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client: Zingerman’s community of businesses

Our Services

Customized ownership engagements that fit your specific goals and situation.

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Depending on where you are on your journey, we can support you with:

6 most common alternative ownership structures

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    Perpetual Purpose Trusts

    A special type of trust designed to last forever owns your company permanently. This allows the business to operate in service of its defined purpose rather than maximizing returns to shareholders. This structure ensures mission continuity across generations of leadership. 

  • Two smiling employees, a man and a woman, standing side by side with arms crossed inside a grocery store, wearing aprons.

    Employee Centered Trusts (Also known as "Employee Ownership Trusts" or "EOTs")

    A purpose trust owns the company and operates it with an eye toward ensuring employees share in the company's success. Employees may receive economic benefits but don't own shares directly. This structure provides workforce-centered stewardship without the complexity of direct employee ownership.

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    Direct Employee Ownership

    Employees own shares directly and (often but not always) participate in both governance and economic returns. This creates alignment between workers and company success but requires more sophisticated administration than trust-based models. Works best when you want employees to have real decision-making power, and when employees are willing to bear the risk/burden of direct ownership. This is a common approach in professional services companies like law offices and architecture firms.

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    Worker Cooperatives

    Workers own and democratically control the business through one-member, one-vote governance. Each worker-owner has equal say regardless of capital contribution or tenure. This structure prioritizes democratic decision-making over traditional management hierarchy.

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    ESOPs

    An Employee Stock Ownership Plan allows employees to own shares through a tax-advantaged retirement benefit structure. The ESOP trust buys shares from existing owners, often with significant tax benefits. This is the most common form of employee ownership in the US but comes with regulatory complexity. Beyond their primary objective of enhancing employee wealth building, ESOPs are arguably "purpose agnostic.”

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    Hybrid Structures

    Some missions require combining ownership models, like pairing a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization with trust ownership of an operating company. These structures let you optimize for both mission impact and operational sustainability. They're more complex but can solve problems that single structures can't.

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Given this range of structures — choosing the right path requires careful analysis upfront.

That's why we recommend that most owners begin with a design and feasibility process: So you can clarify your goals, evaluate which structures align with your values and circumstances, and stress-test viability before you commit to a specific path. The right structure depends on your company's unique situation.

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