Case Study

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Community Wealth Building

The Consumer Health Foundation’s commitment to health and racial equity has prompted us to explore new approaches and strategies to breaking the cycle of systemic, intergenerational poverty in low-income communities, especially communities of color, that result in poor health.

We know that one of the key determinants of individual and community health is wealth. At the individual level, wealth building means creating opportunities for families to develop the kind of financial security that allows them to weather crises and accumulate assets over time. At the community level, wealth building results in stable neighborhoods, thriving local businesses and a strong tax base.

Case study: Evergreen Cooperatives

Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, Ohio is an example of an exciting community wealth building initiative that was catalyzed by the Cleveland Foundation as part of its Greater University Circle Revitalization Initiative. The Evergreen Cooperative model is guided by the following core concepts:

  • Leveraging the purchasing power of anchor institutions. Anchor institutions, such as hospitals and educational institutions are businesses that are not at risk of leaving a community. These institutions are often large employers and purchasers of multiple goods and services. Evergreen Cooperatives seeks to supply anchor institutions with the goods and services they demand.
  • Building cooperative, worker-owned businesses. When employees have an ownership stake in the business, they have an opportunity to build equity when profits are redistributed into capital accounts. These businesses are also less likely to leave a community, because worker-owners are rooted in place.
  • Financial and environmental sustainability. Evergreen’s worker-owned businesses are for-profit entities, so they are designed to be financially self-sustaining. They are also designed to be environmentally sustainable to provide a competitive advantage and to benefit the larger community.

Exploring the Evergreen model for the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. region

In 2011, the Consumer Health Foundation co-hosted a funders briefing with the Prince Charitable Trust, Calvert Foundation, Kendeda Fund, and the Summit Fund on the Cleveland Evergreen Project and implications for the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. region. Over 70 people attended representing foundations, local government, the federal government and the White House.

Based on the interest generated at this initial meeting, a group of local funders have been meeting to discuss whether the Evergreen model could be adapted for our region. In November funders traveled to Cleveland to meet the worker owners and the community stakeholders that are part of Evergreen. They also pooled funds to conduct a feasibility study for adapting the Evergreen model to the Washington, DC Metropolitan Region.