There are dozens of worker-owned cooperatives in Philly, where the employees are the owners and have the opportunity to share profits and participate in governance and decision-making. Here are five local businesses that follow this model, covering a range of services.
1. Home Care Associates
Home Care Associates (HCA) is one of the oldest worker-owned co-ops in the city, and also the largest, with approximately 160 employees. This women-led, B-Corp certified co-op specializes in providing quality, consistent in-home care across the city, including senior care, respite and post-surgery care and companion care. It requires a lot of trust to bring in a caretaker into your home or the home of a loved one during a vulnerable time; because the caregivers at HCA are also company owners, they are deeply and personally invested in the quality of care they offer.
➜ hca.elevate.coop; (215) 925-0700
2. Childspace Centers
From its two campuses in Mount Airy and Germantown, Childspace Centers offers year-round child care for infants and kids, as well as Head Start programs, afterschool care and summer camps. Founded in 1988 by teachers, this worker cooperative delivers a carefully designed curriculum that encourages curiosity, problem solving and creativity in a nurturing environment. Childspace is accredited as a provider of quality care by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has earned a STAR-4 rating, the highest rating offered by the State of Pennsylvania.
➜ childspacedaycarecenters.org; (215) 248-3080
3. Black Bird Rising
It’s an exhausting world out there, and Black Bird Rising provides a restful space for wellness and healing, with focus on Black, queer, LGBTQIA2S+ and trans-identifying people and their allies. This worker and producer co-op opened its storefront on Germantown Avenue in 2024, and has been serving the community through energy and body work, like acupuncture, herbalism and yoga, and herbal remedies sold through its apothecary. Blackbird also organizes and hosts workshops and events like Spiritual Bath Basics, Tea & Tarot and New Moon Intention Circles.
➜ blackbirdrisinghealing.com; (267) 270-7308
4. Obvious Agency
Part-theater interactive company, part-experiential game designers, this artist worker cooperative’s offerings defy categorization; for instance, during Fringe Fest in 2024, Obvious Agency launched a production called “Space Opera,” which melded tabletop roleplaying games, democratic organizing practice and live theater. Over the course of the gameplay, the players created societies that worked together to “thwart existential consequences.” Another project, “Main Menu,” happens on a phone call, where the player interacts with “Annie,” a customer service bot. Check out @obviousagencycoop on Instagram for updates.
5. Parula Gardens Cooperative
Parula Gardens formed after the landscaping company where the members worked shuttered in fall 2024. Instead of going their separate ways, the workers launched their own worker cooperative in March 2025. Its services include ecological landscape design, installation and maintenance, prioritizing native and edible plants and replacing invasive, nonnative species with native plants that encourage biodiverse habitats. Its name is a riff on the northern parula, a small migratory bird that is commonly seen in the Mid-Atlantic during spring and summer.
