Culture and benefits at Brave Technology Coop

We envision hopeful, transformed communities where social isolation is overcome and accidental overdose deaths are a thing of the past. Human compassion and trust are restored, so those affected directly and indirectly by the opioid crisis can feel safe in their homes, workplaces and lives, and engaged in their communities. Everyone has unfettered access to the help they need, because there is a fair, purposeful flow of resources from those with excess to those who seek support. Brave is a multi-stakeholder cooperative, working out of Vancouver, BC, and Columbus, Ohio. We design interventions to prevent accidental overdose deaths. Our technology tools have been co-designed with people who use drugs, respond to overdose, and build community resilience in the face of the overdose epidemic. They are designed to connect people at risk of overdose with help they need: an ally they can talk to, a human supporter to help them stay safe, and digital monitoring technology to help them when they’re in danger by connecting them with a community of overdose responders, and professional emergency first responders. Brave was founded on principles of economic justice and accountability to community. We believe that everyone involved in what we do should enjoy a share of the benefits and a say in how we do it. This is why we operate as a cooperative. Being a cooperative means that Brave is co-owned and democratically controlled by its members. Most for-profit businesses give ownership and voting power only to investors. In contrast, cooperatives split profits among all members and operate on a one-member one-vote basis. There are several types of coops, which differ depending on what kind of members they have and how these members interact. Brave is a “multi-stakeholder” cooperative because we have three types of members - those who are who are workers at Brave, those who invest in the company, and those who use our technology or services.