Thank you for being part of Land, Labor, and Local Wealth: A Funder’s Introduction to Community Ownership in California. Whether you were with us live or are coming to it now, the recording, a recap, and resources are below.

What We Covered

This webinar was designed as a 101 for funders on community ownership—an introduction to land and worker ownership as related strategies within a broader ecosystem, and what philanthropy is learning from each.

Juan Reynoso of the California Wellness Foundation opened by noting that funders of all types are increasingly being asked by community and nonprofit partners to explore community ownership as a funding strategy. Community ownership, he said, gives people greater control over the places where they live, the businesses where they work, and the wealth those assets generate. He also grounded the conversation historically: many cultures and communities have long organized their economic lives around shared ownership and mutual responsibility, and Indigenous groups and tribal nations have long collectively held and managed land. At the core of these approaches are three questions—who owns the assets in a community, who benefits from them, and how that value stays rooted.

Vanessa Bransburg of the Democracy at Work Institute framed shared ownership as a concrete form for communities to practice democratic decision-making in ways that affect their material lives. She defined worker cooperatives by three characteristics: ownership shared among workers, control of the business by worker-owners, and benefit flowing to them. California has approximately 127 worker cooperatives. Drawing on research DAWI conducted with Project Equity, she described three categories of elements a durable cooperative ecosystem needs—essential building blocks, elements that accelerate growth, and the culture and education work that normalizes the form—and noted these work dynamically rather than as a checklist. She underscored that interest in worker ownership is rising, and leaders on the ground are seeking philanthropic support first to assess their ecosystem and then to operationalize a plan.

Camille Llanes-Fontanilla traced her path from Somos Mayfair in East San Jose, where immigrant parents pushed the organization to become a cooperative developer. At Sobrato Philanthropies, worker ownership was not originally a call-out in the portfolio; as the strategy evolved into a place-based “thriving communities” approach, the data pointed there. More than 65% of working-age residents in their priority communities are employed, but only 40% can afford to live there, and an estimated 40,000-plus businesses employing nearly 500,000 people across Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Alameda counties could be lost to the silver tsunami. Her team’s emerging employee ownership portfolio invests in place-based work, technical assistance and capacity, and statewide policy, and she noted that a path to scale also requires capital. She invited funders to join the statewide learning community that Sobrato is launching with Cal Wellness and Irvine, convened by Asset Funders Network California, kicking off October 22.

Emily Duma of Common Counsel Foundation described the Community Ownership for Community Power Fund, created in 2022 with $10 million and built directly from organizations on the ground that organized and partnered with funders. In the models it supports, land is owned and stewarded collectively while individuals and families retain control of their homes, ensuring permanent affordability. Over four years, COCP has moved over $6.6 million to 31 organizations statewide, mostly as multi-year core operating support. Partners now steward over 1,000 units of permanently affordable housing, a 22% increase over three years ago, alongside a 42% increase in partner staffing and budgets that grew well beyond COCP’s own contributions. Common Counsel then spent two and a half years with 14 grantee partners designing a $25 million community-governed integrated capital fund that raises debt at 0 to 2% and deploys it into acquisitions statewide. Partners designed the financial products, selected the CDFI partners, and sit on the governing board and credit committee. Close to $7 million has been committed, including a $1 million zero-percent PRI from The California Wellness Foundation. She emphasized that funders can connect to local, regional, and statewide strategies, and that there are creative ways to deploy both grants and investment capital to support this work.

Key Takeaways for Funders

There is an entry point for every funder. This work requires a layered ecosystem, and no one needs an existing community ownership portfolio to contribute usefully. No single institution can hold an ecosystem by itself.

Fund organizational capacity for multiple years, and be clear-eyed about the timeline. Multi-year core operating support was the through-line across both the land and labor sides, and its effects compound. Developing a cooperative business means developing the people, the governance, and the market connections, which does not fit a single grant cycle. Funders should expect to walk alongside organizations for years, especially in rural communities, and not expect one quick investment to produce results overnight.Set featured image

Move capital, not only grants. Few funds have historically been friendly to cooperative development, and scale in employee ownership will not materialize unless funders invest the capital to make it possible. In community loan funds, the instruments that matter are grants, recoverable grants, investment capital, and guarantees.

Fund the ecosystem, not only individual organizations. That means regional and statewide infrastructure, technical assistance, and the players who can shift policy and capital practice. The gap is sharpest in rural California, where providers who can do both business development and organizing are scarce, as are bookkeepers and attorneys who specialize in cooperative forms. In the Bay Area and Los Angeles, real estate agents already understand community land ownership structures and CDFIs are designated to lend. That enabling infrastructure has to be built where it does not yet exist.

Let community partners design and govern. In COCP’s integrated capital fund, partners designed the financial products, selected the CDFIs, and hold seats on the governing board and credit committee. The same principle shaped the San Joaquin Valley landscape scan behind the $1 million COCP deployed to Valley organizations, which used Valley-based consultants and was built by and for the Valley rather than authored by funders.

Focused strategies work better than broad ones. Aligning with ecosystems organized around a specific industry or a specific policy objective produces more traction than general support. One caution for funders tracking legislative wins: passing a program is not the same as resourcing it, and when state programs are underfunded, organizations on the ground cannot implement and the field does not reach scale.

Widen the lens to include tribal communities and Land Back. Tribal communities across California have been doing this work for a long time and have not always been seen as part of this conversation. Being in right relationship with those projects belongs in the lens.

Ways to Go Deeper

California worker ownership funder learning community — October 22, 1:30–3:00 p.m. PT. A statewide learning community of California funders working on worker and employee ownership, convened by Asset Funders Network with support from the California Wellness Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and Sobrato Philanthropies. You do not need an employee ownership portfolio to belong. Sign up: The California Worker Ownership Funder Learning Community: Launch Convening

Community Ownership and Equitable Land Access — September 24, 2:00–3:30 p.m. PT. Part of the San Joaquin Valley Funders’ Collaborative, the Equitable Land Access Working Group is a space for funders to share ideas, connect, and align support for community ownership of land, housing, and other resources. All funders welcome. Contact Diana Williams at diana@fundersnetwork.org.

Resources

Land, Labor, and Local Wealth was co-hosted by Asset Funders Network California and TFN’s Smart Growth California, in partnership with Philanthropy California.