MINNEAPOLIS, April 26, 2022—The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership (MNCEO) has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation to expand the capacity building in marginalized communities and greater Minnesota.

Established in January 2020, MNCEO provides free and unbiased outreach and educational opportunities for business owners, their employees, their advisors, and community leaders interested in exploring the many different forms of employee ownership, including employee stock ownership plans, and worker-owned cooperatives, and employee ownership trusts. It has been shown that employee ownership offers workers at all levels of an organization a piece of the pie, which ultimately creates a strong financial future for all.  

MNCEO plans to use the McKnight Foundation grant to help more business owners explore employee-owned succession models, as well as educate more employees about advocating for such options when their employers consider selling or closing their doors. The grant will be dispersed in $50,000 increments annually over a two-year period.  

In 2020, MNCEO also received a $50,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation. The grant was used to hire a community outreach coordinator to ensure there is a concerted effort to reach and educate oftentimes overlooked and marginalized BIPOC communities on the many benefits of employee ownership, which is one of the easiest and fastest ways to close the alarming and glaring wealth disparity gap in Minnesota. 

“MNCEO is once again honored to be a grant recipient of the McKnight Foundation. This continued funding partnership will empower us to expand our capacity to amplify awareness of employee ownership as a valuable, flexible succession tool that enables owners to sell their businesses to their employees while preserving its integrity and keeping the company firmly rooted in its community,” said Sue Crockett, executive director of MNCEO, one of 11 state centers for employee ownership created by the Employee Ownership Expansion Network since launching in 2019. 

In recent years, succession planning has become a growing concern among employees and elected officials around the country as baby boomers begin to retire in great numbers.  A 2020 study developed by Project Equity for MNCEO showed that approximately 50% of all job-creating businesses in Minnesota are owned by those over the age of 55. These 53,000 businesses employ more than 600,000 workers with a payroll of $24 billion. 

Project Equity’s MNCEO report also estimated that 60% of these business owners plan to transfer ownership in the next decade, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating this retirement timeline for many. Yet, many business owners do not have a succession plan in place in the wake of what business analysts have referred to as a Silver Tsunami. 

MNCEO helps business owners, their employees, their advisors, and community leaders connect with experienced professionals in the employee-ownership arena to guide them throughout their business transition journey. This includes providing them with free and unbiased articles, case studies, and vetted lists of recommended service advisors. 

About the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership

The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and unbiased information and resources to business owners and their advisors on the benefits of employee ownership throughout Minnesota. Established in 2020, MNCEO is part of a national network of state centers for employee ownership created by the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, which is committed to closing the wealth gap for all employees. For more information on MNCEO, visit www.mnceo.org. 

About the Employee Ownership Expansion Network

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 in Philadelphia, Pa. Its mission is to significantly expand employee ownership in the United States by establishing and supporting a network of independent nonprofit centers for employee ownership. EOX has provided funding and technical assistance to support the opening of 11 state centers for employee ownership. The organization aims to help create one million new employee-owners by 2025 by having at least 70% of the U.S. population living in a state with a center for employee ownership. To learn more, visit www.eoxnetwork.org. 

Media Contact:

Lee Hayes

(651) 261-4356

leehayes@leehayespr.com