Massachusetts to Cover Some Employee Ownership Feasibility Costs

The Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership, part of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development,  now offers partial stipends for pre-conversion technical assistance to explore or structure a transition to ESOP or worker cooperative ownership. The program will cover “50% of approved costs for services provided by a MassCEO-approved technical assistance provider, up to $25,000 for an ESOP project and $12,500 for a worker cooperative project.” The state has approved a very limited number of providers under the program: currently three for ESOPs and four for worker cooperatives. The funds are not just limited to feasibility studies. They can be applied to any of the legal, trustee, financial, or appraisal services a company chooses. Details are available on MassCEO’s website.