We’re thrilled to announce that The Fund for Jobs Worth Owning (FJWO) has been awarded a $700,000 grant from Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Growth program—a powerful endorsement of our mission to transform care work into jobs worth owning.

This grant will supercharge our Care Cooperative Business Growth Initiative, a bold effort to support and scale worker-owned home care and child care cooperatives across the country. These industries—essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities—are too often defined by low wages, poor benefits, and high turnover. We believe in a different future: one where caregivers are respected, empowered, and own the businesses they help build.

Thanks to Wells Fargo’s support, we’ll deploy $525,000 in flexible loan capital to at least seven care cooperatives, providing growth loans and working capital to help them scale sustainably. These funds will enable cooperatives to expand operations, hire business development staff, open new offices, and increase caregiver wages—laying the groundwork for long-term financial health and deeper community impact.

In tandem, this grant will enable us to provide 1,000 hours of customized coaching and strategic support to at least ten cooperatives. Our team will guide worker-owners through business growth planning, financial strategy, and operational excellence, using proven tools like open-book management and smart goal setting. This hands-on support is critical to helping cooperatives reach $1 million in annual revenue and beyond—unlocking economies of scale and stronger profit-sharing for caregiver-owners.

The impact will be felt far beyond the numbers. Over 100 caregiving jobs will be preserved, and two dozen new ones created. Cooperatives will be connected through shared services networks, enabling group purchasing, peer learning, and collective marketing. And most importantly, caregivers—many of whom are women, immigrants, people of color, and rural residents—will gain agency, wealth-building opportunities, and a voice in shaping the future of care work.

We’re proud to be part of Wells Fargo’s $20 million commitment to small business growth and economic equity. Their investment in our work affirms the power of employee ownership to create lasting change—not just for individual businesses, but for entire industries.

At FJWO, we know that transforming care work isn’t easy. But with the right capital, the right support, and the right partners, it’s absolutely possible. This grant brings us one step closer to a future where every caregiver has a job worth owning.

To learn more about our work and the Care Cooperative Business Growth Initiative, contact us at info@jobsworthowning.org, give us a ring, or use the form below.

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