Social Enterpirse Meeting Notes 2-22-12

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Original Message --------

Subject: todays notes Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:21:24 -0500 From: elise moussa <elise . moussa @ gmail . com>

Attendees: Elise, jk @ redsunpress.com, laurie . gta @ gmail . com, eric from allston, Monica Poole, Estelle, eli , Liam, Martin Dagoberto staceycordeiro @ gmail . com, terry mollner, bill @ billcimbrelo . com, Matt Carroll , Terra Friedrichs, john ford, Ravi Mishra Rene Perez

from Elise...

I would like to thank each and every one of you for connecting, sharing ideas, your passion and desire to make our world, our community a better place. Thank you


Here are tonight's notes:

To access, please create a google account and if I missed notes, feel free to edit. Note: you need a google email account I believe to access the notes. If you can't, please see the notes below. Thank you


  • purpose of meeting

- connect
- $
- how
- needs

  • intros (please insert your answers into the google notes)


- who are you?
- what do you want to do?
- what do you bring to the table?

  • opportunities


- occupy the economy
- take movement to next phase
- education / using media
- close waste / loopholes
- beyond human capital
- full system thinking
- space
- progressive left splinters
- cultural zeitgeist
- taking advantage of "the brand"
- timing, widespread discontent
- lack of jobs
- need-survival
- crisis → obviously not sustainable
- co-ops are better
- hope of freedom from capitalist strategy
- freeing talent
- edge of the earth
- tech skills
- web
- document our experience to guide the next wave
- regionalism
- age of adaption
- solutions to bring to the movement
- grow power by sharing
- freedom from tyranny
- co-ops can start with little money / resources by growing together
- co-creation customers
- status quo no longer an option and its a matter of fact now that we have to do something different
- moment has come where we no longer point to the problems but devise solutions, co-ops, social enterprises to address social problems
- process of innovation and social contribution


  • challenges

- how to structure
- no traditional stake
- “property”
- left splintered / ing


  • tasks


- educate
- fine space to operate
- next meeting?
- find templates/case studies for successful operational models for the group to read/explore


  • Resources


- Terry will send an article about the Mondragon cooperative
- lists of advice and funding shared onsite. see Social Enterprise Group page at the bottom for links. see also below


  • operational models

- models for success
- everyone need separate building or desk, computers, experts


  • talent
  • list of questions for those seeking to start co-ops
  • How to get money by Terry


- most people use money from friends & family, credit cards with 0%
- Boston Community Loan Fund – their job is to make loans to businesses 550 million all over the USA (Boston is one of most progressive ones)
- CDFI – nonprofits set up across USA that make loans to businesses in low income areas, but now anything that creates jobs is OK for them, especially cooperatives
- Terry is a founder of the Social investment $6 billion and loaned to many business only that are socially responsible companies
- we must plug in to the resources that already exist
- start with Boston Community Loan Fundraising
- Mondragon (umbrella to 250 co-ops) makes a loan to start a business always start with a grup of people, they choose a group that gorups chooses a member to get trained to run the business for 2 years and buy enough land around the factory, they person stays for 2 years to put business together


  • what's so beautiful about what they do is no equity, 13%loan interest for first loan, second at 7% and stay with people, down to just giving money. If these fail: management, employees, capital product – they never abandon the original people so if product doesn't work out, they get a new product


- there is a ration of highest paid person (5:1)
- culture of joy so they retain talent
- take priority to common good, create more jobs
- because the workers own the company they aren't afraid of heirarchy (note that we could use different language – hierarchy by process NOT people)
- they gave priority to the social good and that's why they survived
- they treasure talent rather than be threatened by that
- they have their own school, university, you never get fired, when economy is bad, they send you back to school because that is a contribution to the common good
- capital flow is key
- note: doesn't have to be a co-operative as long as it has a priority for the common good
- the millions of people around the world that paid attention to Occupy said we are ready for the next stage of human evolution → we are all in this together, giving priority to the common good it's no longer about capitalism OR socialism (at full maturity that's why people responded)
- the human species is fully ready

  • there are 3 stages:


- outrage first (occupy did it in 2 months, MLK in 10 years)
- unilateral action
- political resolution
- to get this out there, DO IT & pay attention to how you do it
- just how Laurie, Liam, & Elise do it for example


  • we could also do workshops


- Culture is here, occupy is the culture
- Elise mentioned social entrepreneurship and provided resources on it & suggested Boston start something like Mondragon in Boston & a pool of money for social entreprises to start in Boston
- Boston Community Fund can help start a Boston Mondragon & see below for options Stacy provided for other sources of funding


  • Stacy speaks:

- ICA group does consulting & some lending
- cooperative fund of new england & an equity fund
- they have a lot of money that they need to get out (collaterized loans)
- Chomsky says that cooperation is inescapable and fundamental in nature, and we don;t have a choice but to give priority cooperation
- Ghandi: primary intentions is belief, secondary intention and behavior


  • next steps/goals for next meeting:

- to have people talk about their organizations and businesses for ten minutes like Investor Circle in two sections
- one those that are ready: .i.e. Liam, Elise, others to give advice, give feedback, brainstorm
- those that are ideas to start


  • Terra to take a task to find co-ops that need workers & find a way for people that what to offer something, job board
  • education platform (Elise)
  • Stacy has a list of co-ops
  • list resources of books etc, talent matching
  • facilitator for next meeting
  • Terra proposed to get conference room with investors there for people to present or a smaller workshop for co-ops/social business proposals
  • next step: to meet again in 2 weeks for us to talk about our plans or ideas for group feedback
  • set up a doodle poll or email for meeting in 2 weeks


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