In 2024, Cleveland Owns began delving into the realm of cooperative housing because we know decommodified housing is key to building the solidarity economy. We believe Clevelanders deserve the chance to get out of the rat race of spiraling unaffordability and instead live in at-cost housing they manage for themselves, on their own terms. Plus there is a rich history of co-op housing in Cleveland we wanted to bring forward to point the way.
Read MoreCleveland Owns
Power through collective ownership
About Us
We know that in racial capitalism, ownership matters, so we're organizing multiracial, grassroots cooperatives that enable member owners to build wealth and power. We're working towards a Cleveland owned by its residents.
What we do
We support groups of workers and neighbors as they seeks to turn what they have into what they need to demand their share of the region’s prosperity.
Today we support five cornerstone cooperatives working in clean energy, food access, and digital access, and collective purchasing. We also work for deeper democracy in the public sector, where we co-lead PB CLE, a coalition of 50+ organizations calling on Cleveland City Council to enable residents to allocate $30 million in ARPA funds using participatory budgeting.
The common thread for all our work is deep democracy through collective ownership and, in the case of the PB CLE, collective stewardship of public money -- economic democracy.
Today we support five cornerstone cooperatives working in clean energy, food access, and digital access, and collective purchasing. We also work for deeper democracy in the public sector, where we co-lead PB CLE, a coalition of 50+ organizations calling on Cleveland City Council to enable residents to allocate $30 million in ARPA funds using participatory budgeting.
The common thread for all our work is deep democracy through collective ownership and, in the case of the PB CLE, collective stewardship of public money -- economic democracy.
Celebrating 5 years of Cleveland Owns!
May 4, 2024. Photos by Mark Silverberg, unless otherwise noted
Check out Fox 8's coverage of Cleveland Owns' work building community-owned solar in East Cleveland!
Our lead organizer Jonathan Welle and partners in East Cleveland shared our plan to build a solar array owned by the community. Read more on our blog!
Blog
The Democracy Beyond Elections national campaign recently published a case study on PB CLE's 2023 Issue 38 campaign
Read MoreWe at Cleveland Owns were honored to have Josephine Galdamez on the team as a Yale Environmental Fellow with Emerald Cities Collaborative this summer. Read more about her work with us in her own words!
Read MoreLast month the ~first ever~ statewide Co-op U started with 18 aspiring worker-owners from Cleveland.
Read MoreWe gathered with dozens friends and comrades in East Cleveland in July to discuss an important part of the solidarity economy: Housing co-ops.
Read MoreRust Belt Riders’ warehouse was full of energy and solidarity on May 4th as Cleveland Owns supporters from across the region gathered to celebrate 5 years of blossoming economic democracy. Many thanks to the friends and allies who joined the party - it was fun and restorative to feel the power of our community!
Read MoreThe Energy Democracy Initiative at Cleveland Owns
