Eugene-based Hummingbird Wholesale has adopted an unusual, mission-based ownership model.
Charlie and Julie Tilt bought a wholesale business called Honey Heaven in 2003 and began to expand it. Now the 48-person company distributes organic grains, nuts and much more.
From the start, the Tilts considered what the end of their ownership would look like. Deciding not to sell it or form a co-op, early this year, they settled on what’s called a Purpose-Driven Trust.
“Even though the trust model isn’t yet popular or widespread in the United States, it is a model that’s been around in Europe for some time,” said Stacy Kraker, Hummingbird Wholesale’s Marketing Director, who said Patagonia created the most famous Purpose Trust and local produce distributor Organically Grown also has that business model.
Kraker said the trust is the business owner. The employees are stakeholders and they share in the profits.
Since this year's change in ownership, "what I’ve seen is that people want to know more about how a business ticks, like the big picture," she said. "So we each have our specific role, and this really opens people up to trying to understand the business as a whole a bit more.”
She said the purpose behind the trust is to enshrine the company's mission and values. In Hummingbird’s case, the motto is: “To sip the nectar of the Earth without harming the flower.”
Kraker said the co-workers are in the process of forming a decision-making board, and hope to have that in place by the end of the year.
