Privacy Policy category: About Us

CSI Support & Development Services Website Privacy Notice

This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for www.csi.coop. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:

1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
2. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future regarding our organization.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

• See what data we have about you, if any.
• Change/correct any data we have about you.
• Have us delete any data we have about you.
• Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

Security

We take precautions to protect your information.

Cookies

We use "cookies" on this site. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a site visitor's hard drive to help us improve your access to our site and identify repeat visitors to our site. For instance, when we use a cookie to identify you, you would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information on our site.

Links

This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at 586-753-9002 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vendors category: About Us

Cooperative Management Style

CSI Support & Development strongly encourages the empowerment and autonomy of our resident members. In our co-ops, there is no onsite manager because the resident members actively participate in the decision process and management of their co-op. In CSI’s co-ops, resident members volunteer to form committees and a council, in order to oversee the day-to-day operation of their co-op.

At each co-op, the offices are staffed by the volunteers and hours are set according to the needs of the individual co-op. Some of our co-ops have a separate maintenance chair office. Vendors working for our co-ops are encouraged to set appointments with officers and/or committee chairs so they are aware of the hours and to respect the volunteers’ personal time.

The bidding procedures at the co-ops are also different than traditionally managed senior buildings. Each co-op must ensure a MINIMUM of three qualified bids are received. We always follow ethical bidding procedures and do not share bids between vendors. Once they are received, the lowest bid must get approved by both the council and general meetings.

Vendor Form Instructions

If you would like your company to be included in our database of potential vendors, please complete a Contractor Pre-qualification Form and send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fax it to (586) 753-9022. Submitting the form will not guarantee your company a place on our vendors list. We will call you if we have any questions.

Download Contractor Pre-qualification form (.pdf)

Read what some of our vendors say about us...

“CSI's Management style with the resident's participation clearly reflects the condition of their sites, typical of home owner pride. Residents are clearly concerned and very conscience of not only the facilities and grounds, they are concerned with their neighbors and fellow residents. The corporate office is equally concerned with the correct choice of contractors, materials, scope of work and sequence of operations.”

— Doug Darke, Motor City Heating & Cooling Inc.

“CSI has been a big part of Stathakis since the mid 1970’s. Ever since those early days when Stathakis was starting out we always got a different feeling when going inside co-op buildings. Maybe it is the difference between feeling like your going into a building versus someone’s home. When we place a maintenance technician in one of their buildings they become part of a family. That is why we have almost no employee turnover for maintenance technicians in co-op buildings. CSI’s passion for caring about people is infectious and has impacted our entire organization. It doesn’t matter if you’re a resident, the mail man, or one of our technicians, CSI really cares! The other unique aspect about CSI is how hard they work to make sure that every dollar they get goes back into the buildings. Their facilities are some of the safest and most well maintained public housing we work in. They are the kind of buildings that we take great care in servicing and love to brag about. I would not hesitate to recommend any of the co-op buildings to my own family if they were looking for senior citizen housing.”

— Chris A. Stathakis, CEO of Stathakis

"For many years, we have enjoyed working with CSI staff and co-ops. SJS and CSI have become very close partners with the same mission. All CSI staff has been professional, dedicated and caring at all times. These co-ops became like family to our employees, we love working for good people. SJS is looking forward to continue our working relationship with CSI and co-ops for many more years."

— Val Busler, Sunshine Janitorial Service

Corporate Culture category: About Us

At CSI Support & Development it is our goal to recruit competent, courteous and compassionate employees and encourage them to embrace and protect our unique cooperative system. We foster a family atmosphere in which everyone has the opportunity to contribute and grow both personally and professionally. CSI staff partners with members to provide the best cooperatively managed senior housing possible.

Current Job Opportunities

CSI is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunities for all persons. We thank all who express interest in available opportunities with CSI; however only individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

What it's like to work at CSI

“CSI Support & Development has a meaningful mission. I started here in 1997 and I have always been very proud to work for the Co-op. I believe that what our volunteers and staff accomplish together as an organization enriches the lives of the seniors who live in our co-ops. Because of CSI’s strong values and the warm people that I work with, I find my work exceptionally rewarding.”

— Anne Sackrison, National Operations Manager, 15 years with CSI

"Working at CSI is a great opportunity to learn and grow. I am now a Certified Occupancy Specialist thanks to the training I received as well as the classes CSI sent me to. My co-workers and supervisor have taught me a lot. And it is done in a fun and supportive atmosphere with lots of laughs which is so important. My co-workers have become friends and that isn’t something that happens everywhere. I love the feeling that while working I’m making a difference in seniors lives. The job that we do of providing much needed housing is so incredibly important and I’m glad to be a part of it."

— Lori Schilling, Certified Occupancy Specialist, 4 years with CSI

"My name is Karen Archer and I am a Liaison for the California Region of CSI Support & Development. I will be celebrating my 4th year in May. The reason I say celebrate is because I feel that this employment has been by far the most rewarding in my career. Being able to be a part of a cooperative for Seniors has brought great joy and new understanding for Senior living. Watching the members take ownership and pride in their buildings comes with both growth and challenges in everyday life. I am most impressed with the diversity of knowledge, backgrounds and experiences our members bring to their Co-ops. Getting up every day to do my part is not a “job” it is an adventure. You never know what is going to come along, but you always know that there will be support from both CSI and the membership of the Co-ops. Let’s continue to celebrate cooperative living. Thank you for letting me be a part of this great company."

— Karen Archer, Co-op Liaison, 4 years with CSI

"On March 19, 2001 I was blessed to begin working for an organization that values its employees as much as it values the people it serves. Today, I’m grateful that I can honestly say, 'I love my job.' Thank you, CSI, for giving me a chance and fostering the environment to help me develop into a valued employee."

— Isa Woods, Co-op Liaison, 11 years with CSI

"I feel blessed everyday I wake up, knowing my time and energy is going into an organization that prides itself on helping others. It is the underlying reason CSI Support & Development exists. We help provide an affordable, yet very high quality place to live . . . we help foster communities, not just apartments . . . we encourage friendship . . . and our cooperative management system helps give our resident members a sense that this is indeed their home, not a place where a manager will make all the decisions that you’ll just have to live with . . . who wouldn’t want to work for a place like this?"

— Brandon Cleaver, Co-op Liaison, 3.5 years

"You asked why I love working at CSI. There are a lot of reasons that this company has kept my loyalty for 24 years. The ideal of people working together to help each other appeals to me greatly. Society works best when people feel connected to one another and CSI makes that happen at a time when many seniors are on their own as their families are out living their own lives. The bonding between members and staff is incredibly uplifting. The members have so much experience to share and are willing to do so. The stories that they share of their strength and endurance inspire me.

I appreciate working for an organization with ethics. I have never been asked to do anything that would compromise my own principles. I don’t know how many other organizations can say they’ve never maneuvered a waiting list, or never ‘stuck it’ to a contractor, or never saved money for the organization at the expense of its employees.

I love to come to work each day because of the people within our office. I feel connected to each one that same way I do with cousins. We are a family. We spend a lot of time together and work so well together. Most importantly we have fun. No matter how crazy busy we become, we still find humor to get through it effortlessly."

— Marguerite D’Angelo, Regional Manager, 24 years with CSI

Special Awards category: About Us

Awards

• 2016 NAHMA’s Vanguard Award for a Small Property — Wabash Estates nahma.org (ext link)
• 2014 Detroit Free Press Top Workplace Award Winner TopWorkPlaces.com (ext link)
• 2013 Detroit Free Press Top Workplace Award Winner TopWorkPlaces.com (ext link)
• 2012 Detroit Free Press Top Workplace Award Winner TopWorkPlaces.com (ext link)
• 2012 Excellence in Community Development Award to Old Court Estates (HBAM Land Development Council)
• 2011 Detroit Free Press Top Workplace Award Winner—Small Business placed 8th TopWorkPlaces.com (ext link)
• 2011 Communities of Quality Corporate Partner Designation awarded to CSI Support
• 2011 ABC Excellence Award for Southway Builders awarded to Old Court Estates by the Baltimore Area Chapter of the Associated Builders Contractors Organization – Best New Project over $2.5 million
• 2010 Detroit Free Press Top Workplace Award Winner—Small Business placed 13th
• 2010 NAHMA’s Vanguard Award for a Small Property — Gratiot Woods
• 2009 Build Michigan Award—Gratiot Woods Co-op obriencc.com (ext link)
• 2004 ABC Excellence Award for Streuver Bros. Eccles & Rouse awarded to Randallstown Villa by the Baltimore Area Chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors Organization – Best New Project over $5 million
• 1991 Excellence in Construction awarded to Maywood Manor

NAHC Development and Preservation Award

The Development and Preservation Award is given by the National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC) Development and Preservation Committee to recognize innovation, creativity, breakthroughs, leadership or business judgement that improves the likelihood and volume of successful housing cooperative development or the long term viability of existing housing cooperatives.

CSI Board of Directors members Billie J. Walker and Charlotte Lann receiving the NAHC Development and Preservation award for CSI Support & Development

2011 Communities of Quality Corporate Partner Designation awarded to CSI Support

Management companies that have at least 50 percent of their property portfolio accepted into the COQ National Recognition program qualify for the Communities of Quality® Corporate Partner Designation. The portfolio calculation can be based on either number of units or number of properties managed in the company’s affordable portfolio and is self-reported. This designation was created specifically to honor management companies that successfully maintain a significant portion of their properties to the high standards of the COQ National Recognition program. Earn a Significant Mark of Distinction for your Company! Earning this COQ corporate designation is truly an outstanding accomplishment, and it publicly declares that these companies are among the finest managers of affordable multifamily housing in the industry. This designation will add value to the brand of each participating management company and to the Communities of Quality program. We believe that corporate support for this designation will catapult the COQ program into a well-known nationally recognized program honoring excellence in the affordable housing industry.

NAHMA.org (ext link)

Cooperative Hall of Fame, Fred & Virginia Thornthwaite were inducted in 1994

Induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame is the highest honor that the cooperative community bestows on those men and women whose endeavors in the cause of the cooperative form of enterprise have been genuinely heroic. The Cooperative Hall of Fame provides recognition for persons contributing in especially significant ways to the enhancement of the cooperative idea and its broader acceptance in the United States, or to the substantial advancement of cooperative enterprise in any of its various forms.

Fred and Virginia Thornthwaite came of age during the Great Depression and World War II. From these experiences they concluded that existing economic systems had failed. Further study convinced them that a cooperative commonwealth could better meet basic human needs. Suiting action to philosophy, in 1942 Fred helped organize a dairy cooperative in the Downriver area of Detroit. After he and Virginia married, their house became the co-op’s rent-free office and home to a series of student co-op employees.

In 1960 the cooperative added optical services. A consumer-oriented approach made eye care affordable to those who could not afford it before. Over the next 30 years Co/op Optical Services opened 11 retail centers to serve Michigan families. Next the Thornthwaites turned their attention to affordable housing for the elderly. The first venture, Wyandotte Co-op, opened in 1965. A second was finished in 1971 after the couple pledged their own house as security for the construction company’s bond. The founders retired in 1981, but the housing co-op they nurtured continued to flourish. By the 1990′s, Cooperative Services, Inc., with 30 buildings in four states, had become a national model of excellence, and an inspiration to cooperators across the country. For nearly 5,000 residents, the Thornthwaites’ dream of the cooperative commonwealth was a reality.

Heroes.Coop (ext link)

NAHC’s Jerry Voorhis Award, Fred Thornthwaite 1984 (The first recipient of this award)

The NAHC (National Association of Housing Cooperatives) Board established the Voorhis Award in 1984 in memory of Jerry Voorhis, widely regarded as the principal founding father of NAHC. A man of impeccable integrity, he believed in and did his best to teach, apply and widen the use of basic cooperative principles. The award was conceived as an annual lifetime achievement award. Based on the following criteria:

• Long-term commitment to and consistent application of the basic Rochdale principles and practices as applied to housing cooperatives. The Rochdale principles were included in the original Bylaws, and continue to be an NAHC Bylaw feature.
• Steadfast commitment to quality of cooperatives, in recognition that partial or opportunistic application of Rochdale principles and standards and the acceptance of expedient compromises is a prescription for ultimate disaster.
• Significant candidate activity on a leadership level in both the theory and practice of cooperative housing, either or both on the national organization level and in their home community.
• Actual experience by candidate in living and working in a housing cooperative.