Financing Alternative Enterprises: What they are and how to do it

Investors play a key role in financing a system-level shift away from shareholder primacy and towards distributed wealth creation and decision-making. One main and emergent strategy for doing so is the support for Alternative Enterprises, or business with non-investor ownership and/or governance, such as cooperatives, trust-owned enterprises, and businesses with community ownership and other distributive features. This discussion will detail an overview of such Alternative Enterprise models, how they contribute to a more equitable economy, the financing innovations that help capitalize them, and the intersection of such investor-driven strategies with the business and policy community. Participants will get a sense of how Alternative Enterprises can fit into their impact approach and how to support the emerging ecosystem of funds and enterprises.