Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative

What Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative does

Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative founded in 2021 and headquartered at 113 W. Harris St., Appleton, Wisconsin, that delivers emotional wellness and social-connection programming across Northeast Wisconsin. Its core products include the Community Living Room (a free physical listening and gathering space), a network of Community Fridges operating on mutual-aid principles in Appleton, Menasha, and Oshkosh, and an online Learning Portal providing 24/7 video access on emotional awareness, connection, boundaries, and peer support. Training programs anchor the revenue model: a 12-hour Emotional CPR (eCPR) certification priced at $350 per attendee (with a $120 sliding-scale option), The Missing Piece emotional health curriculum, a 6-hour Listening to Trauma workshop, and a 2-hour Boundaries workshop, each conferring peer support continuing education hours. A virtual Zoom delivery channel and an annual Creating a Culture of Connection Summit at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center ($50 per attendee) extend reach beyond the regional base.

The cooperative's underlying methodology is Emotional CPR, a community-education approach with three phases — Connecting, emPowering, and Revitalizing — grounded in trauma-informed practice, suicide prevention, cultural empathy, and intersectionality. Curriculum (including The Missing Piece) is co-created by founders Lynn McLaughlin and Karen Iverson Riggers, both credentialed trainers of Emotional CPR and Emotions Education 101. Distribution combines self-serve virtual channels, in-person training at community venues such as the Oshkosh Food Co-op, free physical community spaces, the Real Vibes Only Podcast, a monthly newsletter, and a Caring Connection daily text-message service. The organization is led by 13 working members, with governance provided by a four-person board.

Revenue is generated primarily through training fees, annual Learning Portal memberships, summit ticket sales, and donations accepted via PayPal. The cooperative also depends on grants, including a $75,000 one-year planning grant from the Basic Needs Giving Partnership supporting prevention work in early childhood care and mental health. Customer segments include community members seeking emotional wellness skills, organizations seeking workforce emotional-support capacity, peer support specialists, and community members accessing mutual aid resources such as Community Fridges and the free store.

Name

Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative

Legal name

Ebb and Flow Community Cooperative

Website

https://ebbandflowcooperative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative in Northeast Wisconsin that delivers emotional wellness training (eCPR, The Missing Piece), free community spaces (Community Living Room, Community Fridges), and an online Learning Portal serving individuals, peer support specialists, and organizations seeking trauma-informed connection skills.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Wellness and Peer Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Training Delivery Providers (In-Person, Virtual, Train-the-Trainer) (BPACANAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Peer Support, Buddy Programs & Cooperative Learning Facilitation (EDAKABAI)

Keywords

• Community wellness training
• Emotional support services
• Peer support education
• Trauma-informed training
• Mutual aid programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Appleton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Training Fees: Ebb & Flow generates revenue through eCPR certification training at $350 per attendee or $120 sliding-scale option, The Missing Piece training, Listening to Trauma workshops, and Boundaries workshops. Trainings require minimum 10 registrants or $3,500 in revenue to proceed.
2. Learning Portal Membership: Online Learning Portal operates on an annual membership basis with 24/7 video access to training content and monthly LUNCH & LEARN sessions. Scholarships are available for those unable to afford membership.
3. Summit Tickets: Annual Creating a Culture of Connection Summit ticket sales at $50 flat fee per attendee, covering overhead costs and catering.
4. Donations: Donations fund Community Living Room operations, training scholarships, the Learning Portal, and free store operations. Donations to Community Fridges specifically cover electricity and food stocking costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative providing emotional wellness training (Emotional CPR, The Missing Piece, Listening to Trauma, Boundaries workshops) alongside community-based services including a Community Living Room, Community Fridges mutual aid network, online Learning Portal, Skill Sharing sessions, and an annual summit. The cooperative operates in Northeast Wisconsin and delivers training both virtually via Zoom and in-person, charging $350 per training attendee (with a $120 sliding scale option) and operating the Learning Portal on an annual membership basis.

Product overview

Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative is a community-focused cooperative offering a portfolio of emotional wellness and social connection programs. The core offerings include the Community Living Room (a physical supportive space), Community Fridges (mutual aid food access), the Learning Portal (online video education), and in-person Skill Sharing sessions. Training programs include Emotional CPR (eCPR), The Missing Piece (emotional health curriculum), Listening to Trauma, and Boundaries workshops. The cooperative also hosts an annual Creating a Culture of Connection Summit, publishes the Real Vibes Only Podcast, offers a Caring Connection text message service, and distributes monthly newsletters. All offerings center on expanding social connection and emotional wellness through hope-based, community-driven approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Living Room: A listening and healing space at 113 W. Harris St., Suite 1010, Appleton, WI, offering free gatherings for community connection, skill sharing on Thursday evenings, and collective grieving sessions on the first Sunday of each month.
• Real Vibes Only Podcast
• Creating a Culture of Connection Summit

Products and services

• Emotional CPR (eCPR) Training A community education program teaching people how to support another person experiencing emotional crisis through three phases: Connecting, emPowering, and Revitalizing. Offered as a 12-hour certification training with continuing education hours for peer support professionals.
• The Missing Piece Training A 12-hour training with certificate of completion and 12 peer support continuing education hours, co-created by founders Lynn McLaughlin and Karen Iverson Riggers, supporting adults and youth in exploring their relationship with emotions, the biology of emotion, and interactions with emotions of others.
• Listening to Trauma Training A 6-hour training with certificate of completion and 6 peer support continuing education hours, exploring types of trauma, their effects, and paths to healing, with emphasis on how connection and being believed enables healing.
• Boundaries Workshop A 2-hour workshop with 2 peer support continuing education hours, supporting emotional supporters in understanding how to set boundaries in emotional support work with friends, family, colleagues, and consumers.
• Community Living Room A physical and supportive space at 113 W. Harris St., Suite 1010, Appleton, WI, where people can gather for social connection and emotional support, staffed by people trained in Emotional CPR, offering a place to just be without pressure. Hosts Skill Sharing on Thursday evenings and collective grieving sessions on first Sundays.
• Appleton Community Fridges Free, community-run fridges and pantries operating through mutual aid, where anyone can take food without paperwork or ID. Locations include Tardigrade's Bookshelf (501 N Richmond St, Appleton, 24/7), Community Living Room (113 W Harris St, Tues 2-7PM & Sat 12-5PM), Trinity Episcopal Church (203 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh), and People of Progress (332 Broad Street, Menasha).
• Online Learning Portal An online video learning platform providing 24/7 access to educational content on connection, values, communication, boundaries, and emotional awareness, featuring expertise from founders Karen and Lynn and monthly Lunch & Learn sessions. Operates on annual membership basis with scholarships available.
• Creating a Culture of Connection Summit An annual interactive summit focused on building relationships with self, each other, and the greater community. Scheduled for August 28, 2026 at Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, WI, with a $50 registration fee covering overhead and catering.
• Skill Sharing Sessions Thursday evening in-person sessions at the Community Living Room where community members teach and learn skills from each other, covering topics from baking and cooking to mechanics and cultural traditions, fostering connection through mutual learning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 peer support continuing education hours per training
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hope FridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHope Fridge served as the model and inspiration for the Appleton Community Fridges. Ebb & Flow thanks Hope Fridge for their hard work in providing a model for community fridges. Hope Fridge also provides additional fridge locations in Menasha and Oshkosh that are referenced on the Ebb & Flow site.
• Tardigrade's BookshelfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner location hosting a Community Fridge at 501 N Richmond St., Appleton, operating 24/7/365. Provides free food access infrastructure for the mutual aid network.
• Trinity Episcopal Church (Oshkosh)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocation partner providing space for Community Fridge at 203 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh, operating as part of the Hope Fridge network and mutual aid ecosystem.
• People of ProgressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocation partner hosting Community Fridge behind their building at 332 Broad Street, Menasha, as part of the Hope Fridge network.
• Encompass Early Education and CareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellow recipient of $75,000 one-year planning grant from Basic Needs Giving Partnership, working on similar prevention and community needs initiatives.
• Oshkosh Food Co-opminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity venue that hosted eCPR training sessions on October 28, 2025, providing space for the organization's training programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LivingWorks (ASIST): Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a structured 2-day workshop teaching intervention skills for people at risk of suicide. Closest direct competitor to eCPR in terms of training length, certification structure, and intended learner outcomes, with established global delivery channels.
• QPR Institute: Provides gatekeeper training in Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention—a direct functional analog to eCPR's crisis intervention training. Comparable in methodology (multi-phase intervention), target audience (community members), and CE-credit delivery model, though QPR has stronger national brand recognition.
• Connect Suicide Prevention: Community-based suicide prevention training program teaching helpers to recognize and respond to suicide risk. Comparable as a structured intervention training methodology targeting community members and frontline helpers, with similar CE-credit and certification structure.

Emerging players

• Intentional Peer Support: Trains peer support specialists and mental health workers in relationship-based peer support methodology. Comparable to Ebb & Flow's eCPR approach in emphasizing connection, mutual learning, and non-pathologizing support models rather than clinical intervention.
• National Empowerment Center: Consumer/survivor-run organization providing peer specialist training and resources. Operates in the same peer support and emotional wellness training category as Ebb & Flow, with similar target audience of peer specialists, families, and community members.
• Wildflower Alliance: Peer-run alternatives to the mental health system, offering peer support training and community-based healing alternatives. Shares Ebb & Flow's hope-based, mutual-aid philosophy and emphasis on lived experience as credentialing—comparable as a values-aligned peer-run training provider.
• Cooperation Jackson: Worker-owned cooperative ecosystem demonstrating the cooperative governance and community-wealth-building model that Ebb & Flow has adopted. Comparable as a values-aligned cooperative model organization, though operating in economic development rather than emotional wellness.

Broad incumbents

• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): Largest U.S. grassroots mental health organization offering peer-led education programs (NAMI Peer-to-Peer, Family-to-Family, Crisis Intervention Team training). Comparable as a peer-led, education-focused mental health training provider but with national scale, established affiliate network, and broader program portfolio.

Regional players

• HopeFridge / Hope Fridge Network: Community mutual-aid organization running community fridges and pantries that served as the direct model and inspiration for Ebb & Flow's Community Fridge network. Operates in overlapping geographies (Menasha, Oshkosh) and is referenced as a Core strategic partner.

Others

• Mental Health First Aid USA (National Council for Mental Wellbeing): National mental health crisis response training program teaching laypeople to identify and support people in crisis. Directly comparable as a structured, CE-credit-bearing intervention curriculum with both in-person and virtual delivery, but operating at vastly larger scale and broader reach than Ebb & Flow's eCPR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/appletoncommunityfridge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ebb-flow-connections-coop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative