CWCF is pleased to feature Daphane Nelson of CoActive Developments Worker Co-op as a presenter at its Forum on co-op conversions, taking place November 20 from 7 – 9 pm ET. The Forum will explore the value of co-op conversions. and also the benefits of proposed new legislation to give co-op conversions comparable tax treatment to Employee Ownership Trusts.
Nelson was first introduced to the worker co-op model while a board member for her local credit union, and was intrigued by the possibility it offered to sustain small businesses. The model, she discovered, offered a way for retiring small business owners to keep their business going, while also maintaining jobs for their former employees and services vital to rural communities.
Nelson will draw upon her subsequent work assisting in co-op conversions as a member of CoActive Developments in the Forum. When it comes to providing tax incentives for co-op conversions, she acknowledges there’s still some uncertainty around how this might work, but believes co-op developers can still assist with the succession planning aspect of conversions, regardless of the specifics around tax issues.
“We’ll start with the succession plan and then work through ‘well, what does that mean?’” she says. “And how does that affect your business? And then how are you going to train your employees now to move from employeeship to ownership, and really focusing on that side of it.”