The Cooperative Development Institute is excited to congratulate the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) for being awarded a grant of over $1.26 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, supported by additional funding provided by Mastercard. The grant award will enable ANCA to expand its partnership with the Cooperative Development Institute and other technical assistance providers to help secure and grow jobs in the North Country of New York and help local businesses recover from the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on the region’s economy.
“This grant award will have a tremendous impact and provide much needed resources to help ANCA and other partners like the Cooperative Development Institute expand succession planning, business development and employee ownership in the North Country, and help other businesses like Ward Lumber transition to employee ownership. With these additional resources, and the strength of our partnerships, we can help more businesses in the North Country solidify local ownership of businesses and jobs, and help workers chart their own futures and the future of local businesses by building wealth through ownership,” said Rob Brown, Director of Business Ownership Solutions at CDI.
Last month, Ward Lumber, a family owned business for 130 years, with locations in Jay and Malone, NY, transitioned to employee ownership with technical assistance provided by the Adirondack North Country Association and the Cooperative Development Institute, with financing provided by the Cooperative Fund of New England and Capital Impact Partners. Grantwriting assistance was provided by the SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center at Clinton Community College, securing a $250,000 grant from Empire State Development awarded through New York State’s Regional Economic Initiative to assist with the transition.
Click on the link to learn more about Ward Lumber’s successful transition to employee ownership: The Ward Lumber Story
Ward Lumber will celebrate with their community at a ribbon cutting ceremony that will take place at both Jay and Malone store locations and virtually via Facebook Live in late June 2021.
Business owners interested in transitioning their companies to a worker ownership model are invited to contact the Center for Businesses in Transition at transitions@adirondack.org, the Cooperative Development Institute at rbrown@cdi.coop or SUNY Canton SBDC at smithangela@canton.edu.