Why GCUC Access Is Now Access, Powered by GCUC

We made a small name change, and it says something big about where this is going. GCUC Access is now Access, Powered by GCUC.

When we launched Access in April, we asked coworking spaces to make one public promise: within a year, every member gets barrier-free access to mental health support. The response has been bigger than I hoped. The more operators I talked to, the clearer it became that the name needed to catch up with the idea.

Why the Change

Access was never meant to be a GCUC thing. It’s a coworking thing. Members’ mental health support shouldn’t depend on whether you come to our conference, follow us on LinkedIn, or even like us.

Putting our name first made it sound like a GCUC program you join. That’s not what this is. This is an industry standard, and it belongs to every operator who signs on, from a single-location space in a small town to a global flex brand.

So we’re stepping back to where we belong: behind it. GCUC is the facilitator. We host the pledge, keep the list, share what’s working, and cheer loudly. The movement belongs to all of you.

What Stays the Same

The promise hasn’t changed:

• It’s free. There’s no fee to sign the pledge, ever.
• It’s public. Signing means saying it out loud, to your members and to the industry.
• You get a year. The clock starts when you sign, so you have time to do it right.
• You choose how. Partner with a local therapist, subsidize sessions, train your community team, partner with a university or build something we haven’t thought of yet. What matters is that members can get support, without barriers.

A Badge for Your Website

If this belongs to everyone, everyone should be able to show it. So we’re creating an Access Badge that any signed space can put on its website, in its member welcome kit, or on the front door.

The badge is for your members first. It tells them, before they ever have to ask, that this is a place where it’s okay not to be okay and where help is within reach. It also tells prospective members and your peers that you’re part of something bigger.

Join Us

Coworking can be the first industry in the world to offer free, accessible mental health support to every member. We get there one space at a time.

If you’ve already signed, thank you. If you haven’t yet, take the pledge at gcuc.co/gcuc-access. Start with one location. That’s how every movement and coworking brand starts.

Liz