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LOCAL Fund Webinar: Projections, Sources & Uses

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Join our fifth Business Planning Webinar on Thursday, June 5, 3-4:30 pm CT! We’ll cover everything you need to know about startup costs, revenue, expenses and more.

Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply! Missed a session? Find the recordings here.

Fill out the form below to register for Session 5: Projections, Sources & Uses.

Business Planning Webinar Series 
Session 5: Projections, Sources & Uses 

Start your cooperative business with the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus!


The Shared Ownership Center is hosting a Business Planning Webinar Series from April to June that will break down the key components in running a successful business. From concept to plan, we will go over structure, finances, and fundraising, with a focus on creating and transitioning to a worker-owner cooperative business.


Session 5: Projections, Sources & Uses

Thursday, June 5

3:00 to 4:30 pm CDT

Zoom Register now for the Zoom link!


Join Mara O’Neill, Business Advisor with NextStage and consultant extraordinaire, and Christina Nicholson, Cooperative Developer with the Shared Ownership Center, for their presentation on how to build the financial foundation for a cooperative business. This session will cover how to develop revenue projections, outline startup and operating expenses, and understand sources and uses of funds. This will be an interactive session with time for a robust Q&A.


About the Business Planning Webinar Series

This series is sponsored by the LOCAL Fund, a City of Saint Paul grant opportunity for worker-owner cooperatives and community ownership entities. Each session of the series relates to a different section of the LOCAL Fund application. If the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your business, the Shared Ownership Center is excited to support you with your application.


Learn more about the LOCAL Fund and its eligibility requirements: https://nexuscp.org/program/shared-ownership-center-at-nexus/local-fund/


Zoom Meeting Capacity

The first 300 participants to enter the Zoom meeting will be admitted. Any guests that registered but cannot enter the Zoom meeting due to full capacity will receive a session recording.





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This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Our Business Planning Webinar Series is in full swing! Join our fourth session, Conversion Basics, on Thursday, May 22, 3-4:30 pm CT. We’ll dive into the feasibility of converting existing businesses into cooperatives and go over the transition process.

Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply!

Fill out the form below to register for Session 4: Conversion Basics.

Business Planning Webinar Series
Session 4: Conversion Basics

Thank you for your interest in the Shared Ownership Center's Business Planning Webinar Series. Registration for this session is now closed. 

To learn more about the LOCAL Fund, go to: https://nexuscp.org/program/shared-ownership-center-at-nexus/local-fund/ 


This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In March, we kicked off our 20th anniversary event series with a celebration of the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute. Now we’re gearing up for our second event—and you’re invited! 

Our next virtual gathering will highlight our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus. Mark your calendar for Community Wealth Building: Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future on June 5, 10 am – 12 pm CT on Zoom. 

Over the past 13 years, we have been carefully laying the foundation for Community Wealth Building to grow inside and outside of Nexus. Now, in a time of ever-increasing privatization and the erosion of public resources, we are poised to meet the moment. Sharing bounty and abundance is everything. 

Our Shared Ownership Center supports local worker and real estate investment cooperatives to change the face of ownership, while the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship approaches Community Wealth Building from a reparative framework rooted in Black culture.  Come learn about our work and how we envision a brighter, more cooperative future!

Guest Speakers:

  • Amoké Kubat, Yo Mama’s House Founder
  • Carl Johnson, Storehouse Grocers & Coffee Founder
  • Joe Vital, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute Interim Executive Director

Nexus Community Partners Event Registration

Community Wealth Building: Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future. Candid photos of Nexus staff speaking into microphones, smiling, and laughing.

Community Wealth Building: Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future


Date and Time: Thursday, June 5, 10 am - 12 pm CT on Zoom

To celebrate 20 years of working together, we’re hosting five events throughout 2025. Our next virtual gathering will highlight our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus.

Over the past 13 years, we have been carefully laying the foundation for Community Wealth Building to grow inside and outside of Nexus. Hear from our team—and some special guests—about our work and how we envision a brighter, more cooperative future.

As an added bonus, we'll have a random prize drawing for three gift cards during the event! You must be registered, attend the session in its entirety, and be present to win. Three winners will receive a mini Joyful & Abundant Nexus print and one of the following:

- May Day Cafe Co-op gift card 
- Mudluk Pottery Clay Date certificate (one hour of private instruction on the wheel for two people)
- Mississippi Market Co-op gift card
    Thank you to our event sponsor, First Independence Bank!












    Meet Our Speakers

    Amoké Kubat

    Creative culture bearer, artist, and activist Amoké Awele Kubat is a Minneapolis “Northsider for life” who has been empowering mothers and families since 1987. She uses writing and art-making to speak truth to power and to hold a position of wellness in an America sick with inequalities and inequities. Amoké’s co-op, Yo Mama’s House, is an art and healing space for mothers of all ages.

    Carl Johnson

    Carl Johnson is a dynamic and visionary leader serving as the Lead Pastor of Faith City Church in St. Paul, MN. He is a key figure in addressing food insecurity and fostering economic development in St. Paul. Pastor Johnson is the driving force behind Storehouse Grocers and Coffee, an innovative initiative that functions as both a grocery store and a community hub.

    Joe Vital

    Joe Vital is an Indigenous land defender, leader, and speaker from South Minneapolis. An enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation and a proud Mexican focused on bringing Indigeneity to the mainstream, Joe is committed to promoting the protection of Turtle Island and elevating voices of Indigenous stakeholders. He serves as the Interim Executive Director of East Phillips Neighborhood Institute.

    Our friends at CoMinnesota, Minnesota Farmers Union, the University of Minnesota Morris, and West Central Initiative are launching the first-ever Minnesota Cooperative Summit this summer! Hear from speakers (including Nexus!) on how co-ops have been powering progress for generations.

    Minnesota has a rich history of cooperative success, from rural electricity to credit unions to local food systems. The Minnesota Cooperative Summit is your chance to connect with this legacy, learn from innovators, and be part of the next chapter in cooperative development.

    You don’t need to be in a co-op to attend. This event is designed to inspire newcomers, spark partnerships, and bring fresh energy to the idea of shared ownership. This event is for YOU if you’re:

    • Interested in launching a community-based project
    • A leader seeking new ways to retain employees or pass along your business
    • Curious about models that center people, not just profit

    Join us July 30 at the University of Minnesota Morris! Learn more and register here.

    We kicked off our LOCAL Fund webinar series with a business plan breakdown and co-op creation guidelines. Our third session, Finance 101, takes place Thursday, May 8, 3-4:30 pm CT on Zoom. Learn the ins and outs of budgeting, balance sheets, and cash flows!

    Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply!

    Fill out the form below to register for Session 3: Finance 101.

    Business Planning Webinar Series
    Session 3: Finance 101

    Thank you for your interest in the Shared Ownership Center's Business Planning Webinar Series. Registration for this session is now closed. 

    To learn more about the LOCAL Fund, go to: https://nexuscp.org/program/shared-ownership-center-at-nexus/local-fund/ 

     


    This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

    The LOCAL Fund is a collaboration between Nexus Community Partners and the City of Saint Paul to build community wealth, anchor jobs locally, grow the local economy and tax base, and center a cooperative ownership culture that uplifts St. Paul residents for generations to come. What exactly is shared ownership, and why is it so powerful? Hear from Nexus’ Christina Nicholson and Repa Mekha in the video below!

    In April, the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus hosted our second Real Estate Cooperative Convening!

    What’s a real estate investment co-op, you ask? Real estate has long been used as a tool to extract wealth from neighborhoods. These types of cooperatives, nicknamed REICos, flip the script and share the benefits of ownership locally.

    Over lunch, we chatted about what REICos can accomplish together and our dreams for a future where more neighbors own their neighborhoods. Thank you to all who gathered with us!

    • Taproot Investment Cooperative
    • South Como Co-op
    • Midway Investment Cooperative
    • East Phillips Neighborhood Institute
    • Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers
    • Cooperative Development Services
    • African Career, Education, and Resources, Inc.
    • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
    • Shared Capital Cooperative

    And many thanks to McKnight Foundation for sponsoring the event!

    Make your co-op dream a reality with the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus! The second session in our spring webinar series takes place Thursday, April 24, 3-4:30 pm CT on Zoom. We’ll cover how to assemble your dream team, start planning your bylaws, and accessing an attorney and technical assistance.

    Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply!

    Fill out the form below to register for Session 2: Creating Your Cooperative.

    Business Planning Webinar Series
    Session 2: Creating Your Cooperative

    Sorry, this form is not available.


    This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

    Our Shared Ownership Center is hosting a free business planning webinar series for cooperatives this April through June! Sessions will take place (almost) every other Thursday, 3-4:30 pm CT, on Zoom. Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply!

    Fill out the form below to register for our first session, Concept to Business Plan.

    Christina Nicholson and Mara O’Neill will guide you through the necessary foundations in starting a business. They will go over how to assess the feasibility of a business plan and different types of cooperative businesses. This will be an interactive session with time for a robust Q&A.

    Meet the Facilitators

    Christina Nicholson, Cooperative Finance Developer – Worker Owner Initiative

    In my role at Nexus, I serve as the Cooperative Finance Developer for the Worker Owner Initiative (WOI), which is part of Nexus’ Community Wealth Building Strategy. I help both start-ups and existing businesses understand the role worker ownership can play in successful owner retirement strategies as well as improved workplace cultures for teams. With solid technical assistance and organizational support, worker-owner cooperatives can grow and perpetuate community wealth by expanding opportunities for local business ownership.

    I have been working in cooperatives in Minnesota for 25 years in a wide range of roles, from front-of-house retail to construction to cooperative consulting. In all of my endeavors, the thread has been working to connect communities to each other through common cause. This has been framed for me as a shared economy that questions the normative culture of the unequal exploitation of labor. Rather than focus on what is wrong, cooperatives look to inspire a shared sense of success and equity among community members within the cooperative.

    When done well, cooperatives celebrate the unique contributions of individuals while challenging assumptions about how we perpetuate destructive myths around gender, race, and class. I am so excited to be a part of Nexus and look forward to learning from my peers who continue to inspire me with their vast knowledge of community wealth building, leadership, and development of strategic partnerships!

    Mara O’Neill, Consultant

    Mara O’Neill has over four decades of experience in the field of community economic development providing technical assistance and underwriting loans to new and expanding small businesses. She is also experienced in managing and operating all aspects of a revolving loan fund including loan documentation and closing, perfecting liens on collateral, loan servicing, and tracking loan funds. She currently provides consulting services to small nonprofit organizations in the areas of small business loan program development and management.

    From 2011 until 2020, Mara was the Loan Program Director for Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD). Before joining MCCD, Mara was Director of Capital Investments for First Children’s Finance (FCF), a nonprofit organization supporting the business side of childcare, where she oversaw the loan and grant program and developed FCF’s childcare business training program. She was Chief Operating Officer at Neighborhood Development Center, a community–based non-profit organization providing training, financing and ongoing technical assistance to new micro-businesses in Saint Paul and Minneapolis. She also worked for the Saint Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development for 12 years providing financing and technical assistance to small businesses and developers.

    Mara has a BS Degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is certified as an Economic Development Financing Professional by the National Development Council, now known as Grow America. She is a recipient of the Top Women in Finance Award from Finance and Commerce Magazine and in 2019 she received the Champion Award from Credit Builders Alliance.

    Business Planning Webinar Series
    Session 1: Concept to Business Plan

    Thank you for your interest in the Shared Ownership Center's Business Planning Webinar Series. Registration for this session is now closed. 

     

    To learn more about the LOCAL Fund, go to: https://nexuscp.org/program/shared-ownership-center-at-nexus/local-fund/


    This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

    The Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus is hosting a free business planning webinar series for cooperatives April through June! Sessions will take place (almost) every other Thursday, 3:00 – 4:30 pm CT, on Zoom.

    Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund is a good fit for you and your team, you will be ready to apply!

    April 10: Concept to Business Plan

    Learn types of business plans, their key components, and how to get started on making your cooperative dream a reality.

    April 24: Creating Your Cooperative

    How will you design your cooperative? We’ll cover how to assemble your dream team, start planning your bylaws, and accessing an attorney and technical assistance.

    May 8: Finance 101

    Learn the ins and outs of budgeting, balance sheets, and cash flows.

    May 22: Conversion Basics

    We’ll dive into the feasibility of converting existing businesses into cooperatives and go over the transition process.

    June 5: Projections, Sources & Uses

    Everything you need to know about startup costs, revenue, expenses and more.

    June 18: Access to Capital

    Learn the Five C’s of Cooperative Credit, how to shop around for the right loan, and go over a sample loan application. Please note this webinar is now happening on Wednesday, June 18. It was originally scheduled for June 19.

    June 26: How to Apply for the LOCAL Fund

    Now that you know the business planning basics, it’s time to learn how the LOCAL Fund can help! We’ll review the parts, process, and timeline for the application.


    This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP1612 awarded to Nexus Community Partners by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

     

    Black Futures Month is “a visionary, forward-looking spin on celebrations of Blackness in February; a time to consider and celebrate our radical Black history and to dream and imagine a world in which all Black people are free.” — The Movement for Black Lives

    Extracting wealth from Black people has been the foundation of the US economy, with lynching and racial terror long serving as tools to undermine the economic self-determination of Black folks. In light of this history, what does repair look like? The answer lies in cooperatives.

    As we navigate the tumultuous start of 2025, we bolster ourselves in takeaways from last year’s National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda. Cohosted by Nexus and the Network for Developing Conscious Communities, the summer gathering focused on:

    • Building Collective Power – Creating a space for Black-led cooperatives to connect, strategize, and align efforts for economic self-determination.
    • Sharing Knowledge & Resources – Highlighting successful cooperative models, discussing challenges, and providing tools to support Black cooperative development.
    • Policy & Advocacy – Identifying policies that support Black cooperative businesses and pushing for systemic changes that advance economic justice.
    • Celebrating Black Cooperative Leadership – Uplifting the historical and present contributions of Black cooperators in building sustainable economies.
    • Strengthening Networks – Fostering relationships among cooperatives, funders, and movement organizations to sustain long-term collaboration.

    Among Nexus’ attendees were conference organizers and facilitators Nonkululeko (Nkuli) Shongwe, Director of Community Wealth Building; Leanna Browne, North Star Program Manager; and Christina Nicholson, Cooperative Developer for the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus.

    “We had a great location in Union Depot,” Christina recalls. “It was walkable from hotels, the speakers were great, Mayor Carter and his team were warm and available, and there were a lot of really good workshops.”

    Leanna adds, “It was really great to be surrounded by beautiful Black folks doing amazing Black cooperative work.”

    “What inspired me most was seeing firsthand how cooperatives aren’t just businesses, but spaces of cultural and political resistance,” Nkuli says. “It’s about more than just economic exchange—it’s about shifting our relationships with each other and with the land, and imagining a world where we can live with dignity, freedom, and equality. By embracing the cooperative model, we tap into our collective power, building a future rooted in cooperation, justice, and liberation.”

    Grounding in History

    The role of cooperatives in racial and economic justice, Nkuli explains, must be understood in the context of colonialism—both its historical foundations and its continued presence through exploitation in the diaspora today. The extraction of Black labor and resources did not end with slavery; it evolved through wage theft, debt traps, land dispossession, and the systematic devaluation of Black workers and entrepreneurs. Global racial capitalism continues to siphon wealth from the Global South while using the labor of Black and Brown communities in the diaspora to sustain economies built on our oppression.

    Cooperatives disrupt this ongoing colonial extraction by reclaiming ownership over our labor, land, and financial systems. They create spaces where Black people can practice self-governance, build leadership, and develop economic strategies that prioritize collective well-being over individual gain. They allow us to experiment with new ways of organizing resources that are rooted in our traditions of mutual aid and solidarity. For example:

    • Worker-owned cooperatives ensure that people doing the labor also share in the profits, eliminating the racial wage gap and creating dignified, sustainable employment.
    • Housing cooperatives fight displacement and gentrification by allowing Black people to own and control land collectively, keeping homes affordable and rooted in the community.
    • Investment and financial cooperatives give us access to capital on our own terms, reducing dependence on predatory banks and lending institutions that have historically denied us wealth-building opportunities.

    Cooperatives are also a form of reparative justice. They allow us to rebuild what was taken—whether through stolen labor, redlining, land dispossession, or other systemic barriers—and create structures where wealth stays within our communities instead of being extracted. By growing and strengthening cooperative ecosystems, we are not just resisting oppression but actively building the future we deserve.

    At the conference, Leanna moderated the panel Fostering Creativity: Artists Cooperatives and Collective Movements. “I set the space by providing some historical context of where we have seen artist cooperatives and collective movements, such as the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, Combahee River Collective and Freedom Quilting Bee,” Leanna says. “I began the session by reading the poem “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks, which ends with:

    we are each other’s harvest
    we are each other’s business
    we are each other’s magnitude and bond.

    Envisioning Our Future

    “I see a future where Black-led cooperatives are thriving, interconnected, and deeply rooted in our cultural traditions of collective care and shared prosperity,” Nkuli says. “I want to see more cooperatives that go beyond survival and actually create lasting wealth. Land trusts that secure housing, worker-owned businesses that provide dignified jobs, and investment cooperatives that allow us to collectively control capital. I envision a strong cooperative ecosystem where Black co-ops are resourced, supported, and protected by policies that recognize our historical exclusion from traditional economic opportunities. This means shifting the narrative from co-ops being a niche or temporary solution to them being a powerful and scalable model for self-determination.”

    Christina adds, “My vision is a breadth and depth of interdependent economic communities that provide credit unions, housing, grocers, gardens, technology, jobs, commerce, and childcare in wholistic healthy settings that are gentle, loving, and free.”

    Nkuli sees cooperatives helping us reclaim our power, define our own futures, and build economies that reflect our values, free from the constraints of oppressive systems. “Ultimately, my vision is about sovereignty. I want Black communities to own our futures, build intergenerational wealth, and create economic models that reflect our values of mutual aid, solidarity, and abundance on a global scale.”


    Nexus is proud to provide programming and funding designed by and for the Black community year-round. Through programs like our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship, we’ve been able to bring worker-owners of Black-led cooperatives together to live into a future of Black wealth.

    On Feb. 7, May Day Cafe reopened as a worker-cooperative with the help of Nexus Community Partners and Platform CRE!

    With five worker-owners, the May Day Cafe Workers Cooperative is Minneapolis’ newest worker co-op. The new owners are excited to welcome you back into this beloved and longstanding neighborhood establishment with a new vision of intentionally deepening the space as a community resource. You will see lots of familiar faces, as most of the employees have stayed on and are on their way to becoming worker-owners. While sustaining a commitment to affordability and the bakery staples that regulars have come to know and love, over time you will also see some new menu items and fresh ideas.

    “The last 12 months of work to make this cooperative transition have been exhausting, but an experience that I feel profoundly grateful for and changed by,” said Mira Klein, a worker-owner and barista entering her third year at the Cafe. “I have so much appreciation for being part of creating something that felt like a real community effort. There has been so much in this process that was totally new to me, and having the support of Nexus and Platform at our backs was essential to seeing this dream come to life.”

    The deal was made possible by a set of public programs aimed at helping small businesses buy their real estate and become employee-owned. The Cooperative was also supported by over $100,000 in donations from more than 800 community members. The loan was funded by our partners at the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD), Shared Capital, and the City of Minneapolis. In addition to Nexus Community Partners, the Cafe also received technical assistance from Platform CRE and Next Stage.

    Erin Heelan, Co-founder of Platform CRE, said, “Selling your business or real estate to your workers or tenants is an excellent way to get a fair price for what you have built AND to ensure it continues to be an asset for the community. Small businesses like May Day are crucial to the local economy and the well-being of our communities. There has been an overwhelming amount of community support for the workers to buy the business and keep May Day Cafe open. Platform represented the workers to purchase the real estate. Nexus was instrumental in ensuring the workers were prepared for the acquisition by providing cooperative governance and small business Technical Assistance.”

    Employee-owned businesses, such as co-ops, have been shown to create a 92% increase in household net worth, a 33% higher hourly wage, and 53% longer job tenure (NCEO 2018). Real estate co-ops have been shown to revitalize commercial corridors by offering stable and affordable properties to businesses while giving community members a voice in development decisions and a share of the profits.

    Patty Viafara, Director of the Worker Ownership Initiative at Nexus, said, “We are so excited for the new owners as they take ownership of their labor. This deal is a great example of what can be achieved when we work together for the benefit of our community.”

    Worker-owners Sunny and Mira stand, smiling, outside of May Day Cafe on signing day.
    Sunny and Mira, center, smile with the team who helped make the new worker-ownership possible. On either side of Sunny and Mira stand Christina Nicholson and Diana Siegel-Garcia from the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus.

    About May Day Cafe Workers Cooperative
    The May Day Cafe Workers Cooperative was founded in June 2024, and officially bought the business and building in January 2025. Their mission is to be a home for dignified and meaningful labor, affordable food, and community connection in the heart of the Powderhorn neighborhood. Visit mayday@maydaycafe.coop for more information.

    About the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus
    Since 2019, the Shared Ownership Center at Nexus, (formerly the Worker Ownership Initiative), has worked with over 50 companies to explore models of shared ownership and supported the development of eight cooperatives across the Twin Cities. From assessing fit and feasibility to becoming cooperatively owned and operated, the Shared Ownership Center at Nexus brings expertise and an equity lens to all steps of cooperative development.

    About Platform CRE, SBC
    Platform CRE is a Social Benefit Commercial Real Estate Brokerage and Development Consulting Firm based in Saint Paul, MN. Platform represents small businesses and nonprofits in commercial estate transactions.