Blogs

On Saturday, March 14th the Mission Asset Fund hosted its first Charla sobre Cooperativas (Community Discussion about Cooperatives). The event was held at the Centro del Pueblo and the following cooperatives participated in the Charla:
Mission SF Federal Credit Union, Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco Community Land Trust, TechCollective, Design Action Collective, and TeamWorks
Over 20 community members were in attendance and engaged in a lively discussion about how cooperatives are different from a regular business, private homeownership or a bank. Coop representatives shared about their experiences with regards to the communication challenges of working with a group of people in which everyone has decision making authority. Coop members also addressed the benefits and challenges of coops’ legal, tax and accounting structures.

Cooperatives have the opportunity to play a vital role in helping to rebuild the economy. As unemployment and foreclosures continue, cooperatives are an attractive model for businesses and homeownership. Here in the Mission District of San Francisco, cooperatives are a vibrant component of the local economy. On Saturday, March 14th at the Centro del Pueblo (474 Valencia, San Francisco), the Mission Asset Fund will be hosting its first multi-sector coop discussion. The community discussion will be hosted in Spanish and is open to the public. Representatives from the following cooperatives and businesses will participate in the discussion:

Mission SF Federal Credit Union
Rainbow Grocery
San Francisco Community Land Trust
TechCollective
Design Action Collective
TeamWorks

On January 18, 2009 I was invited to participate in the Spanish version of the radio show Childhood Matters, Nuestros Ninos. Other guests included Merlyn Amaya Gómez (Acorn) Vanessa Muñiz (Earn It! Keep It! Save It! United Way Bay Area) and Teresa García (MEDA, Mission Economic Development Agency). We exchanged ideas and resources with the audience about the financial well-being of families affected by the economic crisis and discussed ways on how to minimize the effect that it can have in our homes.

If you would like to listen the Spanish audio, please go to www.nuestrosninos.com/programasprevios_09.html