Bread WikiOur Declaration
We exist to build tools that empower working people. When applied to benefit the collective, technology becomes a catalyst that enables communities to flourish.
We’re here to show what a worker-owned future can look like.
Who We Are
We are from all over the world, from every expertise, united by the idea of the world we can put in place. Using technology to provide a better life for everyone, everywhere.
We are worker-owned. Everyone who contributes has a say in how things work. Everyone shares in what we build together.
We are funded by the tools we build and the projects we take on. No venture capital, no investors, and not beholden to shareholder value.
What We Build
Practical financial tools that put working people in control:
- Send money to family and friends without banks taking huge cuts
- Save together with people who have your back when times get tough - Pool resources to weather storms and build collective wealth
- Access services designed for real life, not just people with perfect credit - Make decisions about money with transparency and community input
Every tool gets better when more people use it. We’re building abundance, not scarcity.
How We Work
Built together, owned together. We make decisions collectively because the people using these tools should control how they work.
Transparent by design. We publish how our tools work, how money flows, and how decisions get made. Questions make everything better.
Tested with real people. These aren’t theories or prototypes. Real communities use these tools every day to manage real money in real situations.
Resilient enough for real life. Our tools work when other systems fail. They’re designed for the world as it is, while building the world as it could be.
Mass appeal without compromise. We build for everyone, but we never forget who we serve first: working people who need financial tools that actually work.
Why This Matters Now
The world today is the result of choices made. Many of these outside our control. We want to empower working people to make their own choices, especially in communities where few have previously existed. We use technology to put these choices in place. Tools need to serve the needs of real people, and our mission is to make them accessible and effective.
This is practical optimism, and we don’t wait for permission to fix problems. Everything we do is informed by systems that have historically benefitted people. We are building on these ideas to empower workers in the digital age.
When working people control their own financial tools, we can:
- Keep more of what we earn
- Support each other through difficult times
- Build wealth collectively instead of competitively
- Make financial decisions based on community benefit, not individual profit - Create systems that serve human needs first
Our Commitment
To working people everywhere: We build tools for you, controlled by people like you, designed for the challenges you actually face.
To our cooperatives: We maintain democratic control, transparent operations, and equitable distribution of benefits.
To our communities: We share knowledge freely, support other cooperative efforts, and measure our success by collective benefit.
To the future: We’re building financial infrastructure that can serve as the foundation for a more equitable economy.
The Vision We’re Building Toward
Imagine tools that:
- Are designed for cooperation, not competition
- Get better when more people use them
- Generate wealth for communities, not just individuals
- Work the way you actually live and work
- Are controlled by the people who use them
This isn’t utopian thinking. This is practical building.
We know these systems can work because we’re building them. Every tool we deploy proves that we can organize things differently.
Core Principles That Guide Everything We Do
1. Human-First Technology
Technology serves human needs. We build tools that make people’s lives better and easier. When people needed ways to pool resources for mutual support, we built crowdstaking systems. When communities needed accessible financial tools, we created Communet.xyz as a freely available resource.
2. Cooperative Control
The people who use tools control how they work. Democratic decision-making is how we operate. Our core members share multisig control of funds, with spending limits and collective financial decisions that give everyone real ownership with governance power, not just equity on paper.
3. Practical Solidarity
Solidarity is the core of Bread Cooperative. When working people cooperate, we can build abundance and resilience that benefits everyone. We’ve supported people evacuating active warzones, built aid systems for communities facing famine, and created mutual aid networks among self-employed people - because solidarity means showing up when it matters most.
4. Right to Privacy
People have the right to private communication and private technology. Privacy is fundamental to human agency and accountability. We support privacy technology for unions, protesters, and whistleblowers, and defend the right to financial privacy as essential for human agency and holding power accountable.
5. Resilient Design
Our tools work when other systems fail. We adapt to the human needs of the moment. When traditional funding systems couldn’t reach crisis zones, our tools enabled direct peer to-peer support. When existing financial infrastructure excluded people, we built alternatives that work for real communities.
6. Sustainable Growth
We grow by strengthening communities. To us, success means more funding for cooperatives doing essential work, and fostering cycles of growth for the collective.
Our Manifesto in Action
We start with real problems working people face with their money, then build tools that actually solve them.
People and communities affected by decisions are the drivers of solutions.
Every dollar that flows through our system is accounted for transparently, with resources distributed in line with cooperative principles.
Every member has the same access to information, the same voice in decisions and the same share of benefits available to all. We are owners, not participants.
Every challenge is viewed collectively, and all problem-solving responsibilities are shared. We overcome obstacles together.
This is what it looks like when working people take control of their own financial future. This is solidarity made practical.
Join Our Collective
Together, we’re stronger.
Whether you’re new to cooperative economics or have been building community wealth for years, there’s a place for you here.
Start where you are, with what you have:
- Use our tools for your own financial needs
- Contribute skills, knowledge, or resources to cooperative projects
- Connect with others building similar solutions in your area
- Help us test, improve, and expand what we’re building
This is what solidarity looks like in practice. Real people, building real tools, for real community benefit.
The most powerful mission is the one where you act.
Join the cooperative. Let’s build the future we wish to see, together.
The Bread Cooperative Manifesto embodies our identity as working people building practical financial tools through cooperative action. It serves as the foundation for all our communication, the inspiration for our work, and the invitation for others to join us in building a more equitable financial future.