community Based Enterprise, Inc. (C2BE) Community Based Enterprise Innovations Applicable to Detroit Center for Community-Based Enterprise P.O. Box 15652, Detroit, MI June 30, 2009 at the Skillman Foundation by Deborah Groban Olson, Executive Director

Key Ideas Community Based Enterprise (CBE) starts with people working together for mutual self- help. CBE has proven successful in lifting communities out of economic distress. Wide range of successful examples of CBEs – large and small 2

Key Ideas The long term major successes have: –a support structure larger than the single firm –regional gov’t. supporting business clusters and /or –co-operation among co-operatives and –a means to grow patient community capital C2BE’s vision is to create a resource and support structure to enable scalable CBE success in SE Michigan. 3

Center for Community Based Enterprise is A non-profit organization Providing education & technical assistance on using broad, local ownership of businesses to build strong communities. Connecting diverse and unique local resources. Seeking to create a resource center & co-operative network to help community-based businesses work together to become more successful. Similar to those centers - described in our innovation scan & speaker series - in Spain, Italy and Ohio. 4

C2BE Mission C2BE supports and connects entrepreneurs, communities and resources to grow “Community Based Enterprises” (CBEs). 5

6 What is a Community Based Enterprise (CBE)? A Community Based Enterprise (CBE) is a for-profit or non-profit business that is: –Sustainable –Locally rooted –Intentionally structured to provide community benefits; and –Committed to paying living wages

7 C2BE Strategy – Local Focus Reverse of traditional companies that start from products C2BE starts with local people, resources, & rootedness criteria Seeks viable business opportunities that can pay living wages, such as proprietary products, local resource based products & services Capitalizing on local resources.

8 Underutilized Local Resources Thousands of highly skilled professional, technical and hourly workers, who want to stay in the area Sophisticated technology, facilities & infrastructure Lots of idle intellectual property (IP), with near-term market potential, at 300 local manufacturing technology companies Socially responsible capital seeking investment opportunities Excellent education & training facilities Fresh water & flat land Urban agriculture/ food security network Anchor institution supply chains – where not local

9 Product Savvy People Need Entrepreneurial Support For 100 years people came here to work for big companies. We have lots of people who know how to make things, and fewer who are entrepreneurs. After entrepreneurship training, if there is not a support system, many businesses fail. Shared business resources enable the product people to focus on their strengths, and share scarce management resources.

10 C2BE Current Funded Projects Global best practices community-based enterprise innovation scan - completed CBE speaker series on best CBE practices Pre-feasibility study & technical assistance for Detroit Grocery Store Coalition employee/community owned fresh grocery

11 C2BE Programs in Development Local CBE Scan – Find Detroit CBEs and learn their capacities & needs -started Clearinghouse/ Matchmaker –Connecting diverse resources across all sectors of the economy –Enable Detroit CBEs to network, collaborate, find synergies w/ each other, share resources & systematic “buy local” marketing Scale Up CBEs –Create a resource co-operative as a core business platform for scaling CBE businesses Business & innovation broker –Established Ingenuity US, L3C (IUS) – to seek out & develop business innovation opportunities & create community capital by reinvesting ½ of profits in CBEs

12 C2BE Programs in Development (con’t.) Best Practices Education – expand best CBE practices education to businesses, labor, community groups and anchor institutions Seeking to make available for development by local talent, large number of local underutilized green patents in the government owned auto companies CBE Business Owners Roundtable featuring: –Exploring synergies –Diversification using new IP –Open book management –Employee ownership tax & operational advantages

13 C2BE Programs in Development continued Sustain Non-Traditional Entrepreneurs (NTEs) Expand worker “next step” options from a buy-out or lay-off to consider being a Community Based Enterprise (CBE) entrepreneur Shepherd NTEs through incubation programs & funding sources Clearinghouse for TA to create CBEs Business Plan competition aimed at dislocated workers

Examples Presented in Series Local CBE examples Successful employee owned companies – including inner city, industrial, old economy businesses that are making the leap to new economy businesses Network of 93 employee owned companies in Ohio Successful industrial co-operative network in Spain 14

Examples Presented in Series Spanish labor companies started by groups of workers using their unemployment benefits and assistance from a government supported technical assistance center Successful government supported small business and co-op support clusters in Italy Cleveland Evergreen Cooperatives borrow from many of these ideas to create the economic inclusion strategy for the Cleveland anchor institutions – to be presented by our speaker, Ted Howard 15

16 Center for Community Based Enterprise (C2BE) Non profit with 501(c)3 status Over 100 diverse advisors Organization & individual memberships Ingenuity US, L3C is a mission-driven company implementing C2BE’s ideas. Contact Deborah Groban Olson, Executive Director Center for Community Based Enterprise, Inc. P.O. Box 15652, Detroit, MI (313) ofc., (313) cell, (313) fax, www. c2be.org