Baby boomer business owners (who own nearly half of small businesses) are near retirement but most don’t have succession plans. At the same time, their workers could face unemployment and reduced prospects for living wage jobs.
Ownership is key to community wealth building and healthy communities. The Business Resiliency through Employee Ownership (BREO) pilot initiative, funded by HAN member Kaiser Permanente and in partnership with Obran Cooperative and Project Equity, builds community wealth through educating and transitioning suppliers into employee-owned companies. This also helps strengthen Kaiser Permanente’s supply chain.
The BREO pilot showed anchor institutions can play an important role in scaling employee ownership through thought leadership and philanthropic support.