New Program Helps Northwest Wisconsin Business Owners Explore Employee Ownership as a Succession Strategy
USDA Rural Business Development Grant will fund education workshops and technical assistance for business owners across ten rural counties
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MADISON, Wis. (Oct. 28, 2026) — Across Northwest Wisconsin, many owners of long-standing local businesses are approaching retirement without a clear succession plan. Employee ownership offers an alternative to selling to an outside buyer or closing the doors. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts can help preserve business legacies, keep jobs rooted in rural communities and give employees the opportunity to build wealth.
But in rural areas, business owners often have limited access to the specialized advisors who can help them understand these options, and many never learn that employee ownership is a possibility until it is too late to consider it.
To help close that gap, the Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership (WICEO) is launching the Northwest Rural Wisconsin Ownership Transition Initiative. Made possible through a $95,000 Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development, supported by $16,000 in non-federal matching funds, the initiative will provide employee ownership education and technical assistance to business owners in Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor and Washburn counties from October 2026 through September 2027.
WICEO will deliver the program in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC), which will provide direct technical assistance to participating businesses and support a series of educational workshops for business owners. WICEO will also work with regional partners, including the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, local economic development corporations, lenders and CPAs, with area chambers of commerce serving as workshop co-hosts.
Wisconsin is home to 200 ESOPs, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. Nationally, more than 6,600 ESOPs cover about 11 million participants and hold more than $2 trillion in plan assets.
“Small, family businesses are essential to communities across the state of Wisconsin. Our goal is to reach as many of those businesses to ensure that they are knowledgeable about employee ownership and that they consider it as part of any succession planning discussions,” said Joe Sapp, CAE, Executive Director of WICEO.
The first workshops are expected to begin in the spring of 2027, and WICEO is developing an online resource library to help business owners explore their options. Business owners can learn more and sign up for updates at wiceo.org.
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About the Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership
The Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership (WICEO) is a nonprofit organization working to grow employee ownership across Wisconsin. WICEO helps business owners understand succession options, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts (EOTs), connects them with qualified resources, and brings together the state’s employee-owned companies, advisors and public partners to strengthen support for employee ownership statewide. Learn more at www.wiceo.org.
Media Contact
Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership
Joe Sapp, MBA, CAE, Executive Director
jsapp@wiceo.org
This program is funded in part by a grant from USDA Rural Development. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
