Investor Immersion

December 3-4, 2026 · Morganton, NC Facilitated by Francesco Collaborative and The Industrial Commons

This program is still being finalized. Expect updates through mid-October. We will have 1-2 planning calls in late October & early November for folks that register. 

In 2022, a small group from Francesco Collaborative spent two days in Morganton, the gateway to Appalachia, at a place called The Industrial Commons. One of the worker-owners there was asked why he stayed loyal to his co-op. He said it was simple: these businesses are going places, and he didn't want to miss out.

That's the whole case for this trip, better than we could make it ourselves.

What this is

A 24-hour extension of the Summit, starting midday December 3 into midday on December 4, at The Industrial Commons in Morganton, about two hours from Durham. Three things we're plan to do together.

1) Continue building real relationships between The Industrial Commons' leaders and asset stewards & leaders in our community,

2) See and experience an economic development ecosystem that most people only read about: cooperativism, the circular economy, and inclusion, working at scale, in a particular place.

3) Begin imagining what "commons"-focused, CST-embodied financial relationships could actually look like. They've started a fund they're calling "Capital for the Commons".

What you'll see

The Industrial Commons runs the Carolina Textile District, 25 mills and 2,500 workers within a 75-mile radius, rebuilding a legacy industry that had been left for dead. TIC itself, in 2022 was a staff of 25 on a $3 million budget, incubating the worker co-ops inside that district: Opportunity Threads, Material Return, Good Books, Collection, TOSS Studio, with more in development. Since then, they received a National Science Foundation "Engine" award -- for up to $160 million -- in funding -- and are leveling up in the process. 

Material Return is where it gets concrete. Textile manufacturing accounts for roughly 12% of global carbon emissions, and Material Return's answer is custom circularity, sorting and processing textile waste, spinning it into yarn, turning it back into fabric for the district's own manufacturers to use.

Morganton has a large Guatemalan Mayan population, and a high proportion of these co-ops' worker-owners come from that community. You'll meet them. You'll hear directly from people who talk about ownership the way the man above did, plainly, and like they mean it.

Molly Hemstreet, executive director at The Industrial Commons, put the whole philosophy in two words once: build deeper.

Who's been part of this before

The 2022 visit included people from Mercy Partnership Fund, Franciscan Sisters of Mary, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, Racine Dominicans, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, Ascension Investment Management, Ownership Matters, FADICA, National Cooperative Bank, Duke Divinity School, and Wake Forest University.

Logistics

The immersion begins right after the Summit's closing commissioning on December 3, so you'll travel together from Duke Divinity straight to Morganton. It runs through the afternoon of December 4.

Space is limited to roughly 20 to 30 people.

Most Summit travel routes through Raleigh-Durham (RDU). If you're joining the immersion and flying out the evening of December 4, Charlotte's airport is closer to Morganton and has more evening options, worth considering a booking out of Charlotte NC (CLT) or routing back through RDU.

Erica Damman, who lives in Morganton, is coordinating all the logistics for this trip directly. Erica@francescocollaborative.org 

Cost

We expect this to run around $300 as an add-on to your Summit registration, lodging booked separately. Final pricing and transport details are still being confirmed with Erica and The Industrial Commons.

Attendance does not imply endorsement of any offering.

Sign up now to let us know you're interested

Interested, but unsure? Email cameron@francescocollaborative.org and we'll make sure you're on the list.

Questions? Email cameron@francescocollaborative.org.