Apis & Heritage Capital, incubated by nonprofit Democracy at Work Institute, acquires Denver and El Paso-based firms, sell to BIPOC, essential workers via ESOP WASHINGTON, DC (May 24, 2022)— Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) has announced transitions to employee ownership for its first two portfolio companies: Apex Plumbing Co. (Denver, Co.) and Accent Landscape Contractors, Inc. (El Paso, TX). Together, the firms employ more than 150 mostly BIPOC workers. A&H was incubated at Democracy at Work Institute and launched with seed funding from Kendeda Fund, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Citi Community Development. The firm announced its initial close… more

The Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is proud to announce Director of Strategic Partnerships Anh-Thu Nguyen has appointed to the New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC)’s inaugural Workforce Policy Strategy Council. Anh-Thu joins 26 other new members on this inaugural council. NYCETC, the nation’s largest city-based workforce development association, has over 200 member organizations that annually provide job training and employment services for more than 750,000 people, and works to ensure that every New Yorker has access to the skills, training, and education needed to thrive in the local economy, and that every business is able to maintain… more

With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, DAWI’s Legacy Business Fund by Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) has announced its first close at $30 million, doubling its target of $15 million. Launched with a planning grant from Citi Community Development, funding from the Kendeda Fund, and additional support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Fund and A&H have been incubated at DAWI to address the widening racial wealth gap by transitioning businesses with large workforces of color into employee-owned firms. A&H aims to purchase eight closely held companies from retiring founders, turning 500 workers into owners over the next five… more

The State Small Business Credit Initiative program could catalyze significant business retention and broaden business ownership at the same time. In early June, the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) and the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) both sent letters to the Department of the Treasury in response to the Treasury’s notice and request for information concerning the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), to encourage implementation of support for state employee ownership centers and more broadly for employee ownership transitions. These transitions are when business owners sell part or all of their company to their employees. The most common forms… more

This has been an exhausting year, and DAWI is taking a Recovery Summer for our staff to rest, restore, and partake in the gradual reopening of our world. For the next three months, our offices will be closed every other Friday (that’s 6/4, 6/18, 7/2, 7/16, 7/30, 8/13, 8/27). As a worker-directed nonprofit organization, we prioritize the well-being of our members. We know investing in staff is an investment in the impact we’re able to make. We’ll be working and generally responding at a slightly slower pace. Our time at work will also be concentrated on the areas we’ve prioritized… more

Oakland, Calif, May 20, 2021 — The National League of Cities (NLC) and the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) released today new guidance for U.S. cities to pursue equitable post-COVID economic recovery through the use of employee ownership. The new report, titled “ Economic Recovery and Employee Ownership,” walks city leadership through the use of employee ownership—businesses owned completely or partially by their employees—as an essential tool in efforts to support small businesses, their employees, and local communities at a time of great need. Small businesses, which employ nearly half of the U.S. private workforce, have been impacted by COVID-19… more

A rise in hatred against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has led to heartbreaking violence across the country. We are devastated at DAWI by the year-long increase in violence against AAPI elders, women, businesses, and workers. We stand in solidarity with our staff, family, friends, and neighbors against these violent manifestations of hatred and those whose silence enables them. From scapegoating AAPI communities throughout the pandemic to the racially motivated murder of six women in Atlanta this month, there is no room for racism in our communities. We must condemn hateful speech at every turn, as it leads—time… more