Where Does Your Money Go?

The Employee Ownership Foundation's single goal is to help more individuals become employee owners.

When you participate in ESOPATHON, the funds you raise will fuel the mission of the Employee Ownership Foundation and help expand access while protecting those who already have an ESOP.

Here is an overview of some of the Foundation's programs in 2022

New Programs
The Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership

In 2022 the Employee Ownership Foundation stepped onto the international stage as the lead sponsor of the 7th annual Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership, held at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Together with our key strategic partners, the UK-based Center on Business and Poverty and the European law firm Fieldfisher, the Foundation sponsored a truly groundbreaking effort that brought together representatives from multiple countries across several continents to discuss the barriers to expanding employee ownership.

Central to the Symposium’s success was the active participation of high-level government officials from multiple nations. Notably, the United States Senate was represented by six very senior-level staff from the Senate Finance Committee, Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senate Budget Committee. These attendees, whose travel and expenses were sponsored by the Foundation, are some of the most influential officials in Washington with direct roles in U.S. policy impacting ESOPs. The delegation from the UK included Dawn Butler, a Member of Parliament, and Baroness Sharon Bowles of Berkhamsted, both longtime supporters of employee ownership. Several other nations were represented by government officials learning about employee ownership as they are actively forming their own policies, including delegations from Canada, Denmark, and Spain.

ESOP Employee Owner Accelerator

This one-day course is designed primarily for non-managerial employee owners who would benefit from a deeper knowledge and understanding of basic business concepts and ESOP operations. The course is offered in concert with The ESOP Association’s Chapter meetings, and includes interactive lectures, media-driven case studies, small group discussions, and structured exercises. The program is designed to develop a solid foundation and new perspectives on ownership. The ESOP Employee Accelerator program promises to be one of the most exciting new offerings from the EOF and something that will return both personal and company benefits for employee owners who attend.

Employee Owned Education
Business Succession Video Series

Our popular Business Succession video series, started in 2021, released several more company and professional videos in 2022. This series has been a tremendous boon to those trying to explain or understand ESOPs, to policy makers trying to understand the ESOP journey, to our ESOP professional community, and to media outlets seeking information on ESOPs. The real-life stories shared in these videos, which clearly communicate the value of ESOPs and their impact on business owners’ legacies, the employee owners, and their communities, have been a powerful tool in our education efforts.

Leading in an Ownership Setting

An educational partnership between the Employee Ownership Foundation and University of Pennsylvania, the program addresses the relationship between ESOP companies and the effectiveness of their leaders. A key focus area is how leaders can foster employee engagement that impacts the company’s bottom line.

Limited to just 20 participants each year, this program for CEOs is focused on enhancing each participant’s leadership effectiveness, and on building a network of ESOP CEOs who can share resources and best practices to enhance the success of ESOPs across the county.

Charles R. Edmunson Scholarships

The EOF proudly grants 10 scholarships annually in the name of Charles Edmunson. These scholarships are one of the Foundation’s core programs, created nearly 25 years ago to help defray the cost of sending non-management employee owners to programs that promote and offer education on employee ownership.

Employee Ownership Research

Research is central to the Foundation’s mission. Over nearly three decades of existence, the EOF has been the nation’s leading sponsor of data collection and research programs in employee ownership, funding millions of dollars in survey analysis, fellowships, and academic inquiry.

 For the past four years, the Employee Ownership Foundation has funded the National ESOP Employee Survey through Louis O. Kelso Fellowships at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.  

EOF Executive Series Research

Last year, using the data collected, the Foundation partnered with Rutgers to begin a yearlong series of academic inquiry that explores different questions that current and prospective ESOP executives and employees face. Below is a selection of questions that the EOF Executive Series Research explored.

 Additionally, the EOF is pleased to continue supporting the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships which support academic research that conveys the value of employee ownership and help other successful businesses become employee owned.

 We are proud of the continuing programs sponsored by the EOF and excited about the new offerings launched last year.  This year promises to bring growth in these areas, and new exciting additions to the Foundation’s efforts promoting employee ownership. 

To access these resources and learn more about the Employee
Ownership Foundation’s work, please visit the Foundation’s website at: