North Carolina Employee Ownership Center

Our major program areas include telling stories, forging partnerships, and providing unbiased information around all types of Employee Ownership (Employee stock Ownership plans (esops), worker cooperatives, and Employee Ownership trusts (eots), both as an exit planning and a business growth tool to businesses and a broad variety of stakeholders (business advisors, economic developers, community members).see schedule o for additional details.we are building a strong ecosystem to provide support for privately held businesses to convert to Employee Ownership, and we model doing business with employee-owned firms. Nceoc has a particular focus on increasing wealth building opportunities for black, indigenous, people of color (bipoc)-owned businesses and businesses with majority-bipoc workforces. We view Employee Ownership as a critical tool to achieve these goals. By educating communities, businesses, and economic developers on Employee Ownership and helping to convert business to esops, worker cooperatives, and other structures, we help broaden economic opportunity to benefit traditionally disadvantaged groups. As we strive to address these challenges, we are optimistic that three opportunities will arise:-growing awareness and interest: Employee Ownership can be a powerful tool for building wealth and creating more equitable workplaces, and there is growing interest in this model across the country. A recent study revealed that being part of an esop resulted in 92% higher median household wealth, 33% higher median income from wages, and 53% longer median job tenure.-collaborative networks and partnerships: there are many organizations and networks working to advance racial equity and build power in communities of color, and building strong partnerships across sectors can amplify our impact.-supportive policies and institutions: policies and institutions that promote equity and inclusion can create a more favorable environment for power building and help level the playing field for communities of color.since its founding in 2019 nceoc has successfully built strong relationships in communities around the state, developed effective education materials, and networked with advisors, partners, and retiring business owners. Activities include:-a successful online bilingual celebration of Employee Ownership in oct. 2020 and an in-person celebration of Employee Ownership in winston-salem in oct. 2022 highlighting recently converted eo companies (sow true seed, shopbot tools, kontek, caktus group).-one-on-one meetings with more than 20 businesses, resulting in 25% of them actively pursuing Employee Ownership conversions-outreach to 1,800 black, indigenous, and people of color (bipoc)-owned businesses throughout the state; partnership with the city of durham assisting legacy black-owned businesses with succession planning-50,000+ people reached through paid social media, focusing on retiring business owners, rural areas, and bipoc-owned businesses-20+ presentations to economic development organizations across the state-community-based work in durham, winston salem, charlotte, and smaller eastern nc counties including martin and halifax county, while establishing partnerships and securing funding sources for the greater asheville region.-creation of service provider network to provide business owners with technical assistance-collaboration with individual investors, lenders, and foundations to provide funding for Employee Ownership conversions-creation of Employee Ownership ambassador program to educate key community stakeholders in Employee Ownership basics; successfully graduated the first two cohorts-with nc growth, created a priority business index of medium to large privately held businesses in nc with owners nearing retirement age and with significant bipoc workforces.in our state there is a large need for succession planning support to save jobs, revenue, and payroll. Employee Ownership could provide these employees with the lasting impact of wealth building opportunities that could impact themselves, their families, and their communities for years to come.