Why join the Fellowship?

Silver Tsunami threatens business, jobs, and growth.

More than 200,000 small businesses throughout New England and New York State have owners who are looking to retire or transition within the next few years. Only 17% of those owners have a succession plan. A wave of aging baby boomer business owners are looking to transition but don’t understand the process or their options and don’t know where to turn for help, posing a great threat to business, job preservation, and growth in our communities.

Organizations that work with businesses are often ill equipped to assist with exit planning.

Organizations that provide services to business owners have great expertise in growing businesses but are not always equipped to answer questions or provide assistance for those looking for ways to exit a business.

Employee ownership preserves businesses and jobs, and increases profitability.

Employee ownership is a proven strategy to preserve critical businesses and jobs and provide wealth building opportunities for workers who are often left behind.  Research has shown that employee-owned businesses are more productive and profitable, create more jobs in the good times, and lay off fewer workers in a downturn.

Who should join the Fellowship?

We are looking for organizations that provide services to existing businesses with employees that want to expand their knowledge about employee ownership as an exit planning strategy. The Fellowship can train and network you with fellow service providers who want to expand to meet their communities’ needs. We are particularly interested in recruiting participants who work in economically disadvantaged communities (communities with median household income of less than 80% of the area median income).

Successful participants might come from organizations such as:

  • Small business development centers
  • Economic and workforce development groups
  • Community development finance institutions (CDFI).
The deadline for applications is December 1, 2023
What can Fellows expect from the program?

Participants will have different levels of interest in different elements of exit planning and employee ownership transitions, but at a minimum, the fellowship will cover:

  • The basics of the exit planning process and options and the ability to map and network your local ecosystem of service providers that can assist business owners.
  • Learn how to develop, organize, and deliver an “Introduction to Exit Planning” workshop tailored to your community.
  • Learn how to conduct surveys and research to understand business owner demographics and exit planning intentions. Create a report to educate your community about emerging needs and to guide your organization’s future work.
  • Map the universe of employee-owned companies in your region and make connections with them for networking and learning.
  • Learn the basics of employee ownership models and the steps and process to transition existing companies.
  • For lenders and other capital providers, understand the unique considerations in underwriting and assessing risk in financing employee ownership transactions, and shadow experienced capital providers as they structure financing for actual transactions.
  • Tailor business development, worker and management training, and financing programs to the unique needs of employee-owned businesses.
  • Develop tailored metrics to track and communicate your impact and meet your priorities.
What is the time commitment?

Length: 9 months beginning February 2024

Time commitment: 2-day expenses-paid kick-off retreat, followed by monthly 2-hour zoom workshops. Plus 3 hours/month for homework and other projects. In between workshops, participants will have technical assistance and coaching and the opportunity for peer check-ins.

What is the financial commitment?

There is no cost to participate in this Fellowship. Participants’ employer/host organizations will receive a stipend based on need, ranging from $4,000 to $8,000.  Expenses for our initial 2-day, in-person retreat are covered by the program.  Larger organizations with professional development budgets and more access to resources should consider contributing to expenses to attend the retreat, but at a minimum food and lodging will be covered.

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2023

 

The Northeast Transition Initiative (NETI) is made possible by our partnership:

The Northeast Transition Initiative (NETI) is funded by: