C-W City
Thanks to its central location, Madison, named for former President James Madison, was named Wisconsin’s capital 10 years before the city was even incorporated and 12 years before Wisconsin officially became a state in 1848. Also fueling Madison’s growth, the University of Wisconsin was founded on a 50-acre site in the city in 1849.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 estimates, Madison now has a population of 245,691, making it the second largest city in Wisconsin. The population is 76 percent white American, 7 percent African American, 7 percent Asian American, 7 percent Latino/Hispanic American, and 3 percent two or more races.
Home to the state government and the state’s flagship university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (with more than 40,000 students), Madison has had a strong economic base, enabling it to maintain low unemployment rates and a stable economy. In fact, in the early 1990s, Madison experienced significant growth as successful high-tech companies, many the result of UW-Madison collaborating with local entrepreneurs, got off the ground.
Madison is also unique among U.S. cities in that it has a relatively large number of cooperatives, which has been linked to the state’s extensive history of cooperative organizing. The city encompasses more than 80 such enterprises, including 14 worker-owned cooperatives employing more than 500 people. One of the earliest worker co-ops, Union Cab, was established in 1979 by a small group of drivers aiming to have safer working conditions and better compensation. Today, the company boasts gross annual revenues over $7 million, 230 members, and 65 cabs.
Madison’s longtime, progressive mayor, Paul Soglin (the 51st, 54th, and 57th Mayor of the City, having been elected nine times to the position, most recently in 2015), has also been a champion of the city’s cooperative economy. Most notably, in 2014, the city resolved to spend $1 million a year from 2016 to 2020 on worker-owned business development—making it the largest allocation toward cooperative development by a U.S. municipality to date.
Madison is also home to numerous nonprofits focused on building and strengthening the region’s local food system. For example, Community GroundWorks runs a range of programs from Troy Gardens, a 26-acre urban property that encompasses Madison’s first urban farm, including a CSA, a beginning farmer training program, a farm stand, and several entrepreneurial ventures.
A review of these and other community wealth building efforts follows:
Anchor Institutions
Community Shares of Wisconsin (CSW)
http://www.communityshares.com
Founded in 1971, Madison-based Community Shares of Wisconsin (CSW) is considered the nation’s first social action fund. Today, CSW includes nearly 70 nonprofit member groups committed to grassroots action and social change. In 2014, CSW raised nearly $1.4 million for its member nonprofits. In 2012, CSW launched its Center for Change, which aims to serve as a gathering place for people and groups focused on creating sustainable community-based change. Designed to be a hub of innovation, creativity, education, and leadership development, members have access to training sessions, networki Read more about Community Shares of Wisconsin (CSW)...
The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)
http://www.cows.org
The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) is a research and policy center dedicated to improving economic performance and living standards in the state of Wisconsin and nationally. Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, COWS promotes “high-road” strategies that support living wages, environmental sustainability, innovative local polices, and community wealth building. Read more about The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)...
The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu
Established in 1962, The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives aims to increase understanding and encourage critical thinking about cooperatives by fostering scholarship and mutual learning among academics, the cooperative community, policy makers, and the public. One key project is its Annual Cooperative Business Survey, which collects basic financial data from cooperatives to provide a baseline for understanding financial management across cooperatives sectors. Read more about The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives...
Community Development Corporations (CDCs)
Commonwealth
http://www.cwd.org
Founded in 1979, Commonwealth aims to build a connected community for all residents of Dane County. Key program areas include affordable housing development, job training and support, business incubation, and community engagement. The CDC runs two business incubators, one for start-ups and the other for growing businesses, which currently provide affordable space for 32 enterprises. Other key achievements include the renovation of 135 properties, the creation of a tool lending library, and the development of Third Lake Market—a commercial development project that includes a credit union Read more about Commonwealth...
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Forward Community Investments (FCI)
http://www.forwardci.org
Based in Madison, Forward Community Investments (FCI) is a statewide CDFI that aims to serve as an investor, connector, and advisor for organizations and initiatives that reduce social, racial, and economic disparities in Wisconsin communities. It runs a community investment fund, which provides low-interest loans and technical assistance to community organizations, as well as a grantmaking fund. Since 1994, FCI has invested upwards of $55 million in more than 100 organizations, making a difference in the lives of over 330,000 people. Read more about Forward Community Investments (FCI)...
Community Land Trusts (CLTs)
Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT)
http://affordablehome.org
Founded in 1991, the Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT) seeks to ensure permanently affordable housing for lower-income first-time homebuyers in the Madison area. In 2011, it became affiliated with Common Wealth, which now provides staff to the land trust. MACLT has developed three neighborhoods, including Troy Gardens, a 31-acre project that includes community gardens, a CSA farm, a restored prairie, and 30 homes. The other land trust neighborhoods are Camino del Sol, which features Energy Star and Green Built Home- certified homes, and Anniversary Court, which encompasses a mul Read more about Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT)...
Cooperatives (Co-ops)
Dane County Credit Union (DCCU)
https://www.dccu.us
Dane County Credit Union (DCCU) is one of Madison’s largest locally-owned financial institutions, with nearly $140 million in assets and 15,236 members. With a commitment to youth financial education, the credit union offers savings accounts designed for children and teens and provides a free financial education curriculum to area teachers. The credit union also has a partnership with the nonprofit, GreenPath, Inc., through which it provides all DCCU members with free access to credit counseling, money management, and financial education services. Read more about Dane County Credit Union (DCCU)...
Heartland Credit Union
https://www.heartlandcu.org
Based in Madison, Heartland Credit Union is a full-service, financial cooperative aiming to provide its members with quality, cost-effective financial services that contribute to their social and economic well-being. With roots back to 1936, the credit union now serves 17,500 members in Southwestern Wisconsin and Eastern Iowa. Read more about Heartland Credit Union...
Madison Community Cooperative (MCC)
http://madisoncommunity.coop
Madison Community Cooperative (MCC) is a federation of 11 Madison-based, low-cost housing cooperatives with around 200 members. Formed in 1968 to boost the capacity of area housing co-ops, today MCC provides it members with a broad range of operational services, including strategic planning, budgeting, remodeling, and community outreach. Committed to the broader community, MCC has a Community Services Trust Fund that pools member contributions and provides small grants to grassroots community organizations on an annual basis. Read more about Madison Community Cooperative (MCC)...
UW Credit Union
https://www.uwcu.org
Founded in 1931, UW Credit Union now has more than 210,000 members and assets totaling $2.1 billion. Committed to education, the credit union offers free financial education seminars to the general public and has created a $1.5 million fund through which it offers needs-based scholarships to dozens of Wisconsin students each year. Also focused on environmental sustainability, UW Credit Union purchases 100 percent of its branches’ electricity from renewable resources, follows LEED certification guidelines for all new construction and remodeling projects, and has taken numerous steps to re Read more about UW Credit Union...
Williamson Street Grocery Co-op (“Willy Street Co-op”)
https://www.willystreet.coop
Willy Street Co-op is a full-service cooperative grocery store specializing in local, organic, natural, sustainable, humane, and fairly-traded products. Established in 1974, the co-op now has two locations and over 31,000 member owners. To help support the community, it launched a Community Reinvestment Fund—seeded by inactive owners’ equity shares—which, since 1992, has distributed $342,000 to local nonprofits and other cooperatives. Read more about Williamson Street Grocery Co-op (“Willy Street Co-op”)...
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Daniels Construction
http://www.danielsco.com
Founded in 1953, Daniels Construction provides residential, business, and maintenance construction services across Southern Wisconsin. Recognizing that broad-based worker ownership encourages productivity and better quality control, the Madison-based company became employee-owned in 2006. Read more about Daniels Construction...
Temperature Systems
http://tsihvac.com
Established in 1947, Temperature Systems is one of the largest HVAC/R distribution companies in Wisconsin. With distribution centers in both Madison and Green Bay, the 100 percent employee-owned company has over 100 employees. Read more about Temperature Systems...
Green Economy
Operation Fresh Start (OFS)
http://www.operationfreshstart.org
Founded in 1970, Operation Fresh Start (OFS) provides comprehensive employment and training services to youth and adults in Dane County. Its core program, Pathways, enables young people to develop green construction and conservation skills by involving them in the construction and renovation of affordable homes as well as environmental stewardship projects. To date, OFS is credited with serving over 7,000 individuals and completing 200 homes for low-income buyers. Read more about Operation Fresh Start (OFS)...
Project Home
http://www.projecthomewi.org
Based in Madison, Project Home provides no- and low-cost weatherization and home repair services to low-income residents in Dane and Green Counties. To help cover those costs, it also provides market-rate home repairs, accessibility modifications, energy efficiency upgrades, and other home improvement projects in South Central Wisconsin. Over the past 20 years, Project Home has made energy improvements to nearly 20,000 homes. It also offers free home maintenance and first-time homebuyer education classes to the public. Read more about Project Home...
Individual Wealth Building
Madison Development Corporation (MDC)
http://www.mdcorp.org
Founded as a quasi-public economic development organization in 1977, Madison Development Corporation (MDC) has a two-fold mission: 1) to create quality employment opportunities by making loans to hard-to-finance small businesses, and 2) to provide quality, affordable housing for area residents. MDC is credited with lending more than $20 million to over 300 businesses—creating 4,000 jobs, most paying at least twice the federal minimum wage. It also owns 206 affordable apartment units, many of which are in older commercial buildings that MDC redeveloped. Read more about Madison Development Corporation (MDC)...
Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development
http://nehemiah.org
Founded in the mid-1990s to help address the social, academic, and spiritual needs of at-risk and disenfranchised African American and biracial children in the greater Madison area, the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development aims to transform the face of leadership in Madison by empowering African American families and African American males. Read more about Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development...
Local Food Systems
Community GroundWorks
http://www.communitygroundworks.org
Community GroundWorks is a Madison-based nonprofit that works to connect people to nature and local food. Many of its programs are located on Troy Gardens, a 26-acre urban property that Community GroundWorks manages which includes community gardens, an organic farm, and restored prairie and woodlands. Established in 2001, its 5-acre organic farm (Troy Community Farm) was Madison’s first urban farm and it now supports a CSA, a beginning farmer training program, a farm stand, and several entrepreneurial ventures selling sprouts, wholesale herbs, and bedding plants. Read more about Community GroundWorks...
FairShare CSA Coalition
http://www.csacoalition.org
Based in Madison, FairShare CSA Coalition aims to support and connect Community Supported Agriculture farmers and consumers. Its network currently includes 50 farms in Madison, Milwaukee, Dubuque, the Twin Cities, and surrounding areas. To help ensure all community members can access fresh, nutritious food, FairShare initiated its Partner Shares Program, which covers 50 percent of the cost of CSA vegetable shares for limited-income families. The nonprofit also sponsors a range of activities and events designed to build community, share food, and highlight local, seasonal produce. Read more about FairShare CSA Coalition...
Peacefully Organic Produce
http://popscsa.com
As the first veteran-led community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in the Madison area, Peacefully Organic Produce aims to provide a peaceful place for veterans to return home, learn about organic agriculture, and build a stronger community of support. The farm specializes in high quality certified organic vegetables, herbs, and pasture-raised poultry. Committed to connecting with the community, the farm also hosts film-screenings of agricultural documentaries, field trips for local schools, taste tests, and an annual bluegrass concert, from which proceeds are used to purchase CSA share Read more about Peacefully Organic Produce...
Reap Food Group
http://www.reapfoodgroup.org
Based in Madison, Reap Food Group is a nonprofit focused on building and sustaining a local food system across Southern Wisconsin that supports small family farms and locally-owned businesses, promotes sustainable agriculture practices, and provides community-wide access to fresh, healthy food. Read more about Reap Food Group...
New State & Local Policies
Dane County TimeBank (DCTB)
http://danecountytimebank.org
Established in 2005, the Dane County TimeBank (DCTB) is a network of over 2,500 individuals and organizations who exchange services and skills in order to build community, capacity, and a better world. In 2014, members exchanged 15,545 hours of services. Read more about Dane County TimeBank (DCTB)...
Social Enterprise
The River Bakery
http://www.riverfoodpantry.org/images/stories/pdfs/annual_reports/Annual_Report_...
Launched in 2014 by The River Food Pantry, a nonprofit serving 600 Dane County families a week, The River Bakery provides job training opportunities for the pantry’s clients in an enterprise that produces quality desserts for groceries and other area stores. In 2014, the bakery had $33,720 in sales and 11 program participants found employment. Read more about The River Bakery...
State & Local Investments
Co-operative Enterprises for Job Creation & Business Development
http://www.geo.coop/story/5-million-co-op-development-madison
Approved in 2014, Madison’s Co-operative Enterprises for Job Creation & Business Development plan authorizes the city to spend $1 million a year from 2016 to 2020 on worker-owned business development—making it the largest allocation toward cooperative development by a U.S. municipality to date. Policymakers intend for the funding to catalyze job creation and general economic development in the city. Read more about Co-operative Enterprises for Job Creation & Business Development...
University & Community Partnerships
UW South Madison Partnership
https://universityrelations.wisc.edu/smp/current-partners
UW South Madison Partnership is a new initiative that aims to connect UW-Madison groups working in the South Madison community, create community-based learning courses, and develop new, equitable, and mutually-beneficial partnerships between UW-Madison and the community. To ensure community involvement, the Partnership’s programs are based in the Villager Mall, an accessible space close to schools and community centers. The Partnership also houses UW Law School’s Economic Justice Institute, which works to promote justice and economic security. Read more about UW South Madison Partnership...
Worker Cooperatives
Community Pharmacy
http://communitypharmacy.coop
Community Pharmacy is a worker-owned pharmacy that aims to promote health by providing a range of affordable prescriptions, herbs, supplements, body care products, and homeopathic remedies. Launched in 1972 by the U.W. Madison Wisconsin Student Association as a volunteer-run pharmacy to provide students with affordable medications, it became an independent cooperative in 1974 and now has 20 worker-owners and 2 locations. Read more about Community Pharmacy...
Four Star Video Cooperative
http://fourstarvideocoop.com
Launched in 1985 to increase public access to underground, art, foreign and other less-accessible films, Four Star faced closure in 2014 when its owner decided to pursue other projects. To remain open, the store’s employees launched a successful fundraising campaign, enabling them to buy the business and restructure it as a worker-cooperative. Today, the store’s four worker-owners maintain over 20,000 titles and are committed to providing affordable rental options. Read more about Four Star Video Cooperative...
Isthmus Engineering and Manufacturing (IEM)
http://www.isthmuseng.com
Established in 1980 and converted to a worker cooperative in 1983, Isthmus Engineering and Manufacturing (IEM) specializes in the design and development of custom automation equipment. The enterprise currently has 32 employee-owners and more than $20 million in annual revenue. Committed to sustainability, IEM generates energy through its own solar panels, purchases renewable energy for use in its manufacturing operation, and relied on sustainable design principles when building its latest facility. Read more about Isthmus Engineering and Manufacturing (IEM)...
Just Coffee Co-op
http://justcoffee.coop
Just Coffee Co-op was established by Madison residents frustrated by the exploitation experienced by small Zapatista coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. Today, Just Coffee has 20 worker-owners who are committed to providing customers with quality coffee and showing where it came from and who grew it. To ensure transparency, the co-op started a “transparency project” in 2006, which aims to publically highlight their operations by posting contracts with farmers, prices paid, profit and loss statements, and related documents online. Read more about Just Coffee Co-op...
Nature’s Bakery Cooperative
http://naturesbakery.coop
Founded in 1970, Nature’s Bakery Cooperative is a worker-owned bakery specializing in organic whole grain breads and other baked goods. In addition to its Madison-based storefront, the eight-member co-op sells its products at groceries, co-ops, and health food stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, and the Twin Cities. Read more about Nature’s Bakery Cooperative...
Union Cab Cooperative
http://www.unioncab.coop
Union Cab Cooperative aims to provide quality transportation services in greater Madison while creating livable wage jobs in a safe, humane, and democratic environment. Established in 1979 with just 11 cabs, Union Cab has grown into an enterprise with gross annual revenues in excess of $7 million, 230 active or probationary members, and 65 cabs. It considers itself a “whole Earth enterprise,” and strives to continually reduce its carbon footprint. Read more about Union Cab Cooperative...
State & Local Investments</h3