2026-2027 North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship Application: Cohort 10

Written narrative questions

The North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship is grounded in the history of Black cooperative economic thought and practice. We center Black people and honor the legacy of those who share ancestry with enslaved Africans in the Americas, uplifting their traditions of cooperative economics and collective care. We invite you to share your connection to this history and legacy. How do you value and relate to the cooperative economic efforts of Black communities past and present?

What is your cooperative's name?

We are only accepting groups of two or more cooperators who are working toward the same effort. Please list your cooperative partners below and share how long you have been working together.

Please list all members of your cooperative group who plan to attend the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship sessions. This list of all members in your cooperative group who plan to attend North Star should be the same in each individual application, so we know who all to expect applications from. Note: Each cooperator attending North Star must submit an individual application and is expected to attend all sessions to participate. All applications are due by the deadline.

If your cooperative has an advisory committee, please list its members below. Will the advisory committee members attend the sessions?

Please tell us more about why you are interested in the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship.

We know we don’t do this work alone. Outside of the cooperators in your group, who have you been working with, learning from, or building relationships with in your community to support this effort?

For this cohort, NSBCF will also accept non-Black fellows who are working in Black-led cooperative efforts. To us, Black-led means that there are a majority of Black folks involved in making critical decisions about the direction of the cooperative and are accountable to the co-op and the board if in place. Please describe how your effort is being led, who are the Black cooperators in your work, and how long have you been working together?

What motivates you to learn about Black cooperative economics and why is this important to you?

Have you been involved in a cooperative, collective, or land trust before? If so, what type of cooperative, collective, or land trust? What were the benefits and challenges of that experience?

What is your idea for a cooperative, collective, or land trust that you would like support with? Please share how far along you are in developing this idea.

What does support look like for you and your cooperative work?

Please provide a reference, a person who believes in your cooperative work. (Name, email, and phone number)

You may upload your resumé or a related supporting document, but it is not required.