EOX is excited to welcome Lauren Elyse Tudor as the new Executive Director of the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC). 

“I am thrilled to be a part of the North Carolina community and look forward to contributing to the state’s growth and success,” said Tudor on her recent appointment.

With over a decade of experience in the philanthropy and nonprofit sectors, Tudor brings a wealth of expertise to her new role. As a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) and the Founder of the ARCHITECT Brand + Design Collective, she provided coaching and consulting services to small and medium-sized nonprofits to build their capacity for fundraising success. In this role, Tudor focused on community-centered and diverse philanthropy, leveraging storytelling, strategic marketing, and inclusive fundraising strategies.

Tudor’s previous experience also includes serving as Inclusive Giving Advisor at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Communications & Outreach Lead at Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, and Regional Field Director at Organizing For America.

Founding NCEOC board member Anne-Claire Broughton said, “The organization has found a passionate, committed, and experienced leader in Lauren. Her leadership will dramatically build upon NCEOC’s capacity, enabling us to do more outreach and education… and helping to achieve our vision that all North Carolinians benefit from strong local economies and shared prosperity through employee ownership.” 

Read the full press release here: https://nceoc.org/north-carolina-employee-ownership-center-welcomes-lauren-elyse-tudor-as-new-executive-director/

April is National Volunteer Month, which focuses on celebrating those who give their time and resources to build stronger and more vibrant communities every day through their volunteerism. 

Volunteers are the lifeblood of EOX – as an organization with only a few staff, we couldn’t have the impact we do without the volunteers who help carry out our mission across the country.

EOX would like to send a special thank you to our board of directors https://eoxnetwork.org/who-we-are whose vision has guided the organization from Day 1, and without whose support we would not exist. A huge thank you goes out to the EOX board of directors:

Stay tuned for exciting news in the very near future about the addition of new EOX board members!

In addition to EOX board volunteers, each of the State Centers for Employee Ownership has volunteers behind the scenes helping build momentum to establish and grow the center. Without the commitment of these individuals – especially those who are on the ground in-state – these efforts would never get off the ground. 

EOX is hosting a volunteer appreciation event at the upcoming NCEO annual conference to thank all of the people who have contributed to our success. If you have volunteered at a state Center for Employee Ownership near you and did not receive your invite to this event contact Steve Storkan at sstorkan@eoxnetwork.org

If you are interested in volunteering for EOX – or for a Center for Employee Ownership near you, reach out to Steve to learn more about the opportunities available. Your time and energy can really make a difference!

EOX Executive Director Steve Storkan authored an article titled, “The SSBCI Can Help Grow Your Company and Create New Employee-Owners” for the National Center for Employee Ownership’s (NCEO’s) March newsletter that breaks down this new source of reasonably priced capital that can (1) assist in the growth of an employee owned company or (2) be used to purchase the company from an owner using an ESOP, worker cooperative, or employee ownership trust. Both of these scenarios will in turn create new employee owners. An excerpt from the article is provided below.

You may be wondering: how does SSBCI 2.0 help me grow my business and create new employee-owners? ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and employee ownership trusts were specifically identified in the SSBCI 2.0 regulations issued by the Treasury. With this in mind, there are two ways that employee ownership can be expanded using SSBCI 2.0 programs. 

First, although SSBCI dollars cannot be invested in a loan used to purchase the ownership interest in a business, there is an exception for the purchase of a business that results in an employee stock ownership plan, worker cooperative, or other employee-owned entity holding a majority interest (on a fully diluted basis) in the business. The original intent of this exception was to expand employee ownership by providing state-backed loans for retiring business owners to use to sell their companies to ESOPs, worker cooperatives, or employee ownership trusts. In direct response to a question I posed to the Treasury Department’s SSBCI Support Team, they confirmed that a current employee-owned company (regardless of the ownership percentage) can use SSBCI programs to support loans they receive to purchase a majority interest in another business. Simply put, you can use SSBCI programs to help finance the acquisition of another company, thereby creating new employee-owners in your company.

Second, SSBCI programs should be viewed by employee-owned companies as a way to increase their access to capital for buying new equipment, creating new product lines, building or improving facilities, or any other step towards expanding their business. Have you been considering buying the land next to your facility to expand your manufacturing plant, but your banker has questioned the collateral you have available? Have you been looking at a new machine that would increase productivity, enabling you to hire more employees to support this growth, but the bank underwriters aren’t seeing it the same way as you? The loan guarantee, loan participation, and collateral support programs of SSBCI can be used to encourage a financial institution to give greater consideration to your opportunities for growth and ultimately to expand employee ownership. 

We would like to collect data on the use of SSBCI programs by employee-owned companies. If your company or your client applies for an SSBCI program in your state, please send Steve an email at sstorkan@eoxnetwork.org.

• The NC Employee Ownership Center will be leading a Road To Business Resilience training on May 9 for the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce 

• Read about the MN Center for Employee Ownership’s expanded programming in Northern Minnesota

• All Employees of Welds Supply Inc. to become Employee-Owners of acquiring ESOP company CK Supply Inc. (read about: https://cksupply.com/about-us/locations/riverside-mo/ )

• Bluedog Design, a branding strategy consultancy in Chicago, IL becomes an ESOP: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/private-intelligence/when-cashing-out-doesnt-mean-disrupting-companys-culture

• EOX National Service Provider Levenfeld Pearlstein recently represented client Rapid Response in its sale to an employee stock ownership plan - read more about it here

• If you will be at the NCEO annual conference, don't miss EOX at booth #30 (right next to JP Morgan and across the aisle from SES ESOP Strategies - See you there!

Here are some resources you may be interested in. Please share with your clients and others who might be considering a business transition:

• From the GA Center for Employee Ownership: Five Questions about Employee Ownership and Valuation with Adrian Loud of Censeo Advisors

• From Prairie Capital Partners: Prairie Middle Market Perspective, Spring 2023

If you're interested in donating to support our work to expand employee ownership across the United States, please click the button below to make a tax-deductible gift to the Employee Ownership Expansion Network – EOX (EIN: 83-2849677).