# The Industrial Commons (TIC) ## Basic Info **Name:** The Industrial Commons (TIC) **What is it:** Woman-owned and led nonprofit (501(c)(3)) that launches and scales community-owned, employee-owned manufacturing enterprises and industrial cooperatives in rural western North Carolina. Operates as a place-based economic development ecosystem — combining cooperative business incubation, workforce training, circular economy practices, grant management, and youth programming. Inspired by the [[Mondragon Corporation]] (Spain) and the [[Emilia-Romagna cooperative district]] (Italy), adapted to the specific context of a post-industrial Appalachian textile and furniture region. **Location:** North Carolina, USA **Link:** https://www.theindustrialcommons.org **Who is involved:** Partners include Dogwood Health Trust, Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), The Reinvestment Fund, Schumacher Center for a New Economics. --- ## Entries ### The ecosystem model TIC does not operate as a single enterprise or conventional grantmaker. It builds an interconnected ecosystem of community-owned for-profit businesses that reinvest in each other and in the local community. Worker-members can purchase Membership Shares after two years, gaining ownership voting rights and profit-sharing. The Industrial Commons Corp (a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation formed by TIC) holds a class of Founding Shares in each cooperative, maintaining mission alignment over time. This is a multi-stakeholder cooperative ecosystem — not just a single co-op. Operates two dedicated funds: Capital for the Commons (loan fund providing start-up capital to new co-ops) and Land for the Commons (real estate development initiative for community-controlled commercial/industrial space). In December 2025, TIC received an $8 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment from The Innovate Fund (with Truist, The Reinvestment Fund, and Urban Research Park CDE) to reactivate the former Drexel Heritage Furniture brownfield site in Morganton as an Innovation Campus for employee-owned manufacturing and workforce development.