Seed Commons
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Seed Commons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Seed Commons
- Legal name
- The Working World, Inc. dba Seed Commons
- Website
- https://seedcommons.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Seed Commons industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Development Financial Institution Lending
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM)
Keywords
Where Seed Commons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Seed Commons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Non-extractive lending and investment returns: Seed Commons provides non-extractive loans and investments to worker cooperatives and democratic enterprises. Returns to Seed Commons come only from the profits or surplus generated by the projects they finance. They also receive profit-sharing payments calculated as simple interest (3% for cost of capital, 2% for community's historic loss rate, 2% for fund labor costs — total 7% annual rate) and a percentage of profits in profitable years. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit CDFI, the organization also accepts charitable donations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Non-extractive loan with profit-linked repayment and participation |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Seed Commons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Seed Commons is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that provides non-extractive loans and investments to worker cooperatives and democratic enterprises through a national network of 39 local member loan funds. Core products include asset purchase loans, working capital loans, lines of credit, and preferred share equity, with repayment terms tied to project profitability rather than fixed interest rates requiring personal guarantees.
Product overview
Seed Commons operates as a cooperative network providing non-extractive financial infrastructure rather than a traditional product company. Their core offerings include non-extractive loans and investments deployed through a national network of local member loan funds, technical assistance for cooperative development, and Madeline—a proprietary community lending software platform. The Madeline platform is the primary technology product, designed to enable local loan funds to manage non-extractive lending operations and build community capacity for democratic economic control.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Non-extractive loans to worker cooperatives
- Madeline community lending platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 505 loans made since 2011
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Seed Commons
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Seed Commons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Seed Commons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Co-op CincycoreCo-op Cincy (formerly Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative) is one of Seed Commons' founding and most active member loan funds. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, it has incubated or supported over a dozen co-ops employing more than 100 workers, with over $7.4 million invested in the local cooperative economy. Key co-ops include Our Harvest, Sustainergy, Shine Nurture Center, and Cincy Cleaning Co-op. Combined with Co-op Dayton and Cleveland Owns, it organizes a statewide cooperative training program.
- Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED)coreBRED (Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy) is Seed Commons' founding peer member fund based in Baltimore. It helped create and incubate Red Emma's and has supported the Waterbottle Cooperative and other Baltimore-based worker-owned businesses. Kate Khatib, Seed Commons co-director, was a co-founding worker-owner of Red Emma's and helped found BRED alongside The Working World in 2015.
- PODER EmmacorePODER Emma is a Seed Commons member in Asheville, NC focused on building permanently affordable cooperative communities as a bulwark against displacement. Andrea Golden serves as Co-Director on Seed Commons' board. PODER Emma launched a community-led research program for green transition in manufactured housing, working with Chispas Worker Co-op and Sourwood Housing Co-op.
- DC SELF (DC Solidarity Economy Loan Fund)coreDC SELF is the loan fund of Beloved Community Incubator (BCI), a Seed Commons member. BCI launched DC SELF to provide non-extractive capital to cooperatives in the DC region without taking on the overhead of raising and managing investments. Has deployed over $3 million in non-extractive capital including loans to Dulce Hogar ($10,000), Swamp Rose Co-op ($50,000), Community Purchasing Alliance ($750,000), and The 51st newsroom.
- The Working WorldcoreThe Working World was the predecessor organization where non-extractive finance was developed, starting in Argentina in 2001 and expanding to Nicaragua in 2008. In 2022, the local New York lending of The Working World was spun off into TWW-NYC, which is now a member of Seed Commons. International affiliates in Argentina and Nicaragua continue to support cooperative businesses in Latin America in collaboration with Seed Commons.
- Climate Justice Alliance - Our Power Loan FundcoreClimate Justice Alliance brought together climate organizers from coal mines of Appalachia to oil refineries of Bay Area to envision what it would mean to reinvest in community power. It helped create the vision for reinvestment through the Our Power Loan Fund, which became a founding member of Seed Commons. Guadalupe 'Lupe' Romero Elicea from Climate Justice Alliance serves on Seed Commons' board.
- Cooperation LA (L.A. Co-op Lab)coreCooperation LA (L.A. Co-op Lab) served as one of the founding full members of the Seed Commons cooperative in 2015. It is part of the Los Angeles cooperative ecosystem focused on advancing worker ownership and democratic economy in the LA region.
- Beloved Community Incubator (BCI)coreBeloved Community Incubator (BCI) is a DC-based cooperative incubator and member of Seed Commons through DC SELF. Founded by Kristen Kane and Bianca Vazquez, BCI has helped launch cooperatives including Dulce Hogar cleaning cooperative and Swamp Rose landscaping cooperative. BCI was founded out of faith-based organizing networks. It conducted over 500 community conversations in summer 2024 and is exploring cooperative conversions including Sankofa Books.
- Bronx Cooperative Development InitiativecoreBronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is a Seed Commons member organization working to advance cooperative economy and worker ownership in the Bronx, New York. A member of the Seed Commons cooperative network since 2015.
- Southern Grassroots Economies Project / Southern Reparations Loan FundcoreLong-time movement organizers from across the US South, drawing on a hidden history of Black cooperative development, built the Southern Grassroots Economies Project. This crystallized into the Southern Reparations Loan Fund vision to move capital and economic control back to Black communities. Ed Whitfield, Co-Founder & Co-Director of the fund, serves on Seed Commons' board. The fund was a founding member of Seed Commons in 2015.
- New Era Windows CooperativecoreNew Era Windows Cooperative in Chicago was Seed Commons' first major US loan recipient. Workers occupied Republic Windows and Doors factory in 2012 with a demand to buy the factory and run it themselves. A $10,000 grant from the Sparkplug Foundation enabled The Working World to pilot non-extractive finance in the US, helping these workers buy their workplace and restart production as a democratically run, worker-owned business.
- Federation of Southern CooperativescoreThe Federation of Southern Cooperatives is a member of Seed Commons. It has a rich and often hidden history of Black cooperative development and was instrumental in the Highland Center that helped organize Southern cooperative development. It continues to advance cooperative economy across the Southern United States.
- Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA)coreCommunity Purchasing Alliance (CPA) is a member-owned purchasing cooperative of 90 member owners plus 200 participating organizations in DC. It orchestrates collective purchasing to shift spending to locally-owned, BIPOC-owned businesses. BCI provided a $750,000 loan through DC SELF in 2023 to help CPA scale. CPA handles over $35M in annual contract spend, with $15.7M directed to local small businesses and $12.7M to BIPOC-owned businesses in 2024.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Seed Commons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kiva: Crowdfunded microloan platform serving underserved borrowers globally with 0% interest loans. Comparable in serving excluded borrowers through innovative non-traditional lending structures.
- The Working World: Predecessor organization to Seed Commons; same founder Brendan Martin. Provides non-extractive finance to worker cooperatives in Argentina and Nicaragua, with TWW-NYC now operating as a Seed Commons member fund.
- RSF Social Finance: CDFI and impact investor focused on social enterprises, food systems, and cooperative economies. Directly comparable mission, scale, and lending approach to Seed Commons, including patient-capital and donor-advised fund offerings.
- Grameen America: Microfinance nonprofit serving low-income women entrepreneurs. Comparable model of mission-aligned lending to underserved borrowers with a non-traditional underwriting approach.
- National Cooperative Bank: Federally chartered cooperative bank serving cooperative businesses nationwide. Directly comparable in the cooperative financing space but with a depository institution structure.
Others
- Opportunity Finance Network: National CDFI industry association and intermediary that provides funding, advocacy, and capacity-building infrastructure to CDFIs including Seed Commons. Not a direct competitor but a key ecosystem participant.
- ICA Group: Cooperative development organization providing consulting, conversions, and education to cooperative businesses. Adjacent ecosystem participant that supports many of the same worker cooperatives Seed Commons finances.
Broad incumbents
- Beneficial State Bank: CDFI-certified community development bank with values-aligned mission to serve underserved communities. Comparable mission but operates as a regulated depository institution rather than a loan fund network.
- Capital Impact Partners: Large national CDFI providing capital and services to underserved communities across multiple verticals including food systems and cooperatives. Operates at greater scale and broader scope than Seed Commons.
- Self-Help Credit Union: One of the largest US CDFIs serving low-income and BIPOC borrowers through credit unions and a CDFI loan fund. Overlaps in mission and demographic focus but operates primarily as a regulated depository institution.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Seed Commons social profiles
Digital presenceSeed Commons compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Seed Commons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Seed Commons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Seed Commons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Seed Commons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Seed Commons
What does Seed Commons do?
Seed Commons is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that provides non-extractive loans and investments to worker cooperatives and democratic enterprises through a national network of 39 local member loan funds. Core products include asset purchase loans, working capital loans, lines of credit, and preferred share equity, with repayment terms tied to project profitability rather than fixed interest rates requiring personal guarantees.
Is Seed Commons a public or private company?
Seed Commons is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Seed Commons founded?
Seed Commons was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Seed Commons based?
Seed Commons is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Seed Commons make money?
One revenue line is on record: non-extractive lending and investment returns.
Who are Seed Commons's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kiva, The Working World, RSF Social Finance, Grameen America and National Cooperative Bank. Others are Opportunity Finance Network and ICA Group. Broad incumbents are Beneficial State Bank, Capital Impact Partners and Self-Help Credit Union.
Does Seed Commons have an API?
No public API is recorded for Seed Commons.
What industry is Seed Commons in?
Seed Commons's product category is Community Development Financial Institution Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAN, Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211.