News

June 12, 2023
    Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI), the national think and do tank dedicated to expanding the worker ownership model, is pleased to announce the promotion of Julian S. McKinley to the role of Co-Executive Director for Partnerships and Growth. Julian assumes this position alongside Vanessa Bransburg, who was promoted to Co-Executive Director for Operations and Programs in September 2022. DAWI's board of directors unanimously voted to promote Julian nearly five years after he joined DAWI as... more
February 3, 2023
An overview of Chicago's Community Wealth Ecosystem Building Initiative. (Courtesy of the City of Chicago)   The City of Chicago recently announced a commitment to worker ownership as part of its community wealth-building strategy, awarding grants to 17 organizations through its Department of Planning and Development. Democracy at Work Institute is excited to join grantees selected to design and implement two-year technical assistance programs for business development.  Chicago’s Community... more
September 29, 2022
    The Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) announced today the promotion of Senior Managing Director Vanessa Bransburg to Co-Executive Director of Operations and Programs. Bransburg will lead the organization alongside DAWI founding Executive Director Melissa Hoover, who will become Co-Executive Director for Partnerships and Growth until transitioning to a new role in 2023. “As DAWI celebrates ten years of powerful work, we are consciously undertaking a shift in leadership that will support... more
June 8, 2022
  Apis & Heritage Capital, incubated by nonprofit Democracy at Work Institute, acquires Denver and El Paso-based firms, sell to BIPOC, essential workers via ESOP WASHINGTON, DC (May 24, 2022)—Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) has announced transitions to employee ownership for its first two portfolio companies: Apex Plumbing Co. (Denver, Co.) and Accent Landscape Contractors, Inc. (El Paso, TX). Together, the firms employ more than 150 mostly BIPOC workers.  A&H was... more
January 26, 2022
The Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is proud to announce Director of Strategic Partnerships Anh-Thu Nguyen has appointed to the New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC)’s inaugural Workforce Policy Strategy Council. Anh-Thu joins 26 other new members on this inaugural council. NYCETC, the nation’s largest city-based workforce development association, has over 200 member organizations that annually provide job training and employment services for more than 750,000 people, and... more
June 23, 2021
With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, DAWI’s Legacy Business Fund by Apis & Heritage  Capital Partners (A&H) has announced its first close at $30 million, doubling its target of $15 million.  Launched with a planning grant from Citi Community Development, funding from the Kendeda Fund, and additional support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Fund and A&H have been incubated at DAWI to address the widening racial wealth gap by transitioning businesses with large... more
June 17, 2021
The State Small Business Credit Initiative program could catalyze significant business retention and broaden business ownership at the same time.      In early June, the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) and the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) both sent letters to the Department of the Treasury in response to the Treasury’s notice and request for information concerning the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), to encourage implementation of support for state employee... more
June 4, 2021
  This has been an exhausting year, and DAWI is taking a Recovery Summer for our staff to rest, restore, and partake in the gradual reopening of our world. For the next three months, our offices will be closed every other Friday (that’s 6/4, 6/18, 7/2, 7/16, 7/30, 8/13, 8/27). As a worker-directed nonprofit organization, we prioritize the well-being of our members. We know investing in staff is an investment in the impact we’re able to make. We’ll be working and generally responding at a... more
May 21, 2021
Oakland, Calif, May 20, 2021 — The National League of Cities (NLC) and the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) released today new guidance for U.S. cities to pursue equitable post-COVID economic recovery through the use of employee ownership.  The new report, titled “Economic Recovery and Employee Ownership,” walks city leadership through the use of employee ownership—businesses owned completely or partially by their employees—as an essential tool in efforts to support small businesses, their... more
March 26, 2021
    A rise in hatred against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has led to heartbreaking violence across the country. We are devastated at DAWI by the year-long increase in violence against AAPI elders, women, businesses, and workers. We stand in solidarity with our staff, family, friends, and neighbors against these violent manifestations of hatred and those whose silence enables them. From scapegoating AAPI communities throughout the pandemic to the racially motivated murder of... more