good for you,
good for
your community.

Cooperative enterprises are solutions for community development. That’s why Carolina Common Enterprise (CCE) focuses on co-ops that address unemployment, poverty and other issues struggling small, rural and urban communities face across the Southeast.

Get to know the experts who can help your co-op startup get off the ground.

there’s a
better way
to do
business.

Employee-owned enterprises bring — and keep — quality jobs in rural, small and urban communities. When employees are literally invested in a company’s success, that business is stronger. Cooperative enterprises also tend to give back directly by investing locally.

Whether you want to start a co-op or convert an existing business into a cooperative enterprise, let us guide you through the process. We’ll work with you to find funding sources, build a structure for your enterprise, provide legal advice that’s right for you, and more.

Find out what we can do for you.

preserve your legacy,
sustain your community

Violin illustration

Electric Violin Shop

Blaise Kielar is the founder and former owner of Electric Violin Shop (EVS) in Durham, North Carolina, a small company which does business globally.

The shop is known for being a top source of high-quality amplification gear and expertise for bowed string instrument players since 1978.

Shop illustration

When Blaise was ready to retire, he sold his ownership interest in the business to three longtime employees. They restructured EVS into a worker-owned cooperative.

Learn how other businesses have worked with CCE to preserve their legacies by becoming co-ops.

“As employees it’s exciting not only to take ownership but also to be able to extend cooperative owner-membership to new employees as our company expands. Thomas Beckett, executive director at Carolina Common Enterprise, was instrumental in guiding the early co-op formation and connecting us with lenders.”

– Chris Guin, Electric Violin Shop

take the first step!

Schedule a free consultation

upcoming events

We enjoy sharing information about cooperative enterprises. You’ll find us presenting and participating in local and national events. Come find us and chat about the positive impact co-ops make.

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news and announcements

Interships!

Paying it forward is a big part of what we do! We provide meaningful paid  internships to grow the future of co-ops.

If you’re a college student interested in working in cooperative development, let us know.