Staff Highlights from 2023

2023 was a year of growth, evolution, and connection at FCI. Our programs, from FCI Live and the Up & Coming Conference to our Peer Learning Groups Program all grew. More startup co-ops than ever are participating in our programs, we brought in new expert presenters, and deepened and expanded many of our partnerships. And, internally, we navigated our major leadership transition as Stuart Reid retired and Faye took the helm. With the Board, we conducted a robust strategic planning process, building alignment and a shared vision for our future. While there are so many moments that stand out, here are three of our highlights from the year:

Staff, Board, & Fundraising Committee members at CCMA
Staff & Board at the Up & Coming Conference

Mychaela: Our 2023 fundraising campaign season saw several firsts. We had 14 new food co-ops donate to our Full Circle campaign, many of them including us in their Round Up program, patronage rebate, and making multi-year commitments. Our Board launched a first-ever matching campaign (happening now!). And, for the first time, our Board’s fundraising committee invited expert cooperators from the community to join our outreach and extend their P6 support. Cooperation works in many ways, and being a part of a community that supports, encourages and lifts each other up has been an amazing highlight this year.

JQ: Our FCI Peer Learning Groups Program relaunches each fall with startups voluntarily signing up to participate. So many startups, a record number of them, not only signed up to take part in the community and learning our peer learning program offers them, but also included notes about how they feel the peer groups are central to their success and that they’ve encouraged every other startup they’ve met to join them. That really made my year. 

Faye: I had the chance throughout the year to meet some of the people in this inspiring startup community, but nothing compared to the first day of Up & Coming. I will never forget watching hundreds of cooperators glide down the escalator calling out names of people they knew, cheering, smiling, taking it all in. The energy that day was palpable, and for me in my first year here, it made what we do at FCI feel real and grounded in people. That sense of community I felt that day is what keeps me going!

Additional Gratitude & Photo Credit: The photo above of FCI staff & Board and all of the other fabulous photos we’ve been sharing from this year’s Up & Coming Conference were taken by Troy Freund. Thank you, Troy, for capturing the warmth and excitement at Up & Coming so beautifully!

Startup UPDATES & Celebrations

Wasatch Cooperative Market's future home & members gathered at their annual fall member meeting!

Suncoast Co-op Market – GM hired – Suncoast, located in Imperial Beach, CA, has announced the hiring of their first GM who will lead their store opening! Doug Zilm  comes to them with over two decades of experience working in food co-ops in roles from stocker, to IT manager, to purchasing lead, to board member, to manager.  

Three Sisters Market – GM hired – The Three Sisters Market, a startup food co-op  in Charlotte, NC announced some big news in November - the hiring of Janiqua Jackson as their GM! Jackson, who most recently served as the Operations Manager at the Durham Co-op Market, will lead the co-op in its work to prepare for their opening in 2026, as well as open the store as its founding GM. 

Wasatch Cooperative Market – Capital campaign launched – The Wasatch startup leadership team in Salt Lake City, UT, has kicked off the first push of their owner capital campaign raise with a goal of $250,000 raised in owner investments by December 31st to move construction on their site forward. As of December 7th they are only $45,000 short of that goal! 

Detroit People’s Food Co-op – Hiring opening team – As of mid-December the DPFC interim GM, Chris Dilley, is now hiring for all of the co-op’s operational managers in departments like deli, produce, and center store. This startup is aiming to be open in early 2024! 

Upcoming Events & WORKSHOPS

Kick off the New Year with FCI LIVE!

Registration for the 2024 FCI Live webinar series opens December 28^th and we’ve got 20 unique sessions with 100% new-to-FCI-Live content at $0 cost coming your way - specifically tailored to the needs of those organizing startup food cooperatives!

What will the session topics be? Here are a few sneak peeks:

• Community organizing is an art and practice that has been at the center of the building of startup food co-ops that have gotten open. Darnell Adams will lead a panel discussion on the questions of what it truly is and how startups should be utilizing it.
• Does launching a custom app for your startup make sense? The Rooted Carrot Co-op and their app developer will join us to tell their story of creating and utilizing a public-facing app for their startup.
• Capital sources for opening a startup food co-op have radically changed over the last five years. What is the role of a loan from a bank or fund in the new capital-stack-normal of startup food co-ops? Is there one? Lenders from two cooperative funds will share their insights.
• National Black Food and Justice Alliance’s work is rooted in growing Black food sovereignty and they’ve chosen to invest a significant amount of their efforts in nurturing Black-led food cooperatives, Co-Executive Director, Dr. Jasmine Jackson will share why they see this work as one important way to grow Black food futures.

FCI IS IN THE NEWS!

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