DEMYSTIFYING FUND STRUCTURES FOR ALTERNATIVE OWNERSHIP ENTERPRISES

Transform Finance (TF) is a research, education, and
implementation partner that supports its stakeholders to challenge
legacy investment approaches, seed transformative investment
models, and build movement power. Traditional business operations
enrich investors to the detriment of asset-building opportunities
for workers and underserved communities, contributing to the
wealth gap, particularly along racial lines. TF enlisted the Capstone
team to study and catalog Alternative Ownership Enterprises
(AOEs) to understand these alternative models and undergird TF's
investor-facing effort. The Capstone team compiled, researched,
and confirmed a database of known AOE funds, which the client
published both on ImpactAlpha and the TF website. The team
created investor-specific materials on the financing needs of these
AOEs, related to employee stock ownership plans, employee
ownership trusts, and worker cooperatives (both conversion and
startup). Building on the database of known AOE funds, the team
developed four in-depth guides aimed at demystifying the funding
structures of the identified AOEs.