Funding
Funding Options for Employee Ownership and Cooperatives
Funding can be an important part of planning an employee ownership transition or strengthening an existing employee-owned business. Below are current tax credit and financing resources that may help Colorado businesses and cooperatives explore available options.
Colorado Employee Ownership Tax Credits
Employee Ownership Tax Credit to Establish or to Expand
Colorado's Employee Ownership Tax Credit to Establish or to Expand helps eligible Colorado-headquartered businesses offset qualified costs related to creating or expanding an employee ownership structure. Eligible structures may include ESOPs, worker-owned cooperatives, employee ownership trusts, LLC membership, and certain equity or synthetic equity plans.
Employee Ownership Tax Credit to Strengthen and to Thrive
Colorado's Employee Ownership Tax Credit to Strengthen and to Thrive is designed to support existing employee-owned businesses with eligible costs that help the business continue operating successfully and strengthen its employee ownership model.
Financing
Additional Cooperative Financing Resources
The following organizations may offer financing, lending, or investment resources for eligible cooperatives, employee-owned businesses, and mission-aligned organizations. Availability, eligibility, and terms vary by organization.
Shared Capital Cooperative
Shared Capital Cooperative is a national cooperative lending and investment fund that provides financing to cooperatives of different types and sizes.
National Cooperative Bank
Offers commercial lending products, including SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans, for eligible small businesses, cooperatives, and worker-owned cooperatives.
CoBank
A cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System providing financial services to agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers, cooperatives, and other eligible rural economy organizations.
Colorado Solidarity Fund
An investment club focused on strengthening Colorado's solidarity economy and making capital available to cooperatives for startup, conversion, and expansion.
Kachuwa Impact Fund
A Colorado-based investment cooperative and public benefit corporation providing mission-aligned capital to privately held impact companies, and managing impact real estate investments.
English 
Spanish