Toolbox

Worker Cooperatives

Steps to Starting a Worker Co-op

Gary B. Hansen, E. Kim Coontz, Audrey Malan and Edited by Mary Rodgers

Immigrant Worker Owned Cooperatives: A User's Manual

Minsun Ji and Tony Robinson

This manual by Minsun Ji of El Centro Humanitario and Tony Robinson of the University of Colorado, Denver,  intended for workers (especially immigrant workers) and their advocates, provides detailed information about how to create, finance, manage, and grow worker cooperatives.

University & Community Partnerships Tools

The Alignment of Leadership Development & Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Darlyne Bailey, Kelley McNally Koney, Katrina Uhly, University Northside Parntership Workgroup Leadership, Titilayo Bediako, Marilyn Burin, Joel Hetler, Helen Kivnick, Anise McDowell, Barbara Milon, Beverly Propes and Makeda Zulu-Gillespie

Anchor Institutions Tools

Economic Development in a Global Knowledge Economy: A Guide for Local Practice

Faron Supanich-Goldner , Rex L. LaMore, John Melcher, Kenneth E. Corey, Mark Wilson, Diane Doberneck and Steffen Hampe

Community Development Tool Kit

New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute and Public Service Electric & Gas Company

Transit-Oriented Development Tools

Performance-Based Transit-Oriented Development Typology Guidebook

Mason Austin, Dena Belzer, Albert Benedict, Paul Esling, Peter Haas, Gajus Miknaitis, Elizabeth Wampler, Jeff Wood, Linda Young and Sam Zimbabwe

Tools for Mixed-Income TOD

Douglas Shoemaker with Center for Transit Oriented Development

New State & Local Policy Tools

Building “Buy Local” Campaigns that Shift Culture and Spending

Milchen, Jeff

The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) has developed a new guide to help independent business owners, localist advocates, and local officials promote local business and community wealth building. The guide outlines strategies to build successful “Buy Local” campaigns that encourage consumers to shop at locally owned stores. It includes tips and resources for campaign content development, message framing, targeted marketing, and execution.

Guide to Going Local: Building Stronger, Healthier, and More Vibrant Communities

BALLE and The Center for a New American Dream

This new guide offers ideas and advice on how to strengthen the local economy in your town through buying local, highlighting new entrepreneurs, investing locally, and more. With how-to tips, videos, and other useful resources, the Guide to Going Local provides tools in four key areas: building pride in place, fostering local entrepreneurship, buying locally and sustainably, and investing locally.


Stimulating Smart Investments and Job Creation in Low-Income Communities

Advancement Project , Community Voices Heard, People United for Sustainable Housing and Syracuse United Neighbors

Community Economic Analysis

Ronald J. Hustedde, Ron Shaffer and Glen Pulver

Urban Agriculture Tools

The Farm Incubator Toolkit: Growing the Next Generation of Farmers

Eva Agudelo Winther and Meaghan Overton

This new guide developed by the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) and published by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project offers a framework to develop local farm incubators. Bringing together practioners and training expertize, this toolkit provides a variety of resources to support small-scale sustainable farmers, from project planning and management to planning for long-term growth. This toolkit is part of national effort to build a network of incubators that empower disadvantaged new producers to build economic opportunity and grow the vitality of small-scale, localized agriculture across the nation.

Impact Investment Tools

Student Handbook, 5th Edition

Responsible Endowments Coalition

The Responsible Endownment Coalition's Student Handbook gives university students the knowledge and strategies they need to engage productively with responsible investment issues on campus.

Matching Program Strategy and PRI Cost

Frances Brody, John Weiser, Scott Miller and edited by Phyllis Joffe

Social Enterprises Tools

State Policy Toolkit

Social Enterprise Alliance and Root Cause

Fourth Sector

Sheena Orr, Kevin Robbie, Neal Mackay, Beth Brewis, Ursula Pretsch, Kate McDonald and James Belton

A Toolkit for Developing a Social Purpose Business Plan

Dwan Techow, Sarah Eisinger, Rosanna Perry-Stephens and Supervised by Jaycee Pribusky

Program Related Investment Tools

Matching Program Strategy and PRI Cost

Frances Brody, John Weiser, Scott Miller and edited by Phyllis Joffe

Individual Wealth Preservation Tools

The Debt Resistors Operations Manual

Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street

The Debt Resistors Operations Manual, put together by an anonymous collec­tive of activists from Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street contains practical information, resources and tips for individuals dealing with indebtedness in the United States. Covering all aspects of the debt system from personal debt to municipal debt the manual shows how households, cities and countries are controlled by a system of debt. 

2012 Consumer Action Handbook

GSA Federal Citizen Information Center
Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies

Individual Wealth Building Tools

Green Economy

Promising Practices in Green Job Creation: A Resource Guide for Local Leaders, Version 1.0

Ed DelhagenSustainable Communities (ISC) team, Sarah Kearnan, Steve Nicholas, Joyce Peters, George Sarrinikolaou, Elaine Wang, Betty Weiss, Tom Wilson and with the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) team

Cross-Sectoral Tools

Asset Mapping: A Handbook

Tony Fuller, Denyse Guy and Carolyn Pletsch

Access to Capital: Growing Local Businesses, Financing Entrepreneurs, Building Strong Economies

California Financial Opportunities Roundtable

This guidebook organized by the California Financial Opportunities Roundtable (CalFOR) identifies roadblocks to and develops recommendations for leveraging existing resources and expanding opportunities for sustainable economic development, job growth and wealth creation. Solutions range from micro-finance to new bonding authorities as well as innovations within traditional investment classes.

Research for Organizing

Alexa Kasdan, Lindsay Cattell and Rosten Woo

Sustainable Communities: A Viable Futures Toolkit

Joe Jenkins , Paula Dressel, Gordon Walker, Nancy Henkin, Project Coordinator Janice Jackson and Focus Group Facilitator Angela Heath

Cooperative Tools

Youth Cooperative Toolkit

Kiara Nagel, Khalli Shahyd and Michael Weisner

Organizer's Handbook, second edition

Renee Ordeneaux, Danny Krouk, Mitch Hough and Revised and updated by Brian Nagorsky, Eric Guetschoff, and Phil Ashton

Collecting Ourselves

Kris Olsen

The curriculum walks participants through an examination of the philosophy and practice of cooperation, the meaning of "development" and "entrepreneurship" in their lives, the steps required in starting a cooperative business, and an exploration of two of the most important steps - organizing people into a Steering Committee, and creating a Business Plan. All activities use Popular Education methods, drawing directly on the expertise and insight of participants to guide the learning process...read more