SPRING 2025 COHORTS
Applications Open March 1st, 2025 - March 28th, 2025
When does Solid State take in new groups?
Solid State takes in new groups twice per year, our next application season opens March 1st and ends March 28th 11:59pm, chosen groups will be notified on April 18th.
What kind of groups are we looking for at Solid State?
Solid State prioritizes racialized migrant communities, with a focus on refugees, asylum seekers, and first and second generation migrants. Our mission is to help people in these communities build enterprises that create sustainable jobs, working past extractivism and exploitation. Ideally, these will take the form of worker co-ops. If you are not familiar with co-ops, please check out this resource to get a basic introduction: Intro to Co-ops.
For March’s intake, we are planning on selecting up to four groups - we anticipate more demand than we can fill, and a competitive application process. Groups that are not selected in the upcoming intake are encouraged to apply again during the next intake period and to explore becoming a partner organization to Solid State. External partners can still use Solid State’s space and be part of the community, and access support in less formal ways depending on staff capacity.
We will consider non-profits that intend to be grant-supported, if they make a valuable community impact, have a good plan for job creation, and that they incorporate cooperative principles into their organizational structure and governance. Cooperative principles include values like democratic decision-making, member ownership, and shared responsibility, which ensure that the organization operates in a fair and inclusive manner.
What do groups that are selected for development support at Solid State get?
Groups at Solid State are given comprehensive support for establishing their enterprise. We are able to help you from ideation and planning all the way to becoming a successful and sustainable organization, depending on your organization’s needs - including
An 8-week course on the skills needed for worker ownership, including financial, communication, and collective decision-making skills that can serve you throughout your career.
A knowledgeable development team that will help you:
Articulate your purpose, mission, vision, and values.
Develop your brand identity and marketing strategy.
Design your organization's management, governance, legal and decision-making structure and incorporate
Plan, budget, and forecast for financial success
Access fundraising and financing through grants and loans
A supportive network full of connections to potential funders, partners, and clients.
A space to work and access to communal meals with our community.
Spring Cohort Application
Gentle Reminder: We are not looking for perfect answers, but we do encourage you to think about these questions and answer them to the best of your ability. We hope to work with you in further developing these ideas and goals, in a cooperative spirit. “I don’t know but…” is the start of a valid answer.
Applicants can also choose to interview instead of filling out the application below. The interview is based on the questions below but follows a conversational structure.
Contact us.
For any questions or further information please contact:
WeiChun Kua - Coop Developer