Cooperative Nose-Counting

and

Jul 18, 2025

🤗 Welcome back

If you’re new, welcome! The Stakehold is your weekly source of news on employee ownership + the ownership economy.

One big thing: The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) + Democracy of Work Institute (DAWI) are asking worker-owners to complete the worker cooperative census that powers their biannual State of the Sector

On employee stock ownership plans
On worker cooperatives
On purpose trusts + steward ownership
On the ownership economy

Due July 31: The Sorenson Impact Foundation invites grant proposals in two areas: “Responsible AI & the Digital Future” and “The Ownership Economy & Economic Empowerment”
This Tuesday: A US House subcommittee will host a hearing on enhancing transparency and oversight at EBSA, the body that regulates employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity launched a $500,000 pilot program to expand employee ownership; press release here
Start.coop won a grant from Press Forward to support cooperatives in journalism

July 22-24: The ESOP Association’s CFO Summit (Park City, Utah)
July 24-25: Employee-Owned S Corporations of America’s 2025 Midwestern Regional Policy Seminar (Chicago)
July 28: The Rutgers Institute’s Ownership, Equity, Democracy and Impact symposium (Copenhagen)
August 5-8: The Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership in the UK
Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center is hiring an Operations & Finance Director

For a full list of upcoming ownership economy events, see this page.

On employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

Wade Deaton, an employee owner at Parman Energy Group in Mississippi, reveals one of the most compelling advantages of an ESOP
- Expanding ESOPs also interviews Alex Perry of Ventura Trust about his journey and work valuing employee ownership businesses
If you're in the Twin Cities later this month, stop by the PGA Tour's 3M Open and visit the ESOP-themed cabin from July 23rd through July 27th (Minneapolis)
In North Carolina, the Baker Roofing Company is now a 100% employee owned company. Read the press release here
Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA) note that nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials fear financial insecurity
Employee-owned Henderson Engineers finished the largest renovation of Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots

On worker cooperatives

Minsun Ji announces the July relaunch of the Drivers Cooperative rideshare app, a community-owned alternative alternative supporting gig workers and marginalized communities
At the UN headquarters, this panel marked 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives
The ICA group put out their main takeaways from the 22nd annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference
In case you didn’t catch it above, USFWC and DAWI are asking worker-owners to complete the worker cooperative census that powers their biannual State of the Sector

On purpose trusts + steward ownership

On the ownership economy

Are you in a self-governing community or one aspiring to self-govern? Nathan Schneider says Loomio can help
Brian Boland reflects on the debate sparked by a recent post arguing that private equity-driven employee ownership models reinforce inequality and hinder deeper reform
Doug Beverage, chief information officer at Crystal Flash, explores how employee ownership is transforming the company’s approach
Transform Finance explains why integrated capital must be rooted in relationships
In Connective Tissue, Sam Pressler argues for a civic realignment that includes reform to how companies are owned and governed
Anne-Claire Broughton and The Industrial Commons feature in this story about the silver tsunami of retiring business owners
Grace Carney wants us, rather than AI platforms, to control our own digital memories
Wired reports on FlexOlmo, an AI model that lets AI data owners control and revoke use of their data in model training

The University Consortium on Employee Share Ownership welcomed two new members in June: the Ownership Initiative at the Haas Institute for Business and Social Impact at UC Berkeley and Mondragon University
Berkeley Haas published the results of David Levine and co's High Road Worker Ownership Study on how worker ownership can improve job quality and firm performance in historically low-wage sectors
Graeme Nuttall encourages UK citizens to respond to the UK Government’s Green Paper, which covers the Post Office’s governance and ownership

The MacArthur Foundation, one of the largest and most influential philanthropic organizations in the U.S., launched a Native self-determination program to deepen its support for Indigenous-led work
The 21 Hats Podcast hosted John Abrams, author of the recently published From Founder to Future.

Thanks for reading The Stakehold! This post is public, and sharing is caring: