A new initiative will help owners of long-standing businesses in northwest Wisconsin consider employee ownership as an alternative to selling to an outside buyer or closing when they retire.
The Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership is launching the Northwest Rural Wisconsin Ownership Transition Initiative with a $95,000 Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development, supported by $16,000 in non-federal matching funds.
The program will offer education and technical assistance from October 2026 through September 2027 in Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor and Washburn counties. Options covered include employee stock ownership plans, worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts.
The center will work with the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, local economic development groups, lenders and accountants, with chambers of commerce co-hosting workshops. The first workshops are expected in the spring of 2027, and an online resource library is also planned.
