Launched in 2008 by a working group of U.S. anchor institutions based in Cleveland, Ohio, the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative was designed to create an economic breakthrough and rebuild the U.S. middle class one community at a time, starting in Cleveland. It focuses on economic inclusion and building a local economy from the ground up by catalysing new businesses, owned by their employees. The model calls for partnerships with anchor institutions and mobilizing impact capital. The outcomes are quality jobs that help employees build wealth through profit sharing; a reduced wealth-gap, increased economic justice, and stronger local economies.
A Fulbright Fellow, Brett N. Jones is a graduate of The Ohio State University and holds an MBA from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management. He joined the Evergreen team in 2013 and is broadly focused on the growth and development of employee-ownership. Specifically, Brett uses impact capital to acquire companies and convert them to employee-owned. When not acquiring and converting companies, he is leading other cities through the adaptation of Evergreen’s anchor institution-based model of economic inclusion and community wealth-building.