Grantbook’s Historic Transition to an Employee Ownership Trust
A Bold Step for B Corp Excellence
On January 1, we at Grantbook rang in the new year by making history, becoming majority-owned by Canada’s very first Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). This bold move not only deepened our commitment to employee ownership—an essential pillar of our B Corp values—but provided the highly sought-after values-aligned exit for co-founder Peter Deitz.
Since our founding in 2012, Grantbook has been on a journey to align our company structure with our social purpose and values. In 2013, we became a Certified B Corporation, believing fervently in business as a force for good. Then, in 2020, we launched a broad-based Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP), with help from ESOP Builders Inc., reinforcing another core belief that ownership shouldn’t just be reserved for founders and leadership. Now, with the advent of our EOT, we believe we’ve struck on an even more powerful structure in which team members no longer need to have available capital to purchase shares. Instead, once through their probation period, they become eligible for profit sharing when dividends are called. Time will tell, but we feel we’ve made the right investment in our future via this bold bet.
Employee Ownership & B Corp Values: A Natural Fit
B Corp certification and employee ownership go hand in hand. The B Impact Assessment recognizes companies that distribute ownership more equitably, affording more points to organizations where employees own significant stakes in the business. Whether by offering a share purchase plan or pursuing an EOT, companies can make a tangible commitment to employee ownership and wealth distribution, and in Grantbook’s case, formalize what is already true—our team is what makes Grantbook thrive.
Why an EOT? Why Now?
Throughout 2023, Grantbook’s board, including Peter Dietz, searched for a path to achieve his exit while protecting the legacy of the values-based B Corp we have all built. Despite knowing EOTs would be greenlit in Canada in 2024, the option was initially dismissed for being too complex and costly for an organization our size. However, as we dove deeper, we came to see this new offering as ticking all the boxes. By the end of the year, we were able to announce to our team that we were buying ourselves the company.
What followed in 2024 was a twelve-month process that included a feasibility study with ReWrite Capital to anticipate the risks and rewards of embarking on this journey, and deep team reflection on what we wanted for Grantbook’s future. While the Canadian legislation allows individuals to accrue shares via Individual Capital Accounts (the US model), we decided—initially at least—to only leverage the profit-sharing aspect of the EOT (in line with the UK model).
Another decision we faced was the fate of our ESOP, under which a group of individual employees owned approximately 20% of the company. We could have kept our ESOP, maintaining a mechanism for direct share ownership, but we realized that sunsetting our ESOP and prioritizing profit sharing under an EOT would create a simpler, more inclusive structure where all employees, regardless of tenure or financial resources, could benefit. With many individual shareholders achieving liquidity at the same time as our exiting co-founder, we have dramatically reduced the administrative burden of wrangling share sales and a constantly shifting cap table.
The response to our transition has been met with enthusiasm from our clients and employees alike, boding well for employee ownership as a model for long-term business success and social impact. Our clients especially appreciate the way we are walking our talk. As a philanthropy-serving consultancy, Grantbook supports grantmakers around the world in aligning values with practices through their operational choices. What better way for us to do just that by choosing an ownership structure that promotes equity and inclusion?
For our team members, the shift has been equally meaningful. Tierney Smith, a long-time team member who participated in the original ESOP, shared, “A strong sense of ownership held by all team members, and a belief that any financial rewards should be shared among the people who contributed to that success, are values that have been consistent throughout my time at Grantbook. While the ESOP was a great step in the right direction, the EOT is a simpler and more inclusive approach that lets us live out these values more fully.” Newer team members are excited about the potential as well, with one of our most recent hires, Melissa Chungfat, adding, “Knowing that Grantbook is employee-owned was a huge draw for me. It means I’m joining something built to last where I’m not just contributing, but also helping shape the future, and where my voice matters.“
A few weeks ago I was asked what has changed for Grantbook since launching our EOT. I quipped, “Nothing. And everything.” Why nothing? The massive value in selling to an EOT is the preservation of leadership, culture, vision, and the day-to-day work that supports our social purpose. Why everything? Now, we have even greater control over our strategic direction. We have the potential for greater engagement and team participation along with higher retention and greater financial rewards. And most importantly, we know that Grantbook’s future is secure—because it belongs to all of us.
Author: Nikki Barrett CEO Grantbook
nikki@grantbook.org
ESOP Builders Inc. specializes in designing and implementing Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs), which include purchase plans, EOTs, stock option plans, and phantom plans (EVOP™️), for small and medium sized private Canadian businesses. As the leading provider of Canadian employee ownership plans for privately-held companies, we pride ourselves on combining passion and technical expertise to meet your company’s unique goals. Our proven process helps you identify which model is a good fit for your company, how to implement it and communicate it to your employees, and ensure maximum engagement and participation for a successful program now and in the future.