We're in such great company! Humbled and inspired by the passionate work happening in our country:

We're over the moon! We are a #CommunitiesThriveChallenge Grantee! The support from the @RockefellerFdn & Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will make a big impact on #goodjobs & #EmployeeOwnership in #WNC. It’s an honor to be among such great company! #CTCGrantee

Congratulations to Meridian Speciality Yarn Group for being awarded by @ManufacturedNC for innovation in expansion and modernization. We're thrilled to be able to work with them on ways to engage and retain workers.

And in news from across the sea, the UK's biggest animation company, @aardman , producers of #WallaceAndGromit, just sold to the employees to keep their company independent! #employeeownership

Thanks to the @MorgantonNews for covering our work and announcing we're finalists for the #CommunitiesThriveChallenge via the Chan Zuckerberg and @RockefellerFdn. This would be such an incredible opportunity for our community!

Business owners interested in #employeeownership join us at @newbelgium in #Asheville on Oct. 30! #AvlNews @MtnBizWorks @CarolinaSmBiz @AVLScene @Ashevegas @MtnXbiz

It would be so hard to have to decide between these amazing organizations and all this inspirational work. Thank you to @RockefellerFdn @Upworthy #CommunitiesThriveChallenge for this #UpChat! Good luck to everyone!

A9: That our youth want to live here. Manufacturing workers have dignified jobs they r proud of. Work is rooted & has permanence. Work isn’t easily extracted. Highest saturation of democratically run workplaces w/ access to equity & ownership. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

A8: #LocallyOwned businesses are key! @AshevilleGrown, one of the strongest #GoLocal campaigns is our ally here in #WNC! Absentee ownership is extractive and doesn't build community wealth or real opportunity for equity. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

A7: Our poverty rate is nearly 20% but our unemployment rate is 3.7%. People are working but many of the jobs aren’t #goodjobs. They aren’t jobs that build opportunities, dignity and livelihoods 4 families. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge @facingsouth

A6: Agency, voice, ownership, dignity, power. We specifically work in manufacturing and feel that these aspects (pay, benefits, etc.) are just foundational. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

A5: In between. We talk a lot about the difference between desperation and urgency. We have a sense of urgency that we need to improve the jobs and change traditional companies quickly, before they r lost. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge https://t.co/vFap9RiCfc @projectequity

A4: We love @SelfHelpCU, they help frontline workers gain access to economic self sufficiency. We also love the stories coming from Work in Burke @BurkeDevInc highlighting youth building a positive future in #manufacturing. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

A#3: Make a list of your values, let them guide your work, your interactions with others, the people you serve, the organizations you partner with. If you know the “why” behind your work then the “how” will come much easier. #ListsAreCool #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

A2: Our poverty rate is nearly 20% but our unemployment rate is 3.7%. People are working but many of the jobs aren’t #goodjobs. We want to build opportunities, jobs with dignity and better livelihoods for families. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

We love #WesternNorthCarolina, it is naturally beautiful! People are resilient with deep roots. We are rural and connected, organizations tend to be collaborative because we know each other. #UpChat #CommunitiesThriveChallenge

Looking forward to meeting other #CommunitiesThriveChallenge finalists in a local impact #UpChat starting in 10 minutes!. Join the conversation with @Upworthy @RockefellerFdn @LaborProject @FmlyValuesWork & more!

Can you imagine life without glass? This is a story about Adams & Chittenden Scientific Glass, a little manufacturing company in #Berkeley whose owners, with our help, are selling to their employees #EmployeeOwnership https://t.co/04h3ZOMGiy

We just got word that the bipartisan Main Street #EmployeeOwnership Act will likely pass the US Senate making employee and cooperative ownership more attainable for businesses!

Increasingly, retiring business owners are selling their company to the employees. Excited to see our org mentioned in @Entrepreneur