Employee Ownership Blog

Loren Rodgers

August 11, 2021

An Update to the Community: Why the Fall Forum Will Be Fully Virtual

As you've probably heard by now, our 2021 Fall ESOP Forum will now be exclusively an online event. While this news is disappointing to all of us who were eager to reunite with the ESOP community in person, we’re very excited for the Forum’s virtual shift and all the ways we’ll connect in our online format. Both of us were excited to travel to San Diego: As the NCEO’s board chair and CFO of member company Realityworks, Mary was planning to lead a team from Realityworks and was also looking forward to having face time with service providers and other ESOP peers. Loren, among many other things, was looking forward to meeting some of the new NCEO staff in person for the first time!

Corey Rosen

August 05, 2021

WSJ Article Points to Need for More Employee Ownership for Workers of Color

An excellent article in the Wall Street Journal on August 5, For Black and Latino Workers, Equity Rewards Are Elusive, discussed how research consistently shows that people of color are much less likely to accumulate equity in their companies than other workers. Quoting General Social Survey data, the article noted that Black and Latino workers who report having stock in their companies have about half of what white workers do. A 2020 survey from Carta, a stock plan administration company, found that in startups, Black employees account for just 2% of all the equity grants.

Loren Rodgers

August 04, 2021

Applications Being Accepted for 2021 Marilyn Perkins Claassen Scholarships

The Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI) at Santa Clara University is accepting applications for the 2021 Marilyn Perkins J. Classen Memorial Scholarships. CEPI Senior Director Alex Florea noted that "this is a great opportunity for individuals in the equity compensation industry to earn their CEP designation." The two $5,000 awards support study and certification as a certified equity professional (CEP). Applications are available online and will be accepted until August 20.

Loren Rodgers

August 02, 2021

House Committee Report Directs SBA to Fully Implement Main Street Employee Ownership Act

Since the Main Street Employee Ownership Act (MSEOA) was signed into law in August 2018, the NCEO and others in the field have questioned whether its implementation matched Congress's intent to promote employee ownership. See, for example, our blog post Proposed SBA Regulations Appear to Weaken the Impact of the Main Street Employee Ownership Act.

NCEO

July 29, 2021

Increasing Access to the Fall ESOP Forum

Every year, my colleagues and I at Chartwell look forward to the NCEO's events, and this year's Fall ESOP Forum is no different. We couldn't be more excited to finally reconnect with all of our ESOP friends at this year's Forum.

Timothy Garbinsky

July 23, 2021

Our Friends at the VEOC Are Hiring

One of my favorite things about the employee ownership world is that it's always growing and moving. In addition to being a net positive for workers, businesses, and the economy in general, EO is also an exciting environment to work in, with lots of opportunities to get involved. And these opportunities aren't rigid or cookie-cutter—you can work at a national organization or local one, you can get involved in policy and advocacy, or you can work directly with companies. Whether you work full- or part-time or are a volunteer, the sphere around employee ownership is as flexible as employee ownership itself is for owners and companies.

Loren Rodgers

July 15, 2021

Australia's First Company Owned by an Employee Ownership Trust: Meld Studios

On June 24, 2021, Meld Studios announced that it was transitioning ownership from its three founders to an employee ownership trust (EOT) that owns shares on behalf of all 22 Meld employees.

Timothy Garbinsky

July 09, 2021

At the Intersection of ESOPs and DEI

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, an Ownership Approach

ESOPs at their best do a lot more than provide working people with livable retirement income. Sure, this is perhaps the most important or compelling aspect of ESOPs, and one needn't look far to see reasons why this sort of wealth inequality solution is so vital in 2021.

Dallan Guzinski

July 01, 2021

Join Me This Summer for the Communications Committee Crash Course

A long-term employee-owner at Web Industries with 20-plus years at the company once told an audience of NCEO conference-goers in Minneapolis that communication and learning at an ESOP company never really ends. He said that even thinking there is a finish line when it comes to improving your efforts on education might just mean that there is still a whole lot more to learn...

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