Carolina Common Enterprise is North Carolina’s cooperative development center. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit providing training and technical assistance to cooperative and community owned businesses across our state. Our approach of “helping people help themselves” supports community-based entrepreneurs to address local economic and social needs through a mutually owned enterprise.

Cooperatives are people-centered enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realize their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations.

A cooperative strategy allows communities to exercise greater control over their own economic circumstances. Any co-op is at root a business that is owned and democratically controlled by the people who directly benefit from its activities. “Co-opreneurship” supports individual wealth creation and economic assets that are anchored in their communities. Rather than extracting wealth for the benefit of private capital, co-ops recirculate money locally.

Here’s a glimpse of what we offer:

Webinars and community information sessions on cooperative models
Study Circles: small group learning tailored to your audience (residents, entrepreneurs, or youth)
Train-the-Trainer Study Circle Certification: equipping your team to educate and inspire others about co-ops
Ongoing support for groups exploring the feasibility of launching cooperatives
Networking opportunities with a statewide ecosystem of emerging and established co-ops

One inspiring example is The Front Porch Grocery Co-op in Warrenton, NC — a Black-led initiative formed to restore access to fresh, local food in a rural area that lost its last full-service grocery store. This effort is being guided through our co-op development pipeline and is a prime example of community-led economic self-determination in action. Follow their progress on Facebook – http://www.facbook.com/thefrontporchcoop

Why this matters to your mission:

We believe that the communities you serve deserve to know all their options when it comes to business ownership, housing, food access, and legacy building. Cooperatives can be a powerful pathway for:

First time organizers
Families facing housing instability
Employers exploring business succession
Communities seeking to retain wealth locally