2026 Board of Director Candidate
Matt Small
Matt Small is the founder of Commonwealth Creative, a Fredericksburg creative studio that builds modern,technology-driven brands without the bloat or bureaucracy. He has been part of the Fredericksburg community since 1985. He lives with his family and pets along the Rappahannock River near Hartwood, where they enjoy swimming, gardening, arts & crafts and shopping.
Q&A
Why would you like to serve on the Board?
I absolutely love our Co-op. It is a cornerstone of our community, and I want to help ensure it exists in perpetuity.
Have you done any volunteer work or contributed to the Fredericksburg Food Co-op, or another co-op, in the past? If so, please describe.
Yes. I’ve volunteered for the majority of my adult (and teenage) life with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, United Way, Friends of the Rappahannock and Northern Virginia Food Rescue, just to name a few. I was also a supporter of Friendly City Food Co-op in Harrisonburg before I started supporting our Co-op around 2020. I can’t remember the exact year, but it was pre-COVID and I’ve been a supporter ever since. I even worked at the Co-op for a few weeks after leaving my job with the Commonwealth and launching my own business. I thought it would be educational, would help the Co-op out during the busy holiday season with some excellent workmanship, and fit nicely into my newly flexible schedule. It ended up giving me a completely different perspective of the Co-op, not just as a customer or supporter, but what it actually takes to keep the place running.
In your view, how can the Board strengthen connections between the Co-op and the wider community?
Partnerships. I think the Board should be one of the Co-op’s biggest connections to the community, and we can be a lot more intentional about using those connections. For example, if every Board member gave just two tours a week to local businesses and organizations, that’s around 78 businesses coming through the Co-op every month. The average Fredericksburg business has about 15 employees, so if part of that tour was simply asking the business to send an email introducing the Co-op to their employees, we’re potentially reaching more than 1,100 people every month.
Based on average internal email open and engagement rates, around 775 of those employees would actually see the message. Even with a fairly conservative conversion rate, that could mean 15-30 new customers every month. But I think the bigger value is the 78 new relationships we’re building with businesses and organizations throughout the community.
Over a year, that’s more than 900 business touchpoints and potentially 13,000+ people being introduced to the Co-op.
What strengths or skills do you feel you have that would add value to the Board?
Data & Reporting.
What’s your favorite Co-op product?
Anything fresh…produce, proteins.