ESOPATHON 2025 marked a major milestone as the fifth year of celebrating Employee Ownership Month through this signature, community-driven fundraising campaign. The anniversary theme focused on expansion—expanding awareness, participation, and integrating ESOPATHON organically into activities that already make Employee Ownership Month meaningful for member companies.
The campaign emphasized augmentation rather than replacement of existing traditions. Companies and chapters received encouragement to incorporate ESOPATHON into their established celebrations, enabling broader adoption without adding extra workload. Communications delivered a clear message: ESOPATHON fits seamlessly into any event—from long-standing employee engagement programs to chapter-level gatherings—serving as a unifying way to celebrate shared ownership while supporting the community.
This strategy, combined with an expanded awareness campaign and the highly successful Postcard Challenge, drove record-breaking participation. ESOPATHON 2025 attracted 176 participants, a 58.5% increase over 2024’s 111. Team participation more than doubled, rising from 31 teams in 2024 to 62 teams in 2025—a 100% increase. These results reflect the strongest engagement levels to date and confirm that amplifying existing celebrations resonates deeply across the ESOP community.
ESOPATHON raised $543,619 for the Foundation in 2025, our second-highest fundraising total ever! This breadth of participation and donor diversification demonstrates ESOPATHON’s growing roots within the association.
At the chapter level, New England led with $105,963.20, followed by Mid-Atlantic & Carolinas at $51,671.30, and Ohio & Kentucky at $44,327.41. California/Nevada contributed $43,695.70, and Iowa & Nebraska added $27,130.66, rounding out the top five.
Top-performing companies showed exceptional commitment. Carris Reels led with $37,433, followed by Blue Ridge Associates at $31,090, CTL Engineering at $24,288, Recology at $16,421, and Freedom Industries at $11,372.
Individual fundraisers also delivered outstanding results. David Fitz-Gerald topped the leaderboard with $37,432.80, followed by Ali Jamshidi at $24,288, Janet Edmunson at $19,750, Derrick Vick at $11,117, and Peter Ney at $7,218.30.
ESOPATHON 2025 demonstrated that shared ownership thrives when built on existing connections. By expanding rather than replacing traditions, the ESOP community achieved its most engaged Employee Ownership Month yet—setting the stage for even greater momentum in the years ahead.
