The Making of a Democratic Economy: How to build prosperity for the many

Registration

Join Ted Howard and Michelle Baldwin to learn about inclusive economic development and explore ways that local policy and funding strategies can support such projects.

Ted will share his successful experience with the "Cleveland Model" which is a model of large-scale worker- and community-benefiting enterprises where low-income neighbourhoods, anchor institutions, community foundations and local governments can work together to build an inclusive economy.

Michelle will moderate the discussion to help us better understand the model and start envisioning real opportunities.

This event will also be an opportunity to learn more about Ted's new book called

The Making of a Democratic Economy- Building Prosperity for the Many, Not Just the Few

"A clarion call for a movement ready to get serious about transforming our economic system. Illuminating the principles of a democratic economy through the stories of on-the-ground community wealth builders and their unlikely accomplices in the halls of institutional power, this book is a must-read for everyone concerned with how we win the fight for an economy that’s equitable, not extractive."

Ted Howard is the Co-founder and President of The Democracy Collaborative. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Economic Alternatives. He is the architect of the green jobs and wealth-building program in Cleveland, Ohio, known as the Evergreen Cooperatives, based in part on the Mondragon Cooperatives in the Basque Region of Spain. Characterized in press accounts as "The Cleveland Model," Evergreen is an effort to create green jobs in low-income neighbourhoods using the purchasing power of the City's anchor institutions (hospitals, universities, etc.) to create local worker cooperative businesses.

Michelle Baldwin is the Executive Director of Pillar Nonprofit Network and helped to co-create Innovation Works and VERGE Capital in London, Ontario. She is a firm believer that nonprofits are integral to our community and that business, government and nonprofit sectors must work collaboratively to strengthen it. In the development of Innovation Works a 32,000 sq ft co-working space for social innovators, Michelle was involved in bringing innovative social finance tools including a 1 million dollar community bond and 1.2 million in social finance loans to make the project possible.