August 2022 Newsletter
Join our Members’ Coffee Chat in September
Thank you to Members who joined our first virtual coffee chat in August. It was great to meet you all. We look forward to hosting this informal meet-and-greet and discussion space each month. In September, we will host the chat at 10am PT/1pm ET on Friday September 16th. You’re invited to register for this event here on our website. See you soon!
August Webinar: An Update on Farmer Debt Relief Provision in American Rescue Plan Act with Dãnia Davy
We are excited to join Federation of Southern Cooperatives’ Dãnia Davy who will be presenting an Update on Farmer Debt Relief Provision in American Rescue Plan Act on August 25th at 10am PT/1pm ET. The USDA administered program had begun distributing debt forgiveness offers to farmers subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice, but the program has been enjoined by multiple courts following lawsuits by white farmers alleging “reverse discrimination”. You can read the full event description and register on our website.
Our members-only recordings library has been updated and includes links to our past webinars.
Currently, CPG offers California CLE credit for qualifying webinars. If you’d like to help us offer CLE credit in other states, please email Sarah Kaplan at the Webinar Circle: sarah@cuttingedgecounsel.com.
CPG is incorporating and growing
CPG Stewardship Circle members (formerly the Steering Committee) circulated draft Articles of Incorporation which we intend to file in the following weeks. Stewardship Circle members also approved a purpose statement for the organization, which reads as follows:
"The Guild aspires to a world where cooperatives contribute to shared prosperity among all peoples - particularly marginalized communities - consistent with their economic needs, social and cultural values, and geographic realities, unhampered by oppression. We envision a world in which people, land, and water are respected and cared for."
Next steps for incorporation include approving our draft purpose statement and Bylaws, and applying for 501(c)(3) status.
Save the date: USFWC Conference on September 9-10 in Philadelphia and online
The Guild is presenting at the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops conference on Sep. 9-10, 2022. We’re working with Sustainable Economies Law Center to develop a day-long training track on co-creating solidarity; please email Valeria Gheorghiu at valerialexiag@gmail.com if you'd like to get involved. We’re also sponsoring a Guild get-together at the event. We hope to see you there!
Getting involved with the Cooperative Professionals Guild
The Cooperative Professionals Guild is a growing network of co-op professionals created by us, for us. We’re currently volunteer-run. If you’re interested in being part of growing and shaping this group, you’re welcome to listen in on, or join, one of our governance circles:
Members of these circles may also join the Stewardship Circle (formerly the Steering Committee), which is spearheading CPG’s incorporation process and development.
Contribute to the CPG Newsletter and Blog
We always welcome content suggestions and guest contributors. Please email pacyinz@gmail.com with your ideas or interest in being a guest contributor. We welcome content related to cooperatives, including:
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Events;
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Job postings;
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Opinion pieces;
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Materials related to governance models;
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Intersection of co-op issues and race, LGBTQIA, different physical abilities, neurodivergence, sustainability, and other equity, inclusion issues;
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International news;
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Creative submissions, including poetry, photography and other arts that you might to share; and
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Recognition of your or other cooperative professionals’ achievements.
Thanks for your participation in the Guild!
Your interim Stewardship Circle coordinators, Thomas Beckett and Therese Tuttle, and Membership Circle members Kathy Gregg, Pacyinz Lyfoung and Paola Eisner.
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Have questions?
Please contact us at guildquestion@professionals.coop
How to Log In to the Guild's Website.
If you haven't logged in to our new website yet, give it try. The site has members-only content and members-only functionalities that you can only access when you are logged in as a member. To log in, click on the little blue person icon in the upper right-hand corner of the home page (or any page) and enter your password (or click 'Forgot password' to request a new one). Your password was sent to you from "Coop Professionals Guild <Coopguild@wildapricot.org>" on March 13 if you were already a member then, otherwise it was emailed to you shortly after you first registered.