Employee Ownership Blog

Corey Rosen

Bipartisan Bill Extends ESOP DoD Procurement Program to All Agencies

In 2022, the National Defense Authorization Act created the first-ever government contracting program to specifically encourage ESOPs. Section 874 of the new law created a Department of Defense (DoD) pilot program to allow companies that are or become 100% ESOP-owned to receive noncompete follow-on contracts for their work. The award is contingent on finding that the contractor’s performance is satisfactory or better. The program will run for five years, and the Government Accountability Office is required to provide an assessment of it within three years of the program’s enactment.

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Nancy Wiefek

University of Minnesota Extension Research Provides Insights on Rural Business Owners

There are interesting and helpful resources and research coming from Michael Darger and others at the University of Minnesota Extension program. Most recently, they conducted a rigorous survey of the state’s business owners that offers real insights into how employee ownership fits into their plans.

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Timothy Garbinsky

ESOP CEO Authors White Paper Encouraging EO in Healthcare Industry

Increasingly, private equity (PE) is becoming a bigger part of American life through its unceasing ability to acquire businesses across all sectors of American life. Operating on the principle of aggressive growth, PE firms often seek to maximize their investment by ruthlessly cutting costs wherever possible while trying to, at a minimum, sustain their revenue, meaning that companies often end up charging the same or more for their goods or services while their quality declines. The inevitable outcomes in these situations are concerning enough in the publishing and entertainment industries, but what happens when the service that's replaced is essential and life-saving healthcare?

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Timothy Garbinsky

Harvard Social Impact Review Publishes Article on EOTs and Purpose Trusts

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."

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Corey Rosen

Twenty-Eight of the Largest 200 Private Companies Have EO or Similar Plans

By my estimation, twenty-eight of the Forbes 200 largest private companies (by revenue) appear to be partially or wholly employee-owned or have employee ownership-like plans. Two are companies with profit-sharing plans invested in company stock, one is a broad-based partnership, one offers phantom stock to all employees, one is an ownership trust, one grants stock awards, eight are minority-owned by ESOPs, and fourteen are majority-owned by ESOPs:

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Timothy Garbinsky

NJ Exploring Development of Statewide EO Program

Following the lead of Colorado and Washington State, New Jersey appears to be mulling a potential state program for employee ownership. Today, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) issued a formal Request for Information on developing a program, seeking insight from individuals and firms alike on what such a program might look like. The interest in employee ownership was spurred by the Governor's Wealth Disparity Task Force, which highlighted employee ownership as a potential initiative on which to focus.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Gina Schaefer to Headline OEOC Conference This Month

Last September, we had the privilege of seeing Gina Schaefer, the founder of ESOP-owned A Few Cool Hardware Stores, deliver the keynote address at our 2023 Fall Forum in Houston. Her story of how her company exceeded its promise of being a mere place of commerce, turning into a hub for the communities in which it resides, was inspiring. Even before becoming employee-owned, Gina's stores became essential fixtures for the locals and employees alike, and the ESOP only strengthened their impact. Her talk was vulnerable, witty, intelligent, and moving, and a great reminder of why we do the work that we do.

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Jaymie Oviedo

The 2024 Annual Conference Is Officially Sold Out!

It's official: as of last night, our 2024 Annual Employee Ownership Conference, taking place from April 29 to May 1, has officially sold out! We are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and reception from our community. This event has grown nearly every year and continues to exceed its already high expectations in quality, but nothing could have prepared us for the event to sell out a full month and a half before we descend on the Tampa Convention Center.

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