MCIC Monthly Update for AUGUST 2026
Board Update: Steady Progress
We’re awaiting word from legal counsel on the SCOR paperwork (the state securities registration that will allow us to offer shares publicly), so we can submit it. Meanwhile, the Business Committee is hard at work preparing the accompanying documents (items such as a business prospectus that will be filed alongside the SCOR). This filing is the foundation upon which MCIC must be built as an investment cooperative, and ensuring they are correct and legally sound is a vital step.
The Finance Committee has also been busy, drafting the forms to be used for stock sales and developing a plan for managing funds after stock sales begin and until a building is purchased. They presented this plan to the Board of Directors during the July board meeting. The committee has also begun to develop a more comprehensive financial plan to guide how funds will be managed once the co-op purchases a building.
We will continue to share updates as they evolve.
Fundraising Update
Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re now just $5,000 away from our $35,000 startup fund goal. To everyone who contributed since our last newsletter, thank you! These funds cover the legal and startup costs that make everything else possible, and every gift moves us closer to launch. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to give, this is it: help us close the gap! Thank you for helping make community-powered investment in the Moscow area a reality.
If you’d like to help us reach our updated goal, contributions to start‑up costs can be made on the MCIC website or by checks payable to MCIC and mailed to:
MCIC PO BOX 8445
Moscow, ID 83843.
Board Member Spotlight
Whit Schroeder
Communications/Outreach Director
Whit joined the Moscow Investment Co-op board in June, bringing just over two decades of experience across nonprofit, private-sector, and community-based work.
A Palouse-area native, Whit holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Broadcast Digital Media and a master’s in Public Administration from the University of Idaho. They recently joined the Moscow Food Co-op’s marketing department. Before that, Whit served on the development and outreach team at TerraGraphics International Foundation, a Moscow-based nonprofit working at the intersection of the environment and public health. They have held marketing and communications roles across the environmental, clean-tech, and university sectors. Whit is also a founding member and former Executive Director of the Institute for Community Partnerships and Sustainable Development, supporting community-led ecosystem restoration in Togo.
Outside of work, you’ll find Whit tending a green thumb, caring for a household full of critters, and spending as much time as they can in nature. We’re grateful to have their perspective on the board.
Help Build Something Moscow Owns Together
The Moscow Community Investment Cooperative is looking for additional board members to help lay the foundation for community ownership of local commercial property — and to keep Moscow equitable, accessible, and locally rooted for the long haul.
We have an immediate need for a Treasurer following Bev’s departure, and we also have additional open board seats. The Treasurer role is a great fit for someone with experience in financial oversight, budgeting, or accounting, but strong candidates from any background are encouraged to reach out.
A few things we want to be upfront about, because we’d rather you know now:
This is a working board. We are a startup cooperative building the systems, structure, and trust that everything else will grow from. That means real hands-on effort — realistically around 10–15 hours a month, with lighter stretches and the occasional heavier ones depending on where we are in the process. We’re looking for people who are genuinely excited to roll up their sleeves and help create something meaningful.
A cooperative is jointly owned and democratically controlled. That model only works when the people who are a part of it are engaged, present, and invested in its success. We’re looking for board members who bring that kind of commitment and passion — people who want to help build a cooperative that serves this community for years to come.
Interested? Reach out to us at moscowinvestmentcooperative@gmail.com, and in your note, tell us one area of skill or experience you think you could best bring to the board — finance, real estate, legal, fundraising, marketing, governance, community organizing, or anything else you are skilled in and believe would benefit the establishment of this cooperative. We’d love to hear from you.
Cooperative Principle of the Month
Cooperative Principle of the Month #6: We support a diverse community of local business owners and residents.
Downtown belongs to all of Moscow. Through community ownership, MCIC works to keep space accessible for local entrepreneurs and residents of every background — so the character of our downtown is shaped by the people who live here, not just by who can pay the highest rent.
Real Estate Fact of the Month
Moscow’s downtown sits exactly where its earliest settlers put it, which is rarer than it sounds. When the railroad arrived in 1885, the railroad companies accepted the town center as it was rather than forcing the commercial district to relocate closer to the tracks, as happened in many other pioneer towns where railroads dictated the layout. So Moscow’s Main Street today occupies the same ground as Moscow’s first store, opened in 1875.
Fun Fact: Over a third of the “contributing” buildings in Moscow’s National Historic Downtown District were built in a single five-year boom (1888–1893), and every downtown building from that period was either a retail establishment or a bank. (source)
Many Hands Make Light Work: Lend your skills to a cooperative built for Moscow.
You don’t have to join the board to help shape what the Moscow Community Investment Cooperative becomes. Our committees are where a lot of the meaningful work happens, and we’re actively looking for volunteers to join us.
We have room on three committees right now:
- Outreach & Engagement — help us tell MCIC’s story, grow our community of members and investors, participate in a meaningful capital campaign, and connect with neighbors, local businesses, and partners across Moscow.
- Business Development — help shape strategy, evaluate property and partnership opportunities, and think through how the cooperative grows.
- Finance — help with budgeting, financial planning, and the numbers that keep the cooperative healthy and accountable.
Committee work is more flexible than serving on the board, and it’s a great way to contribute your time and talents at a level that fits your life. What we’re looking for is genuine enthusiasm for building something community-owned and a willingness to show up and participate.