ChiCommons Statement of Values

Our Values

Accountability

We pledge to our communities, clients, and to each other to be accountable for our actions and for keeping our commitments. We pledge to view our actions in the broad context of building the solidarity economy, including its social, political, and ecological aspects. We pledge to use accountability for constructive purposes and to support each other and our community. We invite the community to call us out when we fall short.

Balance

Our organization strives for harmony. We value our work with the rest of the solidarity economy, aim to provide our owners with a work-life balance, and share our labor and our profits. Tensions are a natural outcome of working together. We aim to learn how to resolve such tensions cooperatively. We hope to create a space where everyone feels safe and supported and contributes to the same.

Beyond Work

As a cooperative we want our time together to foster creative play. Our efforts are opportunities to build and maintain joyous social connection.

Cooperation and Connectivity

We aim to serve and strengthen the solidarity economy and other communities in which we participate. We work in service of building relationships and growing community.

Diversity

We recognize differences among our members as a source of vitality and strength. Within our organization, we seek to broaden who we are as a body of members. We will actively resist the tendency to sameness in forms of personal identity and capacity represented among us.

Fairness

Cooperatives are an essential alternative organizational structure in our society. We are a cooperative because we believe in consent-based decision-making and that the profits of our organization should be equitably distributed. Our dedication to fairness does not end in our cooperative agreement, but rather extends to every part of our enterprise.

Inclusion

We strive to welcome everyone committed to our vision to join our community. Manifesting our values will require people with a wide variety of skillsets and lived experiences. We take proactive steps to make our diverse, asynchronous organization work for everyone. This welcome is particularly addressed to members of historically marginalized communities. As far as possible, we will offer accessibility for those needing particular accomodation. Examples include English as a second language, unfamiliarity with ownershop practices, adjustments for those with physical or cognitive impairments, and other situations such as neurodivergence.

Learning and Teaching

We commit to continuous learning and mutual education. This includes polishing and upgrading our work skills, teaching each other, and learning how to better cooperate with each other, our clients, and the larger community. Continually improving our capacity to cooperate is an essential aspect of building the solidarity economy.

Multi-stakeholder Organization

Multi-stakeholder organizations are characterized by the opportunity for a variety of interested and affected groups and individuals to be included as owners. We prefer this to solely either a worker or consumer cooperative structure. We currently have both worker and consumer ownership classes and have provided for other ownership classes such as producers. We value multi-stakeholder organization because it is more democratic and helps us be more connected and responsive within our surrounding communities. We support development of multi-stakeholder organizations, particularly in the solidarity economy ecosystem.

Respect

As an organization dedicated to its owners and the community, we work to ensure that everyone feels respected. We seek to create spaces where everyone feels welcome and can carry out our work in ways that maintain our community.

Service

Our organization aims to provide prompt, helpful client-focused collaborations rather than purely transactional consumer relationships. Beyond our business activities, we work with the community to facilitate the non-commercial exchange of assets. We will actively participate in community projects centered around the solidarity economy.

Transparency

We commit to honesty and directness and to avoid deception and manipulation with each other, with our clients, and in our participation in the larger community.