About

Power in Cooperation

Grace in Action Collectives (GIAC) is a network of youth-run collectives and worker-owned cooperatives rooted in Southwest Detroit. The base of all of our work is building strong relationships. We believe that strong organizations and cooperatives are built at the intersection of residents self identified interests, talents and what the market can hold. Identifying this intersection requires years of relationships building work and deep market study and analysis.

GIAC believes that building worker-owned cooperatives gives people the power of ownership, the ability to have control over their future, and a way to invest deeply in the community where they live. Cooperative businesses have the potential to stabilize communities, utilize local expertise, and build community capital and wealth.

Our Goal

Less then 10% of Southwest Detroit residents work in Southwest Detroit. Over the next 10 years, we plan to bring about 200 new cooperative-based jobs, raising the percentage of people both working and living in Southwest Detroit by 5%. This will have a direct impact on the Southwest Detroit economy by generating 10 million new dollars that will cycle through the neighborhood.

What We Do

As a network, we provide the following support services for a minimum of 3 years:

Through ongoing training, we create a pipeline of Southwest Detroit residents interested in becoming members of one of the network Cooperatives. Training classes are offered throughout the year at Grace in Action, on subjects including cooperative development, graphic design, web coding, and digital literacy. All trainings have a curriculum informed by a popular education pedagogy, are rooted in the Southwest Detroit context, and use the tools learned to solve community problems.