Overview
ANHD’s Citywide Merchant Organizing Project (CMOP) is an initiative that works toward establishing a power-building model of merchant organizing, increasing merchant organizing coordination and collaboration among neighborhoods, and strengthening a citywide base of merchants ready to fight against displacement threats.
Through CMOP, we aim to:
1) Build the capacity of merchant organizers, so that they can;
2) Build a base of merchants and develop merchant leaders, who can then;
3) Contribute to long-term anti- small business displacement goals and strategies.
The Project
With funding from Goldman Sachs, ANHD and four community partners are working across commercial corridors in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods that are also home to communities of color and immigrants.
ANHD provides capacity-building resources to support merchant organizing and bolsters technical assistance to drive hyper-local economic development in these commercial corridors. Using these resources, merchant organizers and leaders build relationships with merchants (both storefront business owners and street vendors), identify shared challenges, and engage the community in protecting small businesses from displacement.
Who’s Involved
ANHD has four partner organizations that not only provide critical support services to keep small businesses alive in low-income communities across New York City, but also aim to provide long-term solutions through community organizing. Frontline staff members help small businesses access capital and navigate bureaucratic systems, engage merchants in leadership development opportunities, and create avenues for collective action.
ANHD Member & Board Member Organizations
Chhaya CDC in Queens
Cooper Square Committee in Manhattan
ANHD Member Organizations
WHEDco in the Bronx
Local CBO Partners
Street Vendor Project in Brooklyn and Queens
These non-profits support a number of small businesses in their community, like those featured in our video series, “Meet the Leaders of the Citywide Merchant Organizing Project.”
Funding partners:
ANHD’s Commercial Merchant Organizing Program receives major funding from Goldman Sachs Bank USA.