Common Roots

Goal: $20,000.00

Specific Need

This year, we're raising funds to expand our renting cooperative. We're Spreading Our Roots, and you can help!

Mission

Common Roots develops sustainable affordable housing in Meadville, Pennsylvania that enables low-income residents to build wealth and security. We believe that everyone, regardless of how much money you have, should be able to access, participate in, and benefit from quality, permanent homes. Common Roots works in partnership with government, social service agencies, and other local organizations to acquire blighted and unwanted properties and rehabilitate them. Our community-based, cooperative approach is designed to empower residents and improve neighborhoods. 

Profile

Common Roots is a grassroots, people-powered organization that strives to improve housing options in Meadville. We recently had tenants move into our first project: four, highly energy-efficient homes for low-income residents at 1189-91 South Main Street. 

We've recently transitioned from an all-volunteer effort to a professional housing organization. We’ve planned with community partners and stakeholders, added legal and financial expertise to our team, applied for and won big grants, learned a ton about funding opportunities to scale our efforts in the coming years, and hired staff, including a director to lead us into the future. 

Tenants at the South Main Street house work together to manage and care for their home while building equity through Common Roots’ new renting cooperative. While Common Roots maintains ownership of the properties that are part of the cooperative, it leases the properties to the cooperative for day-to-day management. In the cooperative model, tenants are able to build up to $10,000 in rental equity over 10 years.

We're Spreading Our Roots as a renting cooperative, and money raised through this year's Crawford Gives goes toward that effort. Watch this Erie News Now video to see more.

You can follow our Crawford Gives 2023 journey on Facebook. Thank you for your generosity and interest in improving living conditions in Meadville.