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. 

By raising the awareness of the many tangible business benefits of employee ownership (EO) among business owners who otherwise might never consider it, the campaign aims to increase affinity with employee ownership among small business owners broadly. It helps business owners see EO as a valuable business tool that can help them increase profits, retain employees, and plan for their retirement. The campaign offers a variety of tools to help owners better understand the benefits of EO and how it could fit their business, and it connects them with experts who can help them learn more. 

Initial research that helped refine the campaign’s messaging (including a survey of small business owners) as well as ongoing support for the campaign is supported by the Kendeda Fund and overseen by four mission-driven nonprofit partners: Evergreen Cooperatives, ICA Group, Nexus Community Partners, and Project Equity.

The campaign is now expanding its network with the launch of the Allied Partners Program. The cohort of Allied Partners represents important field-building organizations that will help bring an increasingly diverse set of EO stories into the campaign and spread the assets that the campaign has developed to a broader set of business owners, leveraging the research, investment, and learnings of the campaign for greater impact. 

"Too often we hear from business owners who successfully transitioned their business to an employee ownership model that they ‘stumbled across’ [employee ownership] at the final hour or after unsuccessfully trying to sell their business to a third party,” said Steve Storkan, executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, an EO Equals Allied Partner. “It is time that employee ownership becomes a mainstream topic that every business owner knows exists even if they do not know the specific details. The EO Equals campaign is a great tool to start that conversation and one the Employee Ownership Expansion Network is proud to be a part of."

The EO Equals campaign connects directly with business owners, helping them get interested in the benefits that employee ownership offers, and what it can look like in their business. 

EO Equals is excited to welcome these Allied Partners to the campaign!

• American Sustainable Business Network
• Certified Employee Owned
• Democracy at Work Institute 
• Employee Ownership Expansion Network 
• National Center for Employee Ownership
• Ohio Employee Ownership Center

To read more about EO Equals, meet the Founding and Allied Partners, or attend an upcoming event, visit the EO Equals website. 

Have questions? Want to share your employee ownership story or find out how you can help amplify the campaign? Reach out to the EO Equals team via email.