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Why You Should Join the NCEO
By Corey Rosen
NCEO Cofounder and Executive Director
For most people joining the NCEO, the first-year membership is just $90 (it's more if you are outside the U.S. or want to be in our referral service, but the fees are still very reasonable). But you might be thinking, "I don't really need this now; I'll just look at their Web site and maybe buy a book or two. This whole process is costly enough; I'll save the membership fee." I understand the concern, but, frankly, membership is quite a bargain.What You'll Get as a Member:
- Discounts on publications and meetings. Often, you'll save a substantial portion of the membership fee, and sometimes pay for it outright, the very first time you order.
- Free Webinars and call-in meetings on ESOPs and equity compensation. We cover just about every conceivable topic.
- A detailed newsletter every other month with articles on employee ownership companies, legal issues, ownership culture, legislative and regulatory developments, and more.
- You can call or e-mail me or one of our other very experienced staff (our median staff tenure is about 10 years) with questions and issues.
- Access to the members-only area of our Web site, which features a referral service (to find consultants), a searchable archive of case studies and back issues of the newsletter, a discussion forum, and more.
Reasons Why You Might Think You Don't Need to Join (but Do)
"We're just thinking about a plan; we'll join if we set one up."For $90 (less any discounts you'd get on anything you'd order, or about 15 minutes of a lawyer's time), you can talk to us to make sure you really know what your options are. Your accountant or lawyer or a colleague may know something about employee ownership, but it is very unlikely they will have the kind of long experience with multiple plans and alternatives we do. We aren't consultants; we are not trying to sell you on our services. We just want to help you make sure that what you do is what will work for you. Setting up a plan will cost tens of thousands of dollars and a lot of time. We can help make sure you spend that money wisely, and may even be able to save needless fees.
"We have a plan, but we get what we need to know from our professionals."
Your advisors may indeed be highly qualified (if you have the right ones), but it is unlikely any of them can give you all the information you need. Can they guide you through how to make an ownership culture work? Can they alert you to other plan ideas from interesting companies? Do you get regular updates from them on regulations and laws that may affect you? Can they help you network with other employee ownership companies? Is it really worth saving the membership fee to take that risk?
"I already belong to an employee ownership organization."
There are a number of other organizations that deal directly or indirectly with employee ownership you may belong to. We would never suggest you drop these memberships to join us. These groups serve their own important purposes. But the truth is there is no more objective and comprehensive source of information on all forms of employee ownership than the NCEO. We are the only organization that covers all the different approaches to employee ownership. You will get information and services from us you simply won't get elsewhere. And you will get it for a fraction of the cost of other memberships. So you can easily add an NCEO membership on to what you already have. If you just get one or two good ideas a year, you'll be way ahead.
"If you charge that little, you must not provide many benefits."
You can see the benefits we provide above. We charge what we do because we are committed to providing the lowest possible price. We have a dedicated, long-tenured, creative staff that, following the employee involvement models we preach to others, has developed an efficient business model that makes us financially very stable even at these low prices. We could charge more, but we'd rather keep your costs low.
