‍Fund for Jobs Worth Owning: Building Momentum Heading into 2026

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With 2026 underway, the Fund for Jobs Worth Owning (FJWO) continues to build momentum, expanding access to capital for worker cooperatives while strengthening partnerships across the employee ownership ecosystem. The past several months have been marked by new loans, deeper collaboration with partners, and strategic learning opportunities.

Here’s a look at where the Fund’s recent investments are making an impact.

‍Expanding Worker Ownership in Care

Republican River Valley Homecare Cooperative (Arapahoe, NE)
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FJWO is proud to support the first home care cooperative in Nebraska. This investment was made possible through a Wells Fargo grant supporting FJWO’s work with caregiving cooperatives.

The mission of RRVHC is to empower residents in their community to age at home and be cared for by skilled local caregivers. Being worker-owned and controlled means every worker-owner invests in creating long-lasting relationships with care recipients and their families. Worker ownership also offers caregivers a path for economic advancement, respect, and autonomy.

As the first home care cooperative in the state, RRVHC is poised to set a powerful example for others in Nebraska - and nationwide - to follow.

Read more about their unique story here.

Coordinated Capital for Cooperative Growth

Democracy Brewing (Lewiston, ME)

Construction has begun on Democracy Brewing’s new brewpub, enabled by FJWO leading a financing collaboration of six worker cooperative lenders.

Leveraging the power of worker ownership to transform jobs in the hospitality industry has always been core to Democracy Brewing’s mission and strategy. This project aims to create high-quality, sustainable jobs in a growing industry with the opportunity for continued replication into new locations.

FJWO is pleased to be working in partnership with a talented group of mission-driven worker cooperative lenders, demonstrating how coordinated capital can unlock larger-scale growth opportunities for worker-owned businesses.

Learn more about Democracy Brewing, Boston's first worker-owned brewery here.

‍Strengthening Cooperative Development Capacity

Colmenar Cooperative Consulting (Oakland, CA)
Colmenar is a bilingual (Spanish/English) worker cooperative that plays a critical role in strengthening cooperative development capacity, particularly for Spanish-speaking communities.

Through its consulting work, Colmenar provides hands-on technical assistance, training, and leadership development to emerging and existing worker-owned businesses. Colmenar’s vision of developing more BIPOC, immigrant, and women-owned cooperatives will help to expand inclusive ownership opportunities and build long-term economic power in historically excluded communities.

As a bilingual partner of other cooperative developers, Colmenar also helps grow the capacity of other providers in the space by allowing them to reach out to underserved communities.

Learn more about Colmenar's mission here.

Elevating Worker Buyouts on the National Stage

In October, members of the FJWO team attended the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference in Washington, DC, where worker buyouts and cooperative transitions were front and center. FJWO co-hosted a session on worker buyouts and participated in a roundtable convened by Wells Fargo, uplifting the Fund’s work with home care and child care cooperatives.

Investing in Strategy Through Peer Learning

The Fund is also participating in Boston Impact Initiative’s ARC Fellowship, a peer-learning and strategy program designed to support community-led investment organizations.

Participation in ARC reflects a commitment not only to deploying capital, but to continuously strengthening practice, strategy, and impact.

Looking Ahead

As thousands of business owners across the country approach retirement and workforce stability becomes a defining economic issue, access to aligned capital will continue to shape whether businesses remain locally rooted or are absorbed by outside buyers.

The Fund for Jobs Worth Owning exists to ensure that worker ownership is not limited by lack of financing.

We are grateful for the partners, collaborators, and supporters who make this work possible. We look forward to continuing to expand our scale and reach in 2026.

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With gratitude,

Chris Carley Loan & Portfolio Manager

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