EVENTS & WEBINARS
Learn about employee ownership and how we can help
Upcoming events and webinars
Worker Owned 101: A Smart Option for Your Business Legacy |February 25, 2021 at 12pm PST| REGISTER NOW
Worker Owned 101 allows Santa Clara businesses and business service providers to explore the benefits of the worker-owned business model and why small business owners should consider a transition to worker ownership as a succession option. Transitioning to worker ownership via an employee buy-out allows you to:
*Secure the financial benefits of your investment and hard work
*Retain quality jobs for employees
*Preserve the legacy of the company to continue and operate locally
In this workshop, business owners and service providers will learn about worker ownership structures, how employee buy-outs are financed, and how to tell if an employee-buyout is right for your business. Attendees will learn how to sign-up for a free, no obligation informational conversation with a professional business consultant.
Towards the end of the session, interested service providers will learn several ways they can get involved in making worker ownership an option for their business owner clients.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions in a Q&A with the presenters.
Presented by the City of Santa Clara in partnership with Project Equity, The Democracy at Work Institute, Sustainable Economies Law Center, and the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
PRESENTERS:
Robyn Sahid, City of Santa Clara
Donna Sky, Project Equity
Zen Trenholm, Democracy at Work Institute
Mo Manklang, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
Yassi Eskandari, Sustainable Economies Law Center
Employee Ownership: A business exit strategy | March 25, 2021 at 12 PM| REGISTER NOW
Past events and webinars
Watch the webinar: Worker Owned 101: A Smart Option for Your Business Legacy|February 19, 2021 | Watch recording
Employee Ownership Strategy: Unlocking the benefits for you and your employees|February 18, 2021 | Watch recording
District Connect 2020: Cooperative Equity and Resilience |December 17, 2020
Employee ownership: an economic development solution to keep our local businesses thriving|December 10, 2020 | Watch recording
ASBC & SVC 2020: Remaking & Revitalizing the Economy
December 2, 2020 | Hosted by American Sustainable Business Council and Social Venture Circle
Employee ownership keeps our local businesses thriving | December 3, 2020 | Watch recording
Bay Area B Local Virtual Meetup: Demystifying Employee Ownership For B Corps | November 12, 2020
Employee ownership keeps LA businesses thriving | November 20, 2020 | Watch recording
Employee ownership keeps San Francisco’s small businesses thriving | November 18, 2020 | 10:30 AM PST | Watch recording
Neighborhood Economics: Healing our communities
, 2020 at –
Project Equity joins the panel – Everybody an Owner: How can neighborhoods leverage the cooperative economy to create symbiotic systems where everyone has skin in the game?
Wisconsin Manufacturing Webinar | Watch recording
October 6, 2020 | Presented by Project Equity and The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP)
Worker Cooperatives Panel | Watch recording
September 16, 2020
A round table event about how worker cooperatives can provide a viable alternative for baby boomers approaching retirement, especially for struggling businesses impacted by COVID-19. Panelists: Representative Ro Khanna, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor, Zen Trenholm, Democracy at Work Institute, Hilary Abell, Project Equity, Kirk Vartan, Worker-owner, A Slice of New York
Webinar: Rebuilding with resiliency and equity through Employee Ownership August 20, 2020 Watch recording
In this webinar, Project Equity and other leaders in the national movement talked about how we harness employee ownership to address income and wealth inequality and the racial wealth gap. We discussed the ample evidence of the job quality and local business retention benefits of employee ownership and how the movement is growing around the country.
Employee Ownership 101 Webinar recorded on August 18, 2020
Hosted by San Diego Workforce Partnership, Presented by The Beyster Institute and Project Equity. This webinar explains the case for Employee Ownership, what ESOP’s are and what COOP’s are, with additional links to learn more.
Reenvisioning Retail: The Future of Retail Webinar recorded on July 24, 2020
Hosted by Lives Empowered. Speakers: Yustina Saleh, EMSI; Janine Williams, Impulsify; Alison Lingane, Project Equity; Jason Wiener, Main Street Phoenix
Even before the pandemic retail was changing. COVID-19 and subsequent stay at home orders have imposed new and increasingly complex challenges for the industry, creating a need to reenvision how the industry operates to ensure health, safety, and relevance in the age of disruption. This discussion will review projections on the future of retail and examine innovations for how the industry might reenvision itself.
Santa Cruz Small Business Cash Flow & Succession Presentation
Hosted by Santa Cruz Community Ventures / July 21, 2020
Webinar: Employee ownership – A business succession strategy in challenging times. June 9, 2020
Project Equity invites business owners to a webinar to discuss challenges with business succession in today’s environment, and to learn how employee buyouts can be a succession or exit strategy that provides market value, tax advantages, legacy retention, and strengthens local economies.
Webinar: Increasing Equity in a Post-Pandemic Economy: The Potential for Growing Worker Ownership May 19, 2020
Alison Lingane, co-founder of Project Equity, was a presenter in The Aspen Institute’s Job Quality in Practice webinar series. View the recording here >
San Francisco Business Transition & Employee Ownership Forum Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Berkeley Business Retention Information Session Berkeley, CA September 30, 2019
Sell your business to your employees: A deeper dive Eureka, CA September 23, 2019
Accelerate Employee Ownership Launch Event Long Beach, CA September 5, 2019
Launch event for Accelerate Employee Ownership, a collaborative initiative of Project Equity and Shared Capital Cooperative to expand employee ownership and create and sustain high-quality jobs in local communities. For more information, read the official press release here.
Presented by:
Alison Lingane and Hilary Abell, Co-Founders, Project Equity
Christina Jennings, Executive Director, Shared Capital Cooperative.
Guest speakers:
Noah Bernstein, New World Foundation
Marietta Nunez, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
Carolyn Berke, Niles Pie Company
Ren Boguiren, A Slice of New York
Evan Edwards, Project Equity
John Keisler, City of Long Beach Economic Development Department
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, LA LISC
James Alva, Citi Community Development
America’s SBDC Annual Conference Long Beach, CA
September 3-6, 2019
Converting Your Business To Employee Ownership
Co-founder of Project Equity Alison Lingane and North Coast SBDC Director Leila Roberts shared their approach to building capacity for employee ownership.
SFMade: EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP: ENGAGE EMPLOYEES AND BUILD AN EXIT STRATEGY San Francisco, CA September 4, 2019
How can you increase your employee engagement, retain valuable team members, and structure an exit plan for yourself that cements the legacy of your business?
This event explored:
- Different approaches (partial, phased or complete employee ownership) and how they can be leveraged for the success of your business and your investment
- Different models (Employee Stock Ownership Plans, worker-owned cooperatives, Employee Ownership Trusts)
- Tax benefits
Speakers:
Donna Sky, Moderator, Project Equity
Kevin McCracken, Co-Founder & Business Development, Social Imprints
Carolyn G. Berke, Founder, Niles Pie Company
SBA Summer Small Business Supporter Meeting San Francisco SBA, San Francisco, CA August 20, 2019
Webinar: Attract and Retain the Best Talent with Employee Ownership June 26, 2019
– Attract and retain top talent by providing ownership opportunities
– Exit financially and ensure continued impact in your community
– Preserve and grow good jobs and great businesses
Webinar: Sell Your Business with Employee Ownership June 18, 2019 – Sell your company to your employees
– Exit financially and ensure continued impact in your community
– Preserve jobs and provide new ownership opportunities for employees view the recording here >
Event: Berkeley Business Success Forum Berkeley, CA
June 13, 2019
San Francisco Small Business Week: Keeping the Business Going – Transition Your Business to the Next Generation Through Employee Ownership San Francisco, CA
May 9, 2019
View our recorded webinars
Rebuilding with resiliency and equity through Employee Ownership
recorded August 20, 2020
recorded on August 18, 2020
Reenvisioning Retail: The Future of Retail (Hosted by Lives Empowered)
recorded July 24, 2020
Employee ownership: A business succession strategy in challenging times
recorded June 9, 2020
Increasing Equity in a Post-Pandemic Economy: The Potential for Growing Worker Ownership (Hosted by The Aspen Institute)
recorded May 19, 2020
Employee ownership: How it works
recorded March 2020
Attract and retain the best talent with employee ownership
recorded June 26, 2019
Sell your business with employee ownership
recorded June 18, 2019
Participatory Management
recorded July 2018
Worker Transitions vs. Roll-ups
recorded August 2017
Impact Investing in Worker Cooperatives, How to get involved
recorded April 2017
Succession Planning: How to Engage Purchasing Coop Members in Their Future
recorded March 2017
Succession Planning for Purchasing Coops and their Members
recorded December 2016
Creative Sources of Capital for your Cooperative
recorded September 2016
The Lending Opportunity of a Generation: Investing in businesses converting to worker ownership
recorded March 2016
The Cooperative Growth Ecosystem
recorded January 2016
Why Worker Coop Conversions and Ownership Make Sense Now
recorded October 2015
Succession Planning, Opportunities and Benefits of Employee Ownership
recorded August 2015
Scaling the Development of Worker-Owned Cooperatives
recorded July 2015
Converting Businesses to Worker Cooperatives
recorded April 2015
Blueprint for Increasing Worker Ownership in Low Income Communities
recorded March 2015
Just released!
New studies in regions across the U.S., including Washington State, Berkeley and Long Beach, CA show millions of businesses at risk and point to employee ownership as a solution.
Free consultation
for businesses interested in employee ownership
