Progress Report for Project

Resources for Developing CreSer’s Cooperative Model During this period, we have made progress in advancing CreSer’s cooperative model. Through consistent community engagement, collaboration with experts, and legal guidance, we have laid a strong foundation for developing a cooperative model that aligns with our mission, vision, values and objectives.

Progress Achieved

Community Engagement and Cooperative Committee Meetings: We held three monthly cooperative committee meetings, with an average of seven community members attending each session. These meetings have fostered active discussions and have been instrumental in gathering community input on what our cooperative model should embody.

Exploring Cooperative Models with Expert Input: To expand our understanding of successful cooperative models, we invited experts from the Center for Community Wealth Building and committee members from both the Denver Preschool Cooperative and You Be You Early Learning to share about their models. These guest speakers provided valuable insights into how different cooperative models function in practice, highlighting diverse approaches and strategies that could benefit CreSer.

Decision on Organizational Structure: After reviewing and discussing various cooperative models, our committee reached a consensus to maintain CreSer as a nonprofit organization while incorporating cooperative principles. This approach aligns with our goal of empowering parents and fostering a collaborative educational environment, and it supports our mission to serve families and children in the GES communities.

Legal Guidance: We engaged our lawyer, Dan Shah, who attended one of our committee meetings to provide legal guidance on the cooperative model. Dan’s expertise has been instrumental in shaping our approach to ensure legal compliance and long-term viability. His insights have clarified the legal considerations of operating a nonprofit with cooperative principles, giving us a solid legal framework to proceed.

Evidence of Success

High Community Engagement: With consistent attendance and participation from community members, we have achieved strong engagement, a key indicator of success for our cooperative model’s development.

Consensus on Structure: The committee’s decision to remain a nonprofit organization while integrating cooperative practices and principles demonstrates alignment and commitment to a shared vision. Informed, Legal

Direction: With legal guidance in place, we have a clearer path forward, bolstering confidence in our ability to establish a sustainable and compliant cooperative structure.

Next Steps:

While we have made substantial progress, several steps remain.

Development and Documentation of Cooperative Guidelines: Our next priority is to document the cooperative model’s guidelines and operational principles. This will involve capturing all the knowledge and feedback gathered during our meetings and discussions to create a comprehensive set of guidelines that will guide the cooperative model’s functioning.

Further Legal Review: As we develop our guidelines, we will work closely with Dan Shah to ensure our model’s legal integrity, providing a sound foundation for future growth.

Additional Engagement Sessions: We plan to host more monthly engagement sessions with parents and community members to refine our cooperative model based on their feedback and needs. Continued dialogue will ensure that our model remains community-centered and responsive to those it serves. In summary, our work has positioned CreSer’s cooperative model on a solid trajectory. Through active community engagement, expert insights, and legal support, we have built the initial structure of our cooperative approach. Moving forward, we are focused on documenting our framework and fine-tuning our model to fully achieve our goals for CreSer and the GES communities.

Progress Report for Project: Renovation for Early Childhood Education Center We reallocated funding toward essential renovations at our center planned for the Laradon location. These updates, including new cabinets, sinks, child-sized toilets, repositioning a wall, building office and teacher workspace, and installing new flooring, were intended to create a welcoming and fully equipped environment for early childhood education. However, as we will explain in more detail in following questions, Laradon made a recent decision to discontinue using their space for child care. Therefore, our plans for these renovations have changed significantly. This unexpected development means we have not yet applied the budgeted funds to the intended upgrades, as we now need to identify a new location.

Plans for Moving Forward: Our priority is to find an alternative space that can accommodate our early childhood education center and community goals. Once a suitable location is secured, we plan to use the $7,000 in renovation funds toward similar updates in the new space to ensure it meets regulatory standards and provides a high-quality, culturally responsive environment for children and families. While the initial renovation plans have been delayed, our team is dedicated to finding a new location and applying the allocated funds to achieve the intended outcomes as soon as possible. We remain committed to setting a solid foundation for a center that supports lifelong learning, well-being, and engagement for the GES community.