Cooperatives Summit 2024 in Syracuse, NY on Saturday May 4th

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - March 24, 2024 - PRLog -- Our collaboration of cooperators invites everyone interested in democratic ownership and control to celebrate at the 2024 Cooperative Summit. This is a day for cooperators – start-ups or conversions, consumer or worker, marketing or purchasing, agriculture or electric, food or financial, housing or anyone else curious about how the cooperative model works.

Whether you are new to the idea of cooperative ownership or an experienced cooperator, we invite you to join us in networking, learning together, and envisioning using the cooperative model to save legacy businesses, provide for social and racial equity by reducing wealth and income gaps, and create resilient communities today and into the future.

The Summit will take place at the South Side Innovation Center (southsideinnovation.org) in Syracuse, N.Y. on Saturday, May 4th, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Summit attendees can choose between several breakout sessions throughout the day to learn about co-op start-ups 101, democratic governance practices, worker cooperatives and transition of legacy businesses, co-op financials and financing/lending, and franchising and model replication. Speakers and panelists will share their experiences and welcome questions, including keynote speakers Jay Ward from Ward Lumber who converted his third generation family-owned business in the Adirondacks to a worker cooperative, and Micah from the Good Work Institute about his work as part of a worker self-directed nonprofit organization based in the Mahicantuck / Hudson Valley.

"In 2012 and 2013, a volunteer committee convened cooperative members and organizers from across New York State in Syracuse to meet and share their work with each other. 50 people came the first year and over 100 the second year, to hear panelists and participate in workshops. Now a decade after these first gatherings, cooperative energy around the state has grown in many ways", committee member Frank Cetera shares as to the genesis of this year's event.

Registration is open and available for a sliding scale fee starting at $zero dollars. Registration covers all sessions, snacks and coffee/tea throughout the day, and a lunch buffet. Sponsorships are being solicited to support budget costs and provide organizations access to participants and exposure.  Attendee and sponsor registration are available at https://2023cooperativesummit.org/registration/.