Help turn more Vermont workers into business owners
Of the various ways we could tally up the year, here’s a good one: 370.
The number of employees in Vermont who became co-owners of their companies this year. The number of individuals who can rest easier knowing the wealth they help create for their business means wealth created for their futures. The number of Vermont workers who, going by national stats, will retire with more than twice the dollars they’d have saved otherwise.
And it doesn’t stop there. As the four Vermont companies who converted to ESOP ownership this year grow and hire new employees, they too will reap the rewards of the company’s success. Consider that the median ESOP account balance nationally is over $80,000, no meager sum! Compared with their non-employee-owned counterparts, these four new ESOP companies will share exceptional amounts of wealth with their workers over the coming decades.
Employee ownership creates a ripple effect that extends its benefits beyond the direct financial benefit to employee owners. It initiates a cycle of prosperity whereby the employees benefiting from higher job quality and financial security tend to establish firm roots in their communities. Wealth that may have otherwise seeped out of the community into outside investors’ pockets is circulated locally instead, enriching local shops and entrepreneurs as it changes hands.
As we celebrate the additions of Benoure, Rovers North, ECI, and Green River to the Vermont ESOP community, we ask for your support in helping bring employee ownership to the forefront of the conversation when business owners are looking at their exit options. We know because we often hear it that our presence, educational events, and resources are critical to getting business owners curious about employee ownership and helping guide their way as they move through the ownership transition.
“We’ve definitely felt that the support of VEOC and its annual conference, as well as from the ESOP companies at the conference, has been very helpful. It feels like joining a club that is very supportive across the board in sharing strategies on what works well and what doesn’t.”
While we celebrate the successes of the year, we have much to do in the year ahead and limited resources to do so. We are proud that we’re able to provide our events and resources to businesses and employees for free or at-cost, and strive to always improve the value of our offerings while keeping them accessible to all. Your contributions make that possible.
Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, as Vermont Employee Ownership Center is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Every contribution helps us further our mission.
