Jeremy and I are applying to this grant for our food worker coop ;)

I think the more relevant applications, the better. The BSC has funded lots of cooperatives in the past, and also helped with loans and financing, fiscal sponsorship, shared services, etc. Funding opens up from different places historically, so we should always keep the BSC in mind. For example, the Berkeley Student Food Cooperative received funding that was intended for a different source, and diverted locally. The organization is ~80 or so years old at this point and just received its biggest ever single donation of 400,000 for a seismic retrofit. It needs similar donations and fund-raising for maintaining existing services, as well as expanding. The capital flows in multiple directions at once, and it must for any such large org. It's beautiful since the people who use it (the members living in houses and apartments) actually run it and "own" it as the board of directors, as well as in many jobs are staffed by students. 

However, I agree with Mitar. Unless Sudo Mesh wanted to be a cooperative, which would require bizarre finagling, then I don't think we're a relevant choice and would hold back the application.

On the other hand, I think it could work if a group of Berkeleyans wanted to coordinate a group to start their own "mesh cooperative" since this seems to be a vibe of many of the folks we've talked to in Berkeley, students and other residents alike. Any such "mesh cooperative" could participate in The People's Open Network and work in close coordination or simple solidarity with Sudo Mesh.

I'd be happy to contribute in a nominal fashion to such an application, and to provide an official recommendation to the BSC as an alumnus of the org. However, I will be spending my main effort in our food worker cooperative application.

Cheers,
Matt

On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 12:44 PM, Mitar <mitar@tnode.com> wrote:

Hi!

I must say that filing for a coop status only to get this grant is a
bit... The idea of this grant is to help people who really believe in
cooperatives as means to a social change and need help with this. If you
really want and believe in cooperatives and you want to be a
cooperative, then this is a great opportunity.


Mitar

> Could we still file for coop status under the umbrella of SudoRoom?
> On Feb 11, 2014 11:35 PM, "Mitar" <mitar@tnode.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi!
>>
>> Just a comment. This money is awarded if you want to create a coop as an
>> entity/business. Not only if project is cooperative in spirit.
>>
>> But I do encourage you to apply if you have any coop idea. Friends of
>> mine (they were at Mass effect) (Derek and Mikey) are for example
>> creating an IT coop (where mesh is a part of their ideas). (If anybody
>> has any contacts with other IT coops in the area, if they are any,
>> please tell me to forward them.)
>>
>> So yes, this is a great opportunity. It is yearly. Spread the word around.
>>
>>
>> Mitar
>>
>>> If anyone is interested in writing an application, the Berkeley Student
>>> Cooperative has announced a $10,000 cooperative development grant for
>>> cooperative projects that serve students or underserved members of
>>> low-income communities within the SF Bay Area
>>>
>>> https://sites.google.com/a/bsc.coop/eacom/co-op-development-fund
>>>
>>> Applications are due 11:59 pm, Sunday March 9th.
>>>
>>> I am still interested in starting an extension to the mesh in Berkeley
>>> starting within the co-ops. This might be a nice way to get the central
>>> management on board, too and bring a bit more funding for hefty backbone
>>> equipment / more nodes.
>>>
>>> Lemme know if you all have questions. Still have a PicoStation sitting
>>> around waiting for mesh firmware to be loaded on!
>>>
>>> Nader
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> mesh mailing list
>>> mesh@lists.sudoroom.org
>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/mesh
>>>
>>
>> --
>> http://mitar.tnode.com/
>> https://twitter.com/mitar_m
>> _______________________________________________
>> mesh mailing list
>> mesh@lists.sudoroom.org
>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/mesh
>>
>

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