Hey Kinfolk is a consumer cooperative.
What is a Co-op, you ask?
A cooperative is a collectively owned enterprise that serves the interests of its members. This means a company owned by its customers, workers, or both.
Why is Hey Kinfolk a co-op?
Our current conditions require alternative strategies. Hey Kinfolk is a co-op so the platform can be collectively owned and controlled by us, rather than follow a capitalist structure. This allows us to control our destiny and redistribute wealth into the Black community.
We exist to meet members’ needs and stand up for the things we believe in.
What's in It for Me and My community?
→ Did you know co-ops were the number one wealth builder for our community since the 1880s??
We're not new to this, we're true to this! African Americans have a long, rich history of cooperative ownership, especially in reaction to market failures and economic racial discrimination. However, it has been a hidden history and one obstructed by White supremacist violence.
For example, many African Americans started credit unions because banks wouldn't serve them or charged unfairly high-interest rates.
Our co-op will allow us to pool resources and skills to help solve our personal, social, family, and economic challenges.
"You can't have civil rights if you don't have economic independence" - Fannie Lou Hammer
(Dat part!)
→ Co-ops are controlled by their members.
The purpose of a co-op is to meet member needs, not just to earn a return on investment.
→ Co-ops are for-profit, private enterprises.
What it Means to be an Owner
We welcome new Owners & Community Members to the Hey Kinfolk Co-op.
Ownership is not required to shop.
Kinfolk is guided by seven core values:
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Audacity
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Learn, unlearn, relearn
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Passion & Pride
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Ownership
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Perseverance, determination, & grit
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Reciprocity
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Technology that empowers rather than suppresses
You can be down with this co-op by:
- U.S. Citizen
- Made a purchased from Hey Kinfolk in the past 12 months
- Selecting a plan and paying your Capital Contribution*
*Upon making this contribution, you will receive a receipt payment. You will also receive a separate copy of Hey Kinfolk’s Disclosure Statement and Bylaws by Q4, 2022.