The Co-op Academy Leaders Cohort is a chance to connect with co-op members across the city, develop your leadership skills, and strengthen your co-op. In addition to free monthly trainings you’ll have the chance to:
Connect with co-op members across the city through quarterly in-person community meals.
Work through customized action plans to find funding to stabilize and build the financial stability of their co-ops, improve the communication between their board and general membership, and track the long-term sustainability of their co-op.
Access a growing network of resources, trainings, and co-op development service providers.
Learn about DC's legacy of cooperative housing and develop tools to advocate for continued support for their co-ops.
Registration for this year’s cohort will take place in person during our February 8th Orientation Breakfast. Click the button below to sign up for the Orientation to learn more about participating in this year’s cohort.
Our Co-op Leadership Cohort is open to anyone that would like to develop a deeper knowledge of the foundational components to developing and managing limited equity co-ops effectively. Registration is on a first come first served basis and all members must commit to the following participation requirements:
Each co-op must register as a team of at least two co-op members with at least one board member and one general member in the team.
Each cohort member must commit to attending the three community leadership meals in February, June, and October.
Co-ops whose members attend at least 75% of trainings will receive a Co-op Leadership Certificate upon completion of this year’s curriculum.
Orientation & Co-op Finances
Co-op Academy 2025 Leaders Cohort Orientation Breakfast | February 8th from 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Connects co-op members across the DMV area, discusses DC’s long history of cooperative housing, and provides an overview of this year’s Co-op Academy curriculum.
Advocating for TOPA Part 1 | February 26th 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm (virtual)
Learn about threats to the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and the DC budget process. Get support on writing testimony for hearings.
Advocating for TOPA Part 2 | March 13th 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm (virtual)
Learn about threats to the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and how you can advocate to protect your rights.
Updating Your Co-op Annual Budget and Compliance Monitoring & Asset Management | March 22nd 10:30 am - 1:00 pm (in person)
Go through the steps of updating your co-op’s budget with hands-on guidance from co-op development finance experts.
Membership Engagement
Building Relationships Between the Board and General Members | April 19th from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm (in person)
Develop a plan to collect and share feedback between the co-op board and general membership, boost membership participation in meetings, and create a pathway for more balanced distribution of participation among board and general members.
Summer Lunch & Learn BBQ | May 17th from 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm (in person)
Cohort members will collectively decide on the topic for this second in-person community meal.
Co-op Sustainability
Digital Solutions to Organize Co-op Documents | June 7th from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm (in person)
Co-ops will create or update a digital organization structure for all co-op essential documents alongside a process for how these documents can be maintained and accessed as needed during transitions in the co-op.
Planning for Long-Term Success & Growth | September 11th from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (virtual)
Create or update a development dashboard for your co-op that tracks co-op progress through renovation, post-renovation asset management, and long-term future maintenance projects.
Co-op Community Dinner | October 17th from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (in person)
Cohort members will present their learnings and results from implementing their action plans and celebrate the completion of their curriculum with a community dinner of co-op members, co-op service providers, and District leaders.