A great example of how our Fund’s tailored lending and technical assistance can make a big difference for low-wage workers is a recent loan to White Electric Coffee in Providence, Rhode Island. A popular neighborhood café for 20 years, White Electric served a variety of tasty food and coffee beverages to a vibrant, racially, and economically mixed community. But COVID-19 and the global movement for racial justice brought to the surface racial justice and workplace issues that had been simmering for a long time. In the summer of 2020, workers banded together, formed a union, and issued a variety of demands. The café owner complied with most of the requests, recognized the union, and surprised co-op organizers by offering to sell the business to them as a worker-owned cooperative.

The enthusiastic support of customers and community residents convinced workers to take on the challenge. A GoFundMe campaign surpassed the co-op’s goal of $50,000. Still, the project faced some challenges. The new co-op members were having trouble reaching agreement on the business sale price from the selling owners, and also needed to raise more money. Time was running out, and it was unclear if the new co-op would actually get on its feet. Then in December 2020, White Electric got in touch with the Fund for Jobs Worth Owning to see how we could help. FJWO jumped in to coach the new co-op owners on business valuation, got to final terms with the seller, and put together a complementary financial package to fully capitalize the deal. FJWO also connected the co-op with the ICA Group for help with financial training and budgeting, giving the White Electric crew a confidence boost in the home stretch.

Together with another CDFI, we provided $430,000 in total financing for the new co-op to purchase its building and have adequate working capital. While they are smart, experienced, and committed, none of the baristas individually had the funds or complete skill set to take on the store alone. But together, as a cooperative, they could. And did—much to the benefit of both themselves and their surrounding community. White Electric reopened as a worker-owned cooperative in May 2021, ready to start its next chapter.

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