The resources SELC provides have been critical in supporting the cooperatives I work with and am a part of! Always a great trusted resource. Thank you

SELC has been a support, it has inspired me to do the work that I do and to question everything, including the law in the sense that just because it is written by people who have studied to write the laws that does not mean it is not led by a cruel system that it can be unfair and that we can change what is written and advocate for laws that are for everyone.

I believe SELC’s work is fundamental not only for the cooperative ecosystem but also for the new economy, to support all of us to make this a better society to live in.

So supportive of the Bay Area Mutual Aid coalitions and all the disparate mutual aid groups that are a part of it!

You all are awesome! Thank you for all the resources you make publicly available and the thought leadership.

SELC has helped train Mama Sana Vibrant Woman to become a worker self directed non profit and has been our guide in creating a playbook for just and equitable internal practices that align with our vision and work!

I’ve been a fan and collaborator with the SELC since it was but a gleam in Janelle’s eye – and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to watch the waves of their work ripple out through our community, and leave behind them a more just, sustainable, and equitable economy!

It has helped me practically with the conceiving a cooperative sustainable community.

SELC has made it legally possible for me to donate, rather than sell, my home of 56 years, so that it can be managed by PREC as affordable housing for local artists who staff the DESTINY ARTS CENTER.

Whoever is issuing the currency of a nation is the sovereign of that nation. Since the banks are issuing the dollar (all the dollars) as a debt to themselves, they only issue the currency for what will be profitable to them. This means that the entire society is designed to keep the banking secret. If the people understood the financial system there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning. The SELC is one of the best resources for starting conversations about how it could be, because just about everyone can see the sense of local control. It is a very short step from local investing to “We should issue the currency for what we agree would be good, not what will be profitable for banks!” When we do the questions will be: Is it a good idea? Are there people who want to do? Are they capable of doing it? Is it a sustainable use of the built and natural resources? If yes to these questions then we issue the money to fund it. If it is successful and generates ongoing value we have to issue more money as a divided to represent that ongoing value creation. If not, then we have to remove the excess money from circulation.

The point is that everything changes when the people are deciding what would be good with the power to fund what they decide would be good.

Sociocracy (SociocracyForAll.org) is the way to organize decision making and community-created credit (CommonGood.earth) is the way to fund what we sociocratically decide would be good.

SELC has been an incredible and supportive ally to us in our work to build the People’s Solar Energy Fund. Over 2019 we put together a new tool for scaling up/across community-owned solar: a dedicated financing mechanism for community-led solar projects that deliver ownership into community hands. The start up costs were a burn and we ran on the generous free labor and belief in the mission shown by our founding members: the Climate Justice Alliance, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Co-op Power, Cooperative Energy Futures, Local Clean Energy Alliance and the Working World. While building proof of concept for funders, SELC provided us with support and free legal advice so that we could get up and running and incorporate as a organization. We are so grateful to them for this help as well as their thoughtful insights into how to build our collaborative resource for community-owned solar. We know we are just one of many groups that owe a debt of gratitude to SELC!

We are very interested in integrating the work we are doing with SELC. Here is a short description.


Australia has a unique system of superannuation. Every employer has to contribute to a superannuation fund for their employees, and the employee owns their contributions. When the employee retires, they can take their money out of the pooled superannuation fund and reinvest, or they can turn their account into a pension stream of income. Only 50% of retirees transform their account into an income stream because the income stream from a typical fund, on average, only gives them their money back. The reason for this is that the investments of superannuation funds have at least 50% of earnings as capital growth. If they had investments with income streams from the community payment for goods and services, they would have pensions that would be double the ones dependent on capital growth. Capital growth is delayed income, and the sellers of assets that have already had capital growth have already taken at least half the profits from the assets for the next 20 years.

We have overcome the capital growth extraction problem by sellers of assets not getting their profits until the assets make profits. We do that by using prepayments for goods and services as the financial product.

To see how this works, please visit https://medium.com/@kevin_34708/doubling-superannuation-pensions-d1524b1a9c33

The approach applies to any asset or service. It just so happens that our example of rooftop renewable energy is a good one. It is competing with fossil fuel energy that is making extraordinary profits for the suppliers who have arranged their affairs, so they pay little tax. This is made possible through the manipulation of financial products.

The approach also applies to taxation. Governments could fund community infrastructure with prepayments of tax so reducing the need for taxes.

The extra money comes from savings made by removing the need for most of the financial industry with its unnecessary costs of capital gains – before they are made – and the cost of interest on loans.

SELC is a breath of fresh air. It is a backbone for the work many of us are doing around the country to build a new economy. It’s clear the dominant economy isn’t working for most people and we now, even more urgently than ever, need alternatives to go to. SELC is bringing people together, generating new ideas, piloting them, and supporting their expansion in so many sectors. We, at Co-op Power, look for opportunities to collaborate with SELC whenever we can, grateful for their inspiration, their creativity, and their practical know-how!

As a lawyer, I particularly appreciate SELC’s pioneering efforts to support legal professionals who want to further the development of cooperative business models

SELC work has impacted our worker cooperative so much by providing legal resources that we, as a small worker-cooperative formed by Latina women, can’t afford. Through legal cafes, free individual counseling, tools, and connections to legal resources, literacy, etc.

Personally, SELC has guided my contribution to the Latina community helping them on providing legal and governance education for Latina entrepreneurs that are starting or trying to grow their own businesses.

Literally, they have saved us from making huge mistakes that we would have made because of our ignorance around the laws and also because of the lack of legal resources for small businesses where their worker-owners are Spanish speakers.

Thank you, thank you… YOU ROCK!

We love having them as partners as we wayfind and steer our canoe against the rising tide.

As someone who is on the board of a recently formed CLT, I know first hand the limitations of that model. SELC’s commitment to moving beyond those limitations is inspiring, and we hope to find a path for our CLT which can one day integrate the SELC model into our CLT.

I’m especially interested in a cooperative ownership model for urban villages of 8-20 Tiny Homes on Wheels (THOWs). Residents own their THOWs outside of the cooperative framework – it’s theirs and they can take them with them if they need to move! Cooperative structure to apply to land, utilities, common area improvements, etc.


I call THOWs in Villages “Inherently Affordable” housing, since (based on rough calculations), it should be possible to buy a lower end THOW (or build your own), financing the purchase/materials over 10-15 years, and pay any community fees/assesments while working a single, 40hr/week job at the 2021 minimum wage ($15/hr) while staying within the old “ideal” of not paying more than 30% of your gross pay for housing. All without the need for ANY subsidy from the government or non governmental philanthropy.

I’m excited to know more about SELC since I am part of the West LA Democracy at Work Action Group, and we advocate for worker coops.

SELC was my first resource before our worker owned coffee pop up was even an idea. It is the jump start for inspiration and determination!

SELC is a critical lighthouse for lawyers to look to as they navigate to a more balanced, sustainable and human practice. I am so thankful for all of their work.

I love the SELC vision and the tools they provide for resilient communities, thanks for the practical hope and inspiration!

We just love SELC’s mission, and organizational structure! SELC’s vision of the future needs to happen!

Just heard of you through the upcoming webinar: DIY Policy making for Resilient Communities. Will be happy to share after the online event/training June 1st. Grew up in California.