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Attendees at Advocacy Academy 2025

Charles R. Edmunson Scholarship Now Open

The Charles R. Edmunson Scholarship offers non-management employee owners the opportunity to attend motivational and educational programs that promote employee ownership and educate attendees on the rights, responsibilities, risks, and rewards of employee ownership. 

Deadline to apply is July 15

Employee Ownership is an extraordinary opportunity that should be available to everyone

When employee owned businesses prosper, everyone shares in the rewards.

Businesses grow and gain competitive advantage, employees become stakeholders and grow their wealth, and local economies gain valuable services and stable jobs.

Since 1991, we’ve been on a mission to show the world how exceptional we all can be when work—and all of its reward—become a shared experience.

Donations fund all of our efforts

The Employee Ownership Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the employee ownership model of business. We promote employee ownership to the public and catalyze independent, academic research about the issues those businesses face. Our activities help spark and nurture action among business owners and leaders, policy makers, employees, and the media. Our goal is for more employees to have an ownership stake in the businesses where they work and for these types of businesses to be rewarded in the market.

Contribution FAQs

  • Help company owners learn about the option of selling their businesses to their employees.
  • Pay for practical research aimed at helping existing employee owned firms excel.
  • Fund programs and academic fellowships.
  • Are fully tax deductible.

EVENTS FROM THE EMPLOYEE OWNED COMMUNITY

Featured event
Upcoming events
Jun 18, 2025 8:00 am EDT
ESOP Employee Accelerator - 2025 Lynchburg, VA
Jun 22 - 24, 2025 3:00 pm MDT
CFO Summit 2025
Jun 25, 2025 7:00 am CDT
Illinois Chapter 2025 Golf Outing & Roundtables
Jun 25, 2025 11:30 am HST
Hawaii Chapter - 2025 Summer Lunch & Learn
Jul 10, 2025 8:00 am EDT
ESOP Employee Accelerator - 2025 Portland, ME

LEADING IN AN OWNERSHIP SETTING ™

ESOP CEO Program 2023 Van Pelt Library

This unique program, conducted in partnership with the nationally recognized Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, helps top executives maximize their ESOPs by fostering employee owner engagement that directly impacts the company’s bottom line, and coupled with up-to-date course curricula on relevant topics such as Finance, M&A, Repurchase Obligations, Marketing and Management.   

The intensive two-week program offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn at one of the nation’s top business schools with other ESOP executives and form lasting relationships and networks.  The program facilitates ongoing networking for program alumni, helping you grow and maintain valuable connections.

These programs are for current CEOs or Presidents of ESOP companies, CFOs or their equivalent roles, or their designated successors.  Future CHRO cohorts will be announced. 

The EOF/UVA Leading in an Ownership Setting ™ program takes place in sequential sessions. Participants should attend both sessions to maximize value and effectiveness.

Learn More >>

Employee Ownership is the new American Dream. When you own a stake in the company where you work, you have an unbeatable opportunity to build a better tomorrow for yourself and your family.

- Jim Bonham, President, Employee Ownership Foundation

EDMUNSON SCHOLARSHIP HELPS PAY FOR EMPLOYEE OWNER TRAINING

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The Edmunson Scholarship, which helps defray the cost of sending non-management employee owners to programs that promote and offer education on employee ownership.

The scholarship can be used at events offered by the Employee Ownership Foundation or The ESOP Association.

Several scholarships are awarded each year, and companies can split the award between two employee owners.

For updates, please visit our Edmunson Scholarship page.