Are you a business owner weighing retirement or exiting your business? Could you see your employees taking over but don't know how it would work?
An employee ownership transition could help you retire on your own terms and leave a lasting positive legacy by becoming a worker cooperative or an ESOP.
In partnership with the Fund for Jobs Worth Owning, Massachusetts business owners can receive no-cost technical assistance and financing to transition to employee ownership. This includes:
- No-cost succession planning services and employee ownership feasibility consulting ($5000 value, available statewide)
- No-cost technical assistance to convert the business to an employee-owned model and complete the sale ($25,000 value, Gateway City Businesses only)
- Access to financing that is not dependent upon the personal resources of your employees to purchase the business
Eligibility
- Business must have between 5-20 employees, excluding the founding owner.
- Business must be located in one of 26 designated Gateway Cities in Massachusetts: Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester. (See this list for additional information about Gateway Cities)
- Business must show a history of profitability in the last three years.
- A desire to sell the business to employees within the next 1-2 years, and commit to doing so within the next six months.
- Priority is given to businesses with 40% or more BIPOC representation (black, indigenous, people of color).
**If you meet most of these criteria but are not located in a Gateway City or have a larger company size, MassCEO can still provide subsidized services to explore transitioning to employee ownership. Contact sprophet@icagroup.org for more information.
Gateway City Legacy Business Program Application
Please complete it to the best of your ability. Accepted applications will receive no-cost succession planning, technical assistance, and access to financing to complete a business sale and transition to a worker-owned cooperative. We'll let you know within three business days whether you've advanced in the application process and schedule an interview.