🌷 Here Comes Conference Season
EO+WD Weekend Newsletter Vol. 93
🤗 Welcome Back!
What we’re up to:
Dr. Hand, Tiffany, and Zoe Schlag got page proofs back for their forthcoming chapter in the book Retaining and Transitioning Businesses in Communities: Strategies for a New Era
If you’d like to read an advance version of chapter, “Utilizing Purpose Trusts for Rural Succession and Community Resilience,” respond to this email for a link
Other authors include EO+WD readers Corey Rosen, Michael Palmieri, Chris Cooper, and Graeme Nuttall
Dr. Hand’s UTA students dropped a new round of posts over on Democracy in 500 Words (Di5W), including on epistocracy, social democracy, and ranked choice voting
Evan brainstorms what bringing employee ownership to college campuses could look like
📢 Top Shelf News
In Washington state, a new bill (HB 2047) would eliminate the employee ownership program in the state if passed (h/t Steve S.)
Washington resident or not, have your voice heard here
Transform Finance and Purpose Economy both have panels under consideration for the SOCAP Global conference. Go vote!
The ESOP Association released their March ESOP Report
President and CEO, Jim Bonham, had a meeting with new U.S. Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, discussing upcoming priorities for ESOPs
Jim Bonham advocates removing common interest agreements, the adequate consideration provision, and EBSA’s National Enforcement Project against ESOPs
Congratulations to the Texas-Oklahoma Chapter of the ESOP Association company of the year, Gemini Industries, and employee owner of the year Amy Gentry!
Check out the agendas of two big events this week: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum in DC and the 39th (!) Ohio Employee Ownership Conference in Akron
🔍 White Papers, Op-Eds, and Other Analysis
👉 Research & Articles
Dr. Anne Sanders discusses the release of her new article about steward ownership and what it could look like in Germany and the Netherlands
The Aspen Institute releases its March Economic Opportunities Program, including new articles on economic inclusion
Health Affairs Scholar highlights how worker-owned home care cooperatives benefit the quality of care while empowering home care workers (h/t The ICA Group)
A new survey hosted by NCBA CLUSA reveals that 81% of respondents believe cooperatives are valuable to workers and 75% see the benefits cooperatives bring to local communities (h/t The ICA group)
Project Equity outlines what employee ownership is, where it benefits workplaces, and how important it is for business advisors to be familiar with these structures
👉 Commentary
Mike Brady, founder of 40 Million Owners, highlights the value that lies in shared ownership models such as ESOPs, EOTs, and worker cooperatives
Marie Davis, Executive Director of The Georgia Center for Employee Ownership, shares the benefits of and potential that employee ownership presents to small businesses
Susan DeMark highlights worker-cooperative Found and Fixed, encouraging a repair economy (h/t The ICA Group)
The Journal of Accountancy discusses what accountants should know when clients consider transitioning to employee ownership (h/t The ICA Group)
Empowered Ventures reflects on the past year of transitioning companies to employee-owned in their latest podcast episode
👉 Conferences & Events
The ESOP Association announced Axios’s Jim VandeHei as a keynote speaker at their National Conference in May
Edwin Warfield interviews Maureen Conway and Adria Scharf about the upcoming Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Rutgers NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership discussed a new initiative that will support business owners in ownership transition
🌇 Upcoming Events
April 8: Democracy Collaborative’s webinar Introduction to Community Wealth Building
🆕 | April 8: Ethnography Atelier hosts Mike Lee to discuss his new paper, Durable Decentralization, co-authored with Trevor-Young Hyman
April 9-10: The Aspen-Rutgers Employee Ownership Ideas Forum in Washington, DC
🆕 | April 10: Purpose Economy’s weekly Q&A session on steward ownership (every Thursday, alternating between German and English)
April 10: The 39th Annual Ohio Employee Ownership Conference in Akron
April 14-17: NCEO’s 2025 Annual Employee Ownership Conference in Salt Lake City
April 17: Common Trust’s webinar, Owners Session: The First Year of Employee Ownership with Brad Herrmann
April 22: Project Equity’s webinar Attract & Keep Top Talent-Why Employee Ownership is the Key
April 24: Ownership Capital Lab’s webinar NextGen investors for social impact: The power to scale EO
🆕 | April 24: National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives host ExitPro 101: Employee Ownership for Small Business Advisors and Accountants
“Non-members, register for free using this promo code: PE-VIP99$”
April 30: The Iowa Center for Employee Ownership’s webinar, Advisors’ Edge: Unlocking Employee Ownership for Your Clients
May 6-8: Community Spaces Network and Community Vision’s Social Purpose Real Estate Summit
May 8-June 19: Ownership Capital Lab’s four-part educational course for foundations and philanthropic institutions on addressing the racial and gender wealth gap through investments in the Ownership Economy
May 12-13: The Ownership Project at the Harvard Business School’s conference, Worker Ownership: Expanding Typology and Exploring Dimensions
May 13-16: The TEA National Conference on ESOP advocacy and education, in Washington, D.C.
May 14-15: ImpactPHL and SOCAP’s Total Impact Summit in Philadelphia
June 22-24: The Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing hosts its second 2025 Future of Equity Symposium in Palo Alto
July 8-11: The 5th Global Research Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance in Montreal
July 14: The National Center for Employee Ownership’s Ownership in Action Series in San Diego
July 14-15: The National Center for Employee Ownership’s Is an ESOP Right for You? event in San Diego
July 24-25: Employee-Owned S Corporations of America’s 2025 Midwestern Regional Policy Seminar in Chicago
August 5-8: The Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership in the UK
August 30: The 3rd annual Rutgers-Oxford Employee Ownership Research Symposium, also in the UK
September 10-12: Employee-Owned S Corporations of America’s 2025 Federal Policy Conference & Lobby Day in Washington, D.C.
October 6-7: Employee-Owned S Corporations of America’s 2025 Pacific Regional Policy Seminar in Marina del Rey
October 23: The 3rd Annual Employee Ownership Conference in Ankeny
October 27-29: Social Capital Markets’s SOCAP25 in San Francisco
⏪ In Case You Missed It
Adria Scharf highlights how employee ownership is finding its way into business and management schools
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is helping companies transition to Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) (h/t Certified Employee-Owned)
Louisa Thomas features a new network of women’s leagues, Athletes Unlimited, that challenges conventional ownership structures in sports