Friends of Common Shares,

It was a busy Spring for us and we are finally stopping by with a report back and some exciting news! 

First, Common Shares has been selected for Virginia Commonwealth University’s 2026 Thriving Communities Research Pilot Grant in collaboration with Victor Chen, a VCU Associate Professor of Sociology. This $25,000 award will support a cross-sector Virginia cooperative needs assessment and regional ecosystem mapping events. Please let us know if you would like to be involved as a volunteer! This will be a huge lift and we will take all the help we can get.

Second, we have been working on amplifying the knowledge among us. Read on for a report on two events focused on sharing local knowledge we held in May: Cooperative Connections: Community Ownership Through Cooperatives in the Shenandoah Valley and our first Free Co-op Legal Cafe with Sam Gray Law, P.C.

Then, mark your calendars for our upcoming Free Co-op Legal Cafes on August 14th and October 22 (more information below). Additional programming for 2026 will be announced soon!

In solidarity,

The Common Shares Team

CO-OP LEGAL COUNCIL FOR ALL

First legal cafe down! Thank you to Sam for hosting Common Shares’ first free co-op legal cafe, and a second thanks to CHW Strength and Eleanor’s Norfolk for joining us for a great conversation. Check out our upcoming dates and sign up below. These are first-come, first-serve opportunities to ask your co-op legal questions, and will be hosted "fishbowl" style, meaning, everyone will have the chance to listen in and benefit from the knowledge being shared. 

In-person Free Legal Cafe

August 14, 3-5 pm, Afterglow Cafe, Richmond, VA

Virtual Free Legal Cafe

October 22, 9-10:30 am, On Zoom (link will be shared the week of the event)

COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Thank you to those who joined us in Harrisonburg, and to the VSU Small Farm Educational Outreach Program for your collaboration in bringing this event to life. We heard from VAFAIRS about cooperative development, and screened the Life in the Heartland’s episode about worker cooperatives around the state. Then, five Shenandoah Valley cooperators shared about their membership structures, their governance and decision making practices, and the broader impact of co-ops in our regions. 

Many additional thanks are due! First, a big shout out to our presenters and panelists: Tony Banks (Virginia Foundation for Agriculture Innovation and Research), Jonathan McRay (Silver Run Forest Farm and Mycena Agroforestry Initiative), Steve Cooke (Friendly City Food Cooperative), Lara Mack (Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative), Adam Ford (Rockingham Cooperative) and John King (Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative).

Thank you to Deep Structure Productions for producing this excellent episode AND for joining us at the event! And thank you to our event supporters: Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative hosted us, Virginia Language Justice Collective provided interpretation and translation, and Raices Social and Video provided photography and videography. 

Last but not least, thank you to our sponsors and funders: Virginia FAIRS, the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the EPA.

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS AND RESOURCES FROM OTHER ORGANIZERS

One goal for these newsletters is to highlight other co-op and solidarity economy educators and newsletters that share great resources. All are free or offer sliding scale pricing.

Upcoming events in July and August:

AORTA Co-op (facilitated in English)

• Facilitate for Freedom, Aug 20, 10am - 1pm EST (Sliding scale)

• Crash Course on Facilitating Decision Making, Aug 25, 7-9pm EST (Sliding scale)

• Intro to Mediation and Conflict Work, Aug 26, 12-3pm EST (Sliding scale)

Prospera (facilitated in Spanish)

• Lanza tu Cooperativa 2026, Thursdays for 8 weeks starting July 23 from 8-11pm EST (FREE)

• Cómo hacer marketing efectivo para pequeños negocios, Aug 5, 9-11pm EST (FREE)

• Vende con confianza: tu sistema paso a paso, Aug 12, 9-11pm EST (FREE)

• Transformar el conflicto en confianza con la Comunicación no-violenta, Aug 19, 9-11pm EST (FREE)

Sociocracy for All (facilitated in English)

• Roadmap to Implement Sociocracy, Aug 6, 11-12pm EST (FREE)

• Sociocracy for Human Organizations, Aug 6, 12-1pm EST (FREE)

Spring Up Cooperative (facilitated in English)

• Webinar: Unpacking Anti-Blackness + Interrupting Deference as Under-Accountability, July 31, 5-6:20pm EST (Sliding scale)

• Day-long virtual retreat: Transformative Justice, Aug 7, 12-5:30pm (Sliding scale)

Great newsletters to sign up for:

• Start.coop (in English)

• New Economy Coalition (in English)

• Grassroots Economic Organizing (in English)

Know of a newsletter or cooperative or organization that provides great educational materials in English and/or in Spanish? Let us know and we will include it here!