Timothy Garbinsky
It’s that time of year again! This December, you can support employee-owned businesses while crossing items off your wish list by shopping with our NCEO Gift Guide. Every year, we refresh this guide to bring you the latest in consumer goods and products created and/or sold by employee-owned businesses.
Timothy Garbinsky
Around this time in late 2021, I wrote about the urgent need for DEI programs to address the myriad issues of racial and gender equity in the working world. At that point, the call to act felt clear not only to me but also to those who’d been previously deaf to it—significant portions of the population belonged to demographic groups long passed over, ignored, cast aside, or waved away. It felt (and excuse the clunky, on-the-nose metaphor) as though the issues of modern work were being seen no longer in drab and dichotomous black and white, but in technicolor, with all the vibrancy and nuance that that implies.
Timothy Garbinsky
Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H), a middle-market mezzanine debt firm with the mission of closing the racial wealth gap using employee ownership, has released its first annual impact report, highlighting some of the successes of its initial Legacy Fund I. A&H saw its first fund oversubscribed by investors and foundations, exceeding its initial $50 million cap by over $8 million. This fund will help A&H further its mission of converting businesses that primarily employ workers of color to employee ownership.
Timothy Garbinsky
Our friends at the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (or ESCA) have reported that they've had constructive dialogue with the IRS regarding their recent press release on ESOPs. Our understanding is that the press release was intended as just that-- a press release and not an official notice of any sort. This press release was meant to alert interested parties generally and the employee ownership community more specifically that they've identified what they've termed a "questionable transaction."
Timothy Garbinsky
A new NCEO study commissioned by the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA) found that workers who own their companies via an ESOP have far greater retirement security than the majority of the American workforce. The recent survey also shows that, even at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty in the labor market, when many companies are contracting and struggling to find and retain workers, employee-owned S corporations also report better employee retention through a corporate culture that fosters worker satisfaction.
Timothy Garbinsky
Across the U.S. there is a burgeoning and vibrant network of state centers for employee ownership that are working to get the word out about ESOPs, worker cooperatives, employee ownership trusts (EOTs), and other forms of broad-based ownership for businesses. Dating back to the 1980s with the founding of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC), these efforts have gathered steam in recent years. The Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) has been assisting in setting up and operating these centers throughout the nation, helping bring the employee ownership message to business owners, economic developers, educators, and communities.
Timothy Garbinsky
Our friends at the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) have announced the launch of a state center for employee ownership in Illinois. Much like the other state centers launched by the EOX in Minnesota, North Carolina, Missouri, and elsewhere, the Illinois Center for Employee Ownership focuses on providing resources on employee ownership as a succession option for businesses across their communities. By partnering with local universities (as in Pennsylvania) and government entities, as well as employee-owned businesses and service providers, state centers are able to serve as "boots on the ground" in the effort to spread the word about employee ownership. The hope is that state centers, through their unbiased, solutions-oriented outreach, will lead to a real sea change, building momentum for all forms of broad-based employee ownership.
Timothy Garbinsky
Hilary Abell and Alison Lingane, cofounders of employee ownership advocates Project Equity, have been named co-recipients of the Heinz Award. The program was launched in 1993 to honor late U.S. Senator John Heinz by awarding and recognizing achievement in areas that were important to him. This year's award sees prizes totaling $1.5 million being awarded to seven Americans in recognition of their contributions to the arts, economy, or the environment.
Timothy Garbinsky
Launched in October 2021 (timed to coincide with Employee Ownership Month!), EO Equals is a research-backed national media campaign designed to expand the employee ownership movement.
