DECEMBER 2018

Reaching out to baby boomers
to leave a co-op legacy
The baby boomer generation is reaching
retirement age – and with a huge number of
business owners in their ranks, there is an
opportunity for the employee-ownership sector to
win new converts.
In the UK, the question of what happens when
these firms transfer ownership has already
caught the attention of the co-op and employee
ownership sectors. Encouraging the switch to
worker control has been highlighted as a route
towards doubling the size of the UK co-op sector,
a target set by the Co-operative Party.
In an independent report commissioned by
the Party, the New Economics Foundation said:
“There are around 120,000 family-run small
and medium enterprises in the UK expected to
undergo a transfer of ownership in the next
three years. If just 5% of these businesses were
supported to make the transition to employee
ownership or one of the other mutual or
co‐operative models available in the UK, then
the number of entities in the sector would double.”
So how can the movement engage with
businesses to encourage this process?
In the USA, Evergreen Co-operatives, with
strategic advice from Democracy Collaborative,
has launched an initiative to drive a new wave
of business transitions. A network of co-ops,
Evergreen is a key player in the Cleveland
model which uses co-op ideas to build local
democratic economies, which helped inspire the
co-op councils movement in Britain. Democracy
Collaborative is a nonprofit working on building
community wealth.
Evergreen’s new project, the Fund for Employee
Ownership, will purchase businesses in its home
state, Ohio, for conversion to worker-ownership.
The team says the scheme offers a better
alternative to the current situation, where
businesses are often bought out by private equity
firms, who then cut jobs or move them overseas
or out of state.
The fund is also looking at industries that
employ the workers Evergreen and Democracy
Collaborative want to target – those on low
incomes or facing barriers to employment.
Evergreen’s executive vice president Brett
Jones, who is director of the fund, says: “We are
just getting started but we are really optimistic
about our ability to acquire firms in Cleveland
that would be a great fit to convert to employeeowned.
And we’re also optimistic about our
ability to support those businesses to succeed
and grow.
“Key to our success will be identifying
partners who can help us connect with local
business owners”.
Part of this engagement process is making
business owners a positive offer. Jessica Rose,
director of employee ownership programs at
Democracy Collaborative, told business website
Fast Company: “What we need to do is leverage
One of Evergreen’s
co-op enterprises in
Cleveland, Ohio
32 | DECEMBER 2018