment.
Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.
Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.
Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!
Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:
❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?
❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
❖ Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
❖ Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
❖ Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
❖ Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
❖ Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
❖ Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits: How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?
Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out.
Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.
Only one person per group needs to RSVP.
The Practical Guide to Starting a Legal Cafe is Now Available
By Sustainable Economies Law Center Staff Attorney, Cameron Rhudy
It’s Here, it’s Here, it’s Finally Here! Our Guide to Starting a Legal Cafe
Over the years we have received many inquiries from attorneys who want to start legal clinics in their community that resemble our Resilient Communities Legal Cafe. In response, we have created our Practical Guide to Starting a Legal Cafe, a comprehensive guide for how to do just that. In the guide you will learn how to get the basics of your Legal Cafe in place and how to create that unique Legal Cafe experience. The guide also includes sample intake documents and a breakdown of tasks for scheduling and planning your Legal Cafe.
Read more
