From The Democracy Collaborative:

CLEVELAND, OHIO — NOVEMBER 13, 2018 Evergreen Business Services (EBS) today announced the launch of The Fund for Employee Ownership, which will strategically acquire businesses in Northeast Ohio to preserve the quality jobs they provide by converting them to employee ownership.

EBS and the Fund are part of the Evergreen Cooperatives, a nationally celebrated network of companies in Cleveland, Ohio that creates jobs and builds community wealth through employee ownership. For John McMicken, CEO of the Evergreen Cooperative Corporation, “Our new Fund will build upon the successes of existing Evergreen businesses and our decade of experience in cooperative business development and training, to bring the proven benefits of employee ownership to more workers, companies, and the neighborhoods where they operate.”

The Fund will work with retiring business owners to acquire their companies at a fair market price, providing them the liquidity they need to transition out of the firm and; access to the wealth they have created. By then converting these businesses to employee ownership, Evergreen will preserve their owners’ legacy by ensuring that the jobs they provide remain in the community while creating the opportunity for employees to have a share and a stake in their company’s success. Integration of these employee-owned businesses into Evergreen’s larger portfolio will provide ongoing support to develop a culture of ownership in the workplace, access to shared back-office business services, and the opportunity to connect with Evergreen’s purchasing relationships with local anchor institutions.

Get the full story here:

https://democracycollaborative.org/content/evergreen-cooperatives-launch-fund-employee-ownership