In 2014, Project Equity was born out of a simple yet profound idea: that employee ownership has the power to maintain thriving local business communities, create quality jobs, and address income and wealth inequality. Since then, Project Equity has grown into a national leader in the employee ownership movement, and our impact speaks for itself:
Project Equity launches on April Fool’s Day when co-founders Alison Lingane and Hilary Abell receive an Echoing Green Fellowship.
We launched the first of two cohorts of the Bay Area Worker Coop Academy with two local partners at an Oakland community college. This was part of our strategy feasibility study, in which we assessed whether Project Equity would focus on start-ups or transitions of long-standing businesses to employee ownership. We landed on a focus on transitions.
We put out our shingle to support companies to transition to employee ownership. California Solar Electric becomes our first transition client.
We begin working with our first regional partners, Nexus Community Partners (Twin Cities, MN) and The Industrial Commons (Western NC) .
Our first data study makes the case that employee ownership could help stem business closures due to the Silver Tsunami.
Niles Pie and A Slice of New York become worker cooperatives, completing Project Equity’s inaugural cohort of our EO Transitions Program.
We were awarded a grant by the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development to quantify and address the risks posed to local business retention when baby boomer small business owners retire.
We worked with Shared Capital Cooperative to launch Accelerate Employee Ownership.
We partnered with the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) to deliver San Francisco’s small business owners with a business succession support program.
We assisted Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass located in Berkeley, CA, with its transition to employee ownership.
We partnered with the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) to help new state centers communicate the twin small business crises and educate about the employee ownership solution.
We launched a new initiative to provide flexible capital to companies on the path to employee ownership. The Employee Ownership Catalyst Fund provides working capital and transaction financing to businesses with 25-100+ employees.
We appointed Evan Edwards as the first Chief Executive Officer for Project Equity. This appointment deepens the focus on scale strategies to help local businesses thrive through employee ownership.
We assisted The Local Butcher Shop, located in Berkeley, CA, with their transition to employee ownership.
We partnered with CITI to support small business recovery and sustainability in South Florida.
We assisted Alternative Technologies, located in Berkeley, CA, with its transition to employee ownership.
We launched an initiative to retain Black-owned legacy businesses and preserve jobs in Atlanta, bolster the local economy and generate wealth as business owners retire in partnership with Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative and Morehouse College.
We partnered with the City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives to create a business succession and recovery initiative aimed at preserving Tucson’s small business vitality.
We partnered with Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC) and Ownership America to support Senate Bill 1407 (Becker D-Menlo Park), which was signed into law by Governor Newsom as the California Employee Ownership Act.
Our work is recognized through a Heinz Award for the Economy awarded to its co-founders.
Hummingbird Wholesale becomes one of the first Employee-Owned Purpose Trusts in Oregon, elevating their mission and their employees.
We partnered with Morehouse College to produce two groundbreaking papers on the topic of employee ownership, “Employee Ownership for Black Workers: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap,” and “Strategies to Advance Black Employee Ownership."
We partnered with The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to launch Employee Ownership LA County, a business succession and recovery service aimed at preserving legacy small businesses in LA County.
Project Equity is launching new initiatives to expand employee ownership in 2025. This year marks a period of transformation, growth and impactful partnerships.
Diane Ives, former fund advisor for the Kendeda Fund, reflects on Project Equity’s unique role in the employee ownership ecosystem.
Our 10 Year Anniversary Campaign is more than just a fundraiser; it’s a celebration of our collective impact and a step towards an even more equitable future. Whether you give now or pledge for tomorrow, your generosity will catalyze our work for another decade of shared prosperity.
