Our Values

Where we

• See cooperative values in action in everything that we do
• Are supportive of emerging cooperatives who are working to strengthen communities and people of color
• Support a livable wage + a little something extra to enjoy life (helpful tool is SELC and the MIT fair compensation calculator)
• Act for the overall good of CW and community
• Join other coops and leverage their services
• See the investment into the co-op as investment in ourselves
• Increase investment into social safety net that allows people to actively participate without living or staying in precarious conditions eg paying rent, food, economic safety
• Help members to build sustainable social safety nets for themselves
• Share opportunities
• Cultivate and foster a sense of belonging
• Have a commitment to shared aims

Where we

• Foster mastermind-style experiences
• Have a culture of continuous learning and education where we consistently develop knowledge and skills that improve our work as human beings and a co-op
• Address obstacles to engagement and participation - whether technical, personal, or otherwise
• Make a commitment to learning and growing
• Discuss current affairs, laws and policy issues, to keep current and engaged
• Encourage constructive criticism
• Actively study techniques & implements practices to improve our social and working relationships
• Seek out and use feedback
• Are open to having our own assumptions challenged without feeling personally
  attacked (creating safe space for that introspective process)
• Encourage each other, personally and as a group

Where we

• Are open and curious
• Empower each other as much as possible to engage and lead
• Question the status quo and remain open to change
• Deal with challenges in the right place
• Don't take for each other and things for granted
• Take leaps of faith or have a sense of when a decision is good enough - have a healthy openness/tolerance for taking risks
• Support healing and restoration during and after conflict

Where we

• Assume good intentions
• Are honest with each other
• Show respect to everyone
• Give everyone time to speak
• Encourage open communication
• Think and act in terms of each other
• Give each other the benefit of the doubt
• Are patient with peoples' areas of development
• Are kind and patient

Where we

• Follow agreements; not start new every time
• Take responsibility for our actions and the consequences of those actions
• With conflict, begin with a clear set of agreements, that we can hold ourselves accountable to so we can engage in a productive discussion from a place of trust
• Address conflict directly
• Discourage gain at the expense of others
• Deal with challenges in the right place--one-on-one, smaller circle, larger circle
• Employ generative conflict to move the group forward
• Are constructive without being critical
• Encourage mutual accountability - shared agenda for change such as focus on the effects/impact of behavior despite good intentions, and work to repair any harm caused; put relationships ahead of the need to be right or be perceived as a “good person.”
• Trust that people will do what they say they will do

Where we

• Take pride in the work that we do and do meaningful work that benefits others and is not paying peanuts
• Find the right balance and boundaries and a system, between being responsive to emergencies, eg, housing crisis of client and not working 24/7 leading to burn out
• Believe that how we do the work is as important as the work we do itself
• Streamline operations and healthy work culture
• Respond to requests for input
• Are a valuable and preferred partner for people, entities, communities and
  funders/financiers that work with us.

Where we

• Celebrate success and good news consistently
• Celebrate milestones no matter the size or importance
• Celebrate wins, good news, and achievements at every meeting,
• Recognize people for their particular contributions
• Have an internal board post of coop member news, eg, upcoming workshops or events
• Have regular game time or fun time