On April 2, Harvard Social Impact Review published the article “Rethinking Ownership: Putting Purpose at the Center,” which explores trust ownership, including employee ownership trusts and perpetual purpose trusts (EOTs and PPTs respectively). The authors, Jenny Everett, Mark Hand, and Natalie Reitman-White, note the growth in the number of companies using this form and also suggest that given the still-small size of the field, "now is the time to invest in the field-building infrastructure necessary to develop and scale the purpose trust ownership legal form."
Their article includes links to several organizations and resources, including databases of companies and advisors, and highlights a coming gathering to systematize the support for the growth of EOTs and PPTs.
The NCEO is actively supporting the growth of EOTs especially, with the publication last week of a book on EOTs, sessions at our annual conference, and a survey of current practices among EOTs and PPTs that will begin collecting data later this month. Anyone interested in EOTs can learn more by reading our Introduction to Employee Ownership Trusts article or joining our gathering of EOTs.