Thanks to support from our community – We’ve gone co-op!
Real Pickles is re-writing the standard storyline for a successful organic food business: We’re staying small, independent & locally-owned. We’re securing our social mission for the long-term. We’ve become a worker-owned co-operative! (Read more about it on our blog.)
We are proud to report that in 2013, as part of our plan for transitioning Real Pickles to a worker-owned co-operative, we launched a community investment campaign and successfully raised $500,000 in investments (in only 2 months!).
We want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to the 77 individuals and organizations throughout MA and VT who chose to make an investment – and to countless others for your invaluable words of wisdom and encouragement. We’re so appreciative of all the many ways in which our community has made it possible for Real Pickles to take this exciting step.
Our official transition to a worker-owned cooperative happened May 9th, 2013 … Hurray!!
Interested in other investment opportunities?
It’s become clear in the course of this campaign that there is a significant and growing interest in investing locally and responsibly. We think this is a hugely important trend and want to let you know about some other organizations offering opportunities in our region these days:
- Equity Trust
- Cooperative Fund of New England
- Common Capital‘s Community First Fund
- Co-op Power
Also, Western MA folks interested in local investing opportunities should keep tabs on the Slow Money Pioneer Valley Chapter, a working group of PVGrows. Their mission: “The Slow Money Pioneer Valley Chapter catalyzes community-based investment in the local food system by connecting investors, farmers and entrepreneurs in order to strengthen our local and regional food economy.”
A special thanks to Cutting Edge Capital for their extensive help in developing our community investment campaign. They are assisting many businesses in raising capital from their local communities.
Want to read more?
Here’s a list of posts that have been written during our process and transition. Enjoy!
- Oct 9, 2012: We’re going co-op! (Dan and Addie Rose)
- Dec 12, 2012: Why I want to be a worker-owner… again (Kristin Howard)
- Mar 16, 2013: A community perspective: Keeping it Local! (Margaret Christie)
- Apr 8, 2013: A community perspective: Investing in a better food system! (PV Slow Money Chapter)
- Aug 15, 2013: Real Pickles and the Path to a Co-operative Economy (Erbin Crowell)
- May 13, 2014: One Year as a Co-op (Kristin Howard)
