Chicago Market Newsletter - October 2019

We've got some progress updates for you!

• Our Board and store design team has been gathering construction and equipment costs. They are coming in higher than we anticipated so we're in discussion with the store design team to find ways to trim and lower costs while still building a store that is true to our community's vision and that we'll all be proud of and excited to shop in.
• The next step is to plug those final numbers into our financial planning pro forma along with the new Advantage Illinois funding opportunity that will match our bank loan. This will then answer the question for us of how much more we'll need to raise from our own community via Owner loans. Remember, Cooperative Principle #3 is Member Economic Participation - that means we Owners participate financially to fund the store and community hub we all want!  
• We're excited to be up to 1732 Owners! As you know, funding our store relies in part on the equity of Owners, so we're pushing for 2000+ to make our funding goals. Tell your friends why this Co-op matters to you so they join us.
• Our six new Board members are awesome and stepping up quickly to impact your Co-op. One thing many of them did alongside existing Board members was attend a day-long Cooperative Board Leadership 101 workshop put on by Columinate. Ten of our directors (including five of our newly elected) learned how to improve our governance, how to look carefully at our financial picture (yes, using Legos!) and more about our roles and responsibilities as co-op leaders. 

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