Cooperation Jackson needs your help raising $500,000 for our Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) and the Chokwe Lumumba Center for Economic Democracy and Development (the Lumumba Center).
Cooperation Jackson is on the move! We are working diligently to advance the work of the Jackson-Kush Plan, despite our loss of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba
We have been busy since the Jackson Rising: New Economies Conference, establishing the institutional and operating structures of Cooperation Jackson, and systematically building cooperative enterprises.
We have launched two major initiatives to establish a firm foundation for our future: The Chokwe Lumumba Center for Economic Democracy and Development and the Sustainable Communities Initiative.
The Chokwe Lumumba Center for Economic Democracy and Development (Lumumba Center) was acquired by Cooperation Jackson on October 16th, 2014. The Lumumba Center will serve as the organizing and administrative base for Cooperation Jackson. It will also house Nubia’s Place, a café named in honor of the late Nubia Lumumba, and serve as the operating base for Freedom Farm Cooperative, our Urban Farming initiative. The Lumumba Center is scheduled to be fully operational and open by January 1st, 2015.
The Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) will build an “Eco-village” in West Jackson, composed of a Housing complex and a Cooperative Business Complex that will be situated on our Community Land Trust (CLT) and developed by our Community Development Corporation (CDC). The objective of SCI is to create dozens of living wage “green jobs” in West Jackson and long-term affordable housing for the working peoples of the community that will defend them against displacement and gentrification.
YOUR SUPPORT IS ESSENTIAL
In order to build the Lumumba Center and advance the Sustainable Communities Initiative forward we need your help. In order to make the Lumumba Center, including Nubia’s Place, fully functional and to acquire and complete the first phase of repairs and redevelopment work needed to turn the vacant lots and abandoned homes in West Jackson that we are trying to purchase into an “Eco-Village” and Urban Farming cooperative, we need to raise $500,000 over the course of the next 3 months.
These funds will specifically pay for and/or support the following:
- Purchasing and repairing vacant lots, abandoned homes and commercial buildings that will be held and organized by our Community Land Trust (CTL).
- Purchasing infrastructure, equipment, and seed to start our Urban Farm and Composting operations, including the purchasing of materials for hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic agricultural and fishing production.
- The overhaul of the Lumumba Center, including rewiring the building, putting in new floors, upgrading the restrooms, painting the interior and exterior of the building, purchasing and installing solar panels, purchasing furniture and operation equipment, and installing an entertainment system and multi-media center.
- The design and establishment of Nubia’s Place Café, including expanding the entrances to the café, purchasing additional food prep and operating equipment, installing an entertainment center, purchasing tables and chairs for the lounge areas, and start-up capital.
HOW YOU CAN CONTIRBUTE
You can help by:
- Making a generous donation to our Sustainable Communities Initiative and/or the Lumumba Centerhttps://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=544a9d29e4b022d34dfc9269
- Help us secure financial support from progressive Foundations
- Help recruit major donors and socially responsible and environmentally conscious investors to financially support and help champion these (and other) initiatives
Organize a local chapter of the Friends of Cooperation Jackson. The Friends of Cooperation Jackson is a solidarity and support vehicle to help Cooperation Jackson raise funds, secure investors, promote the organization, build markets, and build national and international networks to advance our mission and accomplish our goals.
You can also help by becoming a regular Sustainer of Cooperation Jackson and support our general operating budget by making recurring donations on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.
To start a Friends of Cooperation Jackson chapter or to become a Sustainer contact us atCooperationJackson@gmail.com.
THE TIME IS NOW!
We have a major opportunity to transform the local economy and social relations by building a cooperative network on the scale and scope of Mondragon, a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain with 289 business and cooperatives and over 80,000 employees. .
To seize the opportunity and become the Mondragon of the south, we need your support. The Lumumba Center and the Sustainable Communities Initiative are two of the bold, but critical first steps we taking to build economic democracy in Jackson. But, they will not reach their potential without your support.
Please donate today and help us raise the $500,000 we need to open the Lumumba Center and purchase the properties needed to establish the Sustainable Communities Initiative. You can donate using this link:https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=544a9d29e4b022d34dfc9269.
You can also write a check or money order to “Cooperation Jackson”, note in the memo “SCI” or “Lumumba Center”. Mail the check to Cooperation Jackson, P.O. Box 1932, Jackson, MS 39215. For more information visit https://www.CooperationJackson.org.
Spread the word! And thank you for you time, effort, and support.
Cooperation Jackson
October 30, 2014
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In Unity and Struggle,
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