A project funded by the EOX State Center Grant Program

A regional playbook built around people and organizations communities already trust

Washington is a big state, which means the Washington Center for Employee Ownership (WACEO) has a lot of ground to cover.

Trying to maintain a direct presence in every community was never going to be the answer. Instead, WACEO used its EOX project grant to develop a repeatable way to work through local people and organizations that already know their business communities.

The result is the Regional Engagement Playbook.

During the project, the WACEO:

• Developed a six-step county engagement process, from mapping local partners through long-term follow-up.
  
  
• Established two Regional Advocates to serve as local EO connectors.
  
  
• Convened four Regional Connector Group meetings with economic developers, lenders, service providers, government representatives, and community organizations.
  
  
• Hosted eight community outreach events to test and refine the approach.
  
  
• Built guidance for working with chambers, SBDCs, tribal governments, universities, community foundations, lenders, elected officials, and other local partners.

The lesson that emerged was straightforward: people respond differently when employee ownership is introduced through organizations and relationships they already trust.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Statewide reach does not require a statewide staff footprint if the local relationships are strong.

WACEO’s playbook gives that idea structure. It offers a way to enter a new region, identify the right partners, give local champions a role, and stay connected after the first event is over.



For State Centers covering large geographies with limited staff, that is a model worth paying attention to.