Building Better Futures Through the
Bronx Cooperative
Development Initiative
A project of
Winter 2013
COMMUNITY DISTRESS
The Bronx is owner of dire statistics:
•
Highest rate of Asthma in NY
•
Highest levels of Obesity in NY
•
The poorest urban county in the United States
•
Highest rate of Mortality and Morbidity in NY
ECONOMIC POTENTIAL
BCDI is designed to leverage the Bronx’s significant financial assets and economic activity:
•
High concentration of Bronx-based anchor institutions: 9 Hospitals, 5 Universities,
4 Cultural Institutions, 3 Governmental Institutions, over 400 Public Schools and 90
Public Housing Developments
•
Bronx anchor institutions collectively spend over 4 billion dollars annually on
procurement of goods and services—however less than 10 percent of procurement
is spent locally
•
Home to Fordham Road, the third largest commercial corridor in NYC
•
Home to the Hunts Point Terminal Market, the largest food distribution center in
the world with 6 billion dollars in annual revenue
ABOUT BCDI
•
The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is an innovative model for
urban economic development—the only model of its kind in the NY region
•
Launched in 2011 following a year-long community engagement process led by
Bronx-based institutions, grassroots organizations and civic leaders
•
BCDI is working to create a network of employee-owned, sustainable businesses in
the poorest urban county in the United States, where over 30 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line
STRUCTURE
BCDI is a community-led initiative whose members include Bronx residents and civic
leaders representing community-based organizations and labor unions with strong
ties to the Bronx:
•
The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, THE POINT CDC, Mothers on
the Move, Green Worker Cooperatives, the Consortium for Worker Education, Northern
Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
BCDI operates with technical support from the MIT Community Innovator’s Lab (CoLab)
and CommonWise:
•
MIT CoLab: part of the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, one of the
leading academic centers in the world for urban planning and development
•
CommonWise: a nonprofit consulting firm, led by Jeffrey Hollender (co-founder of
Seventh Generation, green household products company), a network of pioneering
entrepreneurs, advisors and innovators focused on sustainable business development
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
•
BCDI is designed to build capacity within the Bronx for development that puts
communities on a self-determined path to economic stability and ensures financial
benefits are broadly shared
•
Uses strategies and ownership models to establish better coordination between
community assets (residents, businesses, institutions) and create the infrastructure to
support new forms of targeted reinvestment
•
Stimulates economic development defined by community engagement and
participation
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
cont’d
Community Enterprise Network
ANCHORS
CDC’s
CBO’s
BUSINESS
GOVERNMENT
DEVELOPMENT
FINANCE
A network of anchors, community based organizations, community development
corporations, and other support infrastructure with the capacity to plan and execute
a borough-wide economic development platform for the Bronx.
INITIAL STRATEGIC FOCUS
A key focus of BCDI’s initial strategy involves import substitution:
•
Imports procured by Bronx residents and anchor institutions (hospitals, universities,
major cultural centers) are replaced by goods and services produced locally
•
Purchases from businesses outside the Bronx are redirected to new or existing
Bronx-based employee-owned businesses—built to meet the needs of anchor
institutions and support their neighborhood revitalization and environmental goals
•
For-profit, employee-owned businesses are based locally and hire locally,
strengthening the internal Bronx market and increasing the financial assets of
workers
•
BCDI companies promote green industry to the fullest extent
PARTNERS
BCDI Anchor Institution Partners
• Montefiore Medical Center, Fordham University, The Bronx Zoo, the Botanical Gardens
(the four largest employers in the borough), Hostos Community College, Bronx
Community College and Riverdale Country School
BCDI Philanthropic Partners
• The Rockefeller Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation, Kendeda Fund
BCDI Corporate Partner
• Mondragon Cooperative Corporation
SUCCESS MODELS
BCDI’s system is informed by extensive academic research and practitioner
reports from highly successful anchor institution development strategies and
worker-owned enterprises, including The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative in
Cleveland, Ohio, and the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation in Spain—
both advisory partners to BCDI
SUCCESS MODELS:
Evergreen Cooperative Initiative (BCDI Advisory Partner)
•
December 2006: conceptualized during a community wealth building roundtable
organized by The Democracy Collaborative (University of Maryland) and the Ohio
Employee Ownership Center (Kent State University)
•
Early 2008: received $3 million grant to form the “Evergreen Cooperative Initiative”
•
October 2009: launched first two businesses—Evergreen Cooperative Laundry
(ECL) and Ohio Solar Cooperative (OCS)—worker-owned, for profit, green
companies employing 50 (ECL) and 75 (OCS) local residents
•
Summer 2011: launched Green City Growers (GCG), a year-round hydroponic food
production greenhouse, producing millions of pounds of fresh produce per year
•
After 8 years, a typical worker-owner will possess an equity stake in their company of
about $65,000
•
Initial complex of 10 companies will produce 500 jobs over the next 3-5 years
•
Additional 12 anchor-related businesses currently in production
SUCCESS MODELS:
Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (BCDI Advisory Partner)
•
The Mondragon Corporation, based in the Basque region of Spain, is the seventh
largest Spanish business group, employing more than 85,000 people
•
Founded in 1956 by graduates of a local technical college; first product was paraffin
heaters
•
Mondragon federation of worker cooperatives: 120 companies in four areas of activity:
finance, industry, retail and knowledge
•
Cooperative businesses include: bank, insurance company, consumer goods
manufacturers (refrigerators, washing machines, ovens, etc.), automotive and
construction equipment manufacturers, systems/ logistics engineering companies,
retail manufacturers, technology training programs, R&D and innovation centers
•
2011 revenues: $20 billion
BENEFITS (1 of 2)
•
Builds capacity within the Bronx for community-driven economic development
•
Creates new, living wage, green jobs anchored locally and develops new business
leaders for stronger, more vibrant neighborhoods
•
Anchor institutions realize a closer, customized and enhanced service
•
Employee-ownership gives workers equity in their firms and creates genuine
opportunity for low and moderate-income individuals to build wealth
BENEFITS (2 of 2)
•
Strengthens municipal tax base and prevents financial resources from “leaking out”
of the Bronx
•
Sustainable, innovative, green companies have a competitive advantage
•
New instrument for significant external financial investment into the Bronx,
including opportunities for new business expansion or relocation
HOW BCDI WORKS (1 of 3)
•
BCDI will analyze procurement data to assess goods and services purchased by
anchor institutions that could be produced locally
•
BCDI will develop strategies and raise capital for business development linked to
anchor institution supply chain opportunities
•
New guaranteed local manufacturing and purchasing flows will capture larger
portions of the wealth generated locally and keep more dollars circulating within
the local community
•
Employee-ownership model will maximize wealth accumulation for workers
HOW BCDI WORKS (1 of 3)
Health/ Hospital
Anchor Institution
Cultural/ Tourism
Anchor Institution
University/ Educational
Anchor Institution
HOW BCDI WORKS (2 of 3)
•
A collaborative community planning process designed by the MIT CoLab in
partnership with local organizations will establish an agenda and strategic capacity for
economic development that responds to local needs and aspirations
•
A training, development and education program created through a partnership
between the Mondragon Corporation and community-based organizations will
enhance business skills and capacity among the local workforce
HOW BCDI WORKS (3 of 3)
•
During the capital formation stage, business experts will raise start-up capital and
direct it towards a BCDI Enterprise Fund, the mechanism through which local
entrepreneurs will have access to capital
•
Through the creation of a BCDI Community Enterprise Network, BCDI will ensure
that sufficient and appropriate technical advisory support is provided to promote
business development and growth; the network will include CBOs, anchor institutions,
employee-owned enterprises, financial and business service providers, workforce
development and R&D
THANK YOU
BCDI 2013