Orca Books converting to a cooperative!
Donation protected
Orca Books has been an important fixture of the Olympia community for 26 years, when it was started by the current owner Linda Berentsen. After almost 30 years of running the bookstore, Linda is moving into retirement.
The workers are trying to raise $200,000 by the end of 2019, in order to purchase the business from Linda so that we can keep the store open, and transition into a member-owned, worker run cooperative business model.
We want to form a cooperative so that we can continue providing affordable, quality books to the Olympia community while supporting our staff with secure and fulfilling jobs. Additionally, the co-op will benefit the local community by offering space for educational events, meetings, family activities, and display of local arts and crafts, among other things. … like providing a loving home for everybody’s favorite shop cat, Orlando!
Most of the funds we need will be raised through the sale of co-op memberships. Buying a membership in the co-op will make someone a member-owner, who will receive discounted prices in the store, and will democratically control the bookstore via an elected board of directors.
But while we're excited to see the community join the co-op as member-owners, membership fees alone are not enough. In order to meet our fundraising goal, we're asking for your help here! In addition to the money we raise from membership fees, we also hope to raise a significant portion of our startup funds from donations.
Any amount that you can donate here is helpful!
Please support the development of a cooperative economy that benefits workers and consumers, and can help keep Olympia's favorite used book store open for decades to come!
For more information about this campaign, and how you can help us with the transition into a cooperative, please email us at co-op@orcabooks.com or give us a call at (360) [phone redacted].
If you would like to purchase a co-op membership in addition to making a donation here, you can buy a membership online .
Check out this video where we share how unique and important Orca Books is to our community!
The workers are trying to raise $200,000 by the end of 2019, in order to purchase the business from Linda so that we can keep the store open, and transition into a member-owned, worker run cooperative business model.
We want to form a cooperative so that we can continue providing affordable, quality books to the Olympia community while supporting our staff with secure and fulfilling jobs. Additionally, the co-op will benefit the local community by offering space for educational events, meetings, family activities, and display of local arts and crafts, among other things. … like providing a loving home for everybody’s favorite shop cat, Orlando!
Most of the funds we need will be raised through the sale of co-op memberships. Buying a membership in the co-op will make someone a member-owner, who will receive discounted prices in the store, and will democratically control the bookstore via an elected board of directors.
But while we're excited to see the community join the co-op as member-owners, membership fees alone are not enough. In order to meet our fundraising goal, we're asking for your help here! In addition to the money we raise from membership fees, we also hope to raise a significant portion of our startup funds from donations.
Any amount that you can donate here is helpful!
Please support the development of a cooperative economy that benefits workers and consumers, and can help keep Olympia's favorite used book store open for decades to come!
For more information about this campaign, and how you can help us with the transition into a cooperative, please email us at co-op@orcabooks.com or give us a call at (360) [phone redacted].
If you would like to purchase a co-op membership in addition to making a donation here, you can buy a membership online .
Check out this video where we share how unique and important Orca Books is to our community!
Organizer
Orca Books
Organizer
Olympia, WA