Urban Upbound

Urban Upbound provides technical assistance to worker owners in all three business stages: pre startup, startup, and operating. For aspiring entrepreneurs in the pre-startup phase, we provide educational services for them to explore their curiosity and build a solid foundation prior to the launch of their businesses. For cooperatives in the startup and operating stages, we provide marketing, governance and management, customer service, and financial planning technical assistance to build and maintain their customer base and revenue streams. Additionally, our ongoing workshops solidify entrepreneurial skills and facilitate networking. Through worker cooperative organizing, incubating, and the provision of business technical assistance, we grow an ecosystem of values-driven cooperative businesses, owned and operated by workers, that strive to benefit both workers and community.

Our services include the following : Governance Marketing and design Financial planning Strategic planning M/WBE certification Back office support Access to capital through the UU Federal Credit Union

The Urban Upbound Business Innovation Program retains wealth in low-income communities, and prevents displacement of low-income residents due to gentrification. In particular the Coop aims to help women and BIPOC businesses through all phases of business development.  It offers low-income New Yorkers opportunities for meaningful employment with higher wages and flexible hours. The need for this has become increasingly clear during and as a result of the  pandemic. Job security and childcare were disrupted amongst other things,  restructuring the family, the workplace and the economy as we know it.. 

Since its inception in 2016, Urban Upbound’s Business Innovation Initiative has launched 5 cooperatives and a sixth is in incubation. In 2019 we assisted one of the businesses in our network to become the first immigrant-led worker cooperative certified by NYC as a MBE. In 2021 the Initiative launched Progressive Cleaning Solutions, LLC, providing cleaning services to all five boroughs.The Co-operative model allows for each member to choose their own schedule and gain more flexibility . In 2021 Urban Upbound launched the Black Entrepreneur Initiative in partnership with The Lonely Entrepreneur. The Lonely Entrepreneur (TLE) is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide through an online learning platform. The Black Entrepreneur Initiative enhances and scales Urban Upbound’s incubation and business support operations. The provision of the TLE platform allows entrepreneurs in the Black Entrepreneur Initiative to access fundamental topics of entrepreneurship plus coaching and mentorship

In 2019 we assisted one of the businesses in our network to become the first immigrant-led worker cooperative certified by NYC as a MBE. The Urban Upbound Business Innovation Program creates economic inclusion in NYC for historically underrepresented populations

The primary focus within our Business Innovation program was combating and proactively responding to the economic impact disproportionately affecting BIPOC entrepreneurs. In 2021 Urban Upbound launched the Black Entrepreneur Initiative in partnership with The Lonely Entrepreneur. The Lonely Entrepreneur (TLE) is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide through an online learning platform. The Black Entrepreneur Initiative enhances and scales Urban Upbound’s incubation and business support operations. Urban Upbound  assists entrepreneurs, especially in underinvested communities, to break through systemic barriers, such as predatory lending, restrictive banking, and redlining, to achieve sustainability and longevity. While providing them with the functional skills and access to capital through our Federal Credit Union . As per the mission statement of the challenge we are directly: Offering focused guidance/professional development for building specific functional skills for internal staff such as strategic planning, human resources, process improvement, and research and testing products/services,  Assisting with access to capital, capital campaigns, and/or financial education and information,  Supporting and fostering growth to scale through comprehensive and relevant technical support assistance such as legal aid, fiscal management for sustainability, marketing, and procurement. 

Urban Upbound targets NYCHA residents, living in Queensbridge, Astoria, Ravenswood, and Woodside Houses as well as in East Harlem and Far Rockaway. Approximately 50% of households in these communities lack a worker, and the average household income is only $25,602 per year. Also, many struggle to pay bills, connect to banking, or access services that lead to economic empowerment. Over 98,000 Nycha residents are not accessing financial services at banks or credit unions and 72% of students who do not complete highschool in New York City are  NYCHA residents. For NYCHA residents, data indicates that 46% of households live in poverty; 80% do not have emergency savings; 24% don’t have a bank account, and the average FICO score is 584.  The majority of the clients we serve identify as Black or Latino.  Urban Upbound is a Black-lead organization, run by our CEO and co-founder, Bishop Mitchel Taylor. Bishop Taylor has lived in and around Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in the country, for the past forty-three years. Urban Upbound was  formed with the intention to develop high-quality services that address resident-identified needs.For aspiring entrepreneurs in the pre-startup phase, we provide educational services for them to explore their curiosity and build a solid foundation prior to the launch of their businesses. For cooperatives in the startup and operating stages, we provide marketing, governance and management, customer service, and financial planning technical assistance to build and maintain their customer base and revenue streams. Additionally, our ongoing workshops solidify entrepreneurial skills and facilitate networking. In the past seventeen years, the organization has grown to serve more than 22,000 youth and adults annually.

Not at the present time. Maybe in the future. 

Urban Upbound provides technical assistance to worker owners in all three business stages: pre startup, startup, and operating. For aspiring entrepreneurs in the pre-startup phase, we provide educational services for them to explore their curiosity and build a solid foundation prior to the launch of their businesses. For cooperatives in the startup and operating stages, we provide marketing, governance and management, customer service, and financial planning technical assistance to build and maintain their customer base and revenue streams

Urban Upbound’s theory of change states that in order to effectively break cycles of poverty a multifaceted approach is needed, thus our six core programs: employment services,  College Access and Youth Development, financial counseling, income support services, community revitalization and lastly, financial inclusion through the UU Credit Union.  More specifically geared directly towards the Business Innovation Program,  We measure the impact of the Worker Cooperative Initiative by tracking key indicators of success and progress towards our goal of creating economic inclusion in NYC for historically underrepresented populations. Key indicators include:

1. The number of new worker cooperatives incubated;

2. The number of worker owner jobs created through worker cooperatives and the expanded success of existing cooperatives; 

3. The amount of revenue generated by our worker cooperatives (that is retained in low-income communities as opposed to lost to outside corporations); 

4. Individual positive financial outcomes, improved working conditions, higher wages, and other benefits for worker owners; 

5. The number of educational workshops and services provided; 

6. And technical assistance services provided to our worker owner partners.

Revenue generated by Urban Upbound-supported cooperatives builds wealth in public housing communities affected by gentrification. Integral to our theory of change is the access to capital as well as the financial inclusion services to support entrepreneurs at all stages of their business development. 

Since launching our Business Innovation Program in 2016 we have facilitated equitable access to economic opportunity by incubating a total of five worker cooperative businesses and providing technical assistance to 20 others. Last year the Initiative launched our sixth,   Progressive Cleaning Solutions, LLC, providing cleaning services to all five boroughs and we are currently growing this business while contemplating incubation of a food cooperative in Far Rockaway to provide healthy accessible food to residents.  Our  current cooperatives include: OnPoint Security, OSHA Solutions, Paw Partners, Sunlight Ecoservices, and Progressive Cleaning Solutions, with OnPoint Security and OSHA Solutions surpassing $100k in sales. Over the years  we have provided over 400 direct technical assistance services to more than 20 local small businesses and nearly 600 entrepreneurs have attended one of our workshops or events.

100% of the clients we serve are low to moderate income,  this is verified at time of intake as per current poverty guidelines  and family composition. We primarily target families living in NYCHA housing and rely heavily on NYCHA residents and tenant association boards as prime stakeholders. One of our board members is a client and resident of public housing for over 50 years. Urban Upbound participates in various collective action and public-private initiatives to provide New Yorkers with the best services in the areas of business incubation and innovation, financing and economic development, education, and youth development. Since 2016 we have been part of the NYC-funded Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI). We are also a member of Seed Commons, a national peer loan fund that seeks to capitalize small businesses owned by BIPOC and other entrepreneurs outside the mainstream. 

Urban Upbound was founded in 2004 by Bishop Mitchell Taylor, a lifelong resident of Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in the country. Bishop Taylor is the Senior Pastor of the Center of Hope International, a non-denominational church adjacent to Queensbridge Houses. Seeing that a church could not meet all the residents' needs, Urban Upbound was formed. In the past seventeen years, the organization has grown to serve more than 22,000 youth and adults annually from all boroughs. Urban Upbound works to bridge the barriers that prevent New York public housing residents and other low-income individuals from achieving financial, professional, and personal success. This is accomplished by providing them with training, youth development, job readiness, entrepreneurship opportunities, housing counseling, and financial stability. The Urban Upbound  Business Innovation team partners with the following organizations to meet goals and create community stakeholder relations -The NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives: client referrals, coalition and worker cooperative ecosystem building, and advocacy (organizing citywide worker cooperative events). -The Democracy at Work Institute: coalition and ecosystem building, coordination of citywide worker cooperative events and advocacy work. -The Working World: they are assisting the Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union with creating worker cooperative-specific loans in addition to our current microenterprise loans of up to $50,000. -TakeRoot Justice: free legal services for our clients. -The Community Development Clinic at CUNY Law: free legal services for our clients. 

Urban Upbound’s outreach strategy involves multiple partners, including NYCHA, community-based organizations, and community leaders. Ensuring all safety protocols are followed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conduct door knocking, host community events, flyers, send email and hard mail newsletters, and run social media campaigns to inform residents of our programs and events.. Urban Upbound specifically launched 1 cooperative business in FY21 and 117 technical assistance services and 125 educational services to a total of 15 worker cooperatives in different stages of development and operation. Through these efforts we created 12 new jobs. Urban Upbound has been a presence in the community for the last seventeen years and we continue to build trust by providing resident tailored services. 

For the current fiscal year, Urban Upbound  Business Innovation  will begin the development of one new cooperative business and provide 120 technical assistance services to cooperatives in various stages of operation, resulting in the creation of 15 new jobs. Additionally, Urban Upbound will provide training, workshops and skill building services to the 5 cooperatives we have already launched and to other entrepreneurs in the cooperative model, resulting in 150 educational services. In the next five years following this trajectory we anticipate incubating five new cooperative businesses,  and providing 600 technical assistance services to existing cooperatives at all stages of operation.  The Director of our Worker Cooperative Program is assisted by two Program Coordinators, who provide technical assistance and educational services to the cooperatives in our network and work with entrepreneurs to incubate new worker cooperatives. Additionally, a financial counselor provides one-on-one counseling to the members of the worker cooperatives. For FY23 we propose adding a FT marketing and procurement specialist to our team. This will assist with scaling and replication.

Urban Upbound’s Business Innovation team consists of 3 people: 2 Program Coordinators and 1 Program Manager. Each Program Coordinator specializes in a different area. One focuses on marketing and communications, while the other one focuses on governance, compliance and navigating government regulations, for example helping businesses apply for the M/WBE certification. Our Program Manager supports businesses in the areas of financial planning and bookkeeping, among others.

Ms. Shafrana Carpen is our Workers Cooperative Program Manager and leads our Workers Cooperative Initiative. Ms. Carpen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Drew University and has 7+ years of experience in the non-profit realm. Since joining our Urban Upbound team in February of this year, she has provided worker-owned and small businesses with crucial technical assistance during this economically challenging time. 

Before Ms. Carpen joined Urban Upbound, Mr. Carlos Cano served as Workers Cooperative Program Manager. Mr. Cano is now our Chief of Staff and is still very much connected to the cooperatives he supported during the 5 years he led the program. Mr. Cano holds a MS in Nonprofit Management from the New School and has over 10 years of experience in business management and marketing. Mr. Cano will oversee Shafrana’s execution of this program and ensure milestones are being met.

Oliver Allen-Cummings is a Program Coordinator for the Workers Cooperative Program. He has 5 years of experience supporting worker-owned and small businesses. Oliver has helped businesses successfully MWBE certifications to expand business opportunities. He supports businesses by providing technical assistance and by facilitating workshops designed to equip business owners with essential skills and knowledge that will help them grow their businesses. 

A partnership with Truist Foundation and MIT solve would give us increased visibility and connections while furthering our common missions of wealth building for historically excluded communities .

We would like to form strategic partnerships and share best practices with Truist , MIT Solve and other partner organizations to increase and expand our current capacity and to break into new markets for us such as food co-operatives and dispensaries. 

Currently we are looking into breaking into the Food-cooperative model as well as incubating a dispensary.