--- title: "The MassCEO stipend: what it pays for, who qualifies and how to apply" description: Massachusetts may pay half of approved advisory costs, up to $25,000, for exploring an ESOP or worker co-op. What it covers, who qualifies and its limits. image: https://oldharboradvisors.com/hubfs/oha-site/brand/oha-heritage-share-1200x630.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/massceo-technical-assistance-stipend#main-content) [![Old Harbor Advisors anchor](https://oldharboradvisors.com/hs-fs/hubfs/oha-site/brand/oha-gold-plate-anchor-2026-10-22.webp?width=52&height=53&name=oha-gold-plate-anchor-2026-10-22.webp) OLD HARBOR ADVISORS, LLC](https://oldharboradvisors.com) Menu - [Mission & Values](https://oldharboradvisors.com/mission-and-values) - [Business Owners](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-owners) Business Owners submenu - [Family Businesses](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-owners/family-businesses) - [Contractors](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-owners/contractors) - [Professional Services Firms](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-owners/professional-services-companies) - [Business Advisors](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-advisors) Business Advisors submenu - [Bankers](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-advisors/bankers) - [Wealth Advisors](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-advisors/wealth-advisors) - [CPAs & Attorneys](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice/for-advisors/cpas-and-attorneys) - [Team](https://oldharboradvisors.com/team) - [Our Approach](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice) - [Resources](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources) Resources submenu - [ESOP 101](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/esop-basics) - [FAQs](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/faqs) - [Common Misconceptions](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/common-misconceptions) - [Is an ESOP the Right Fit?](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/esop-fit) - [Articles & Market Intelligence](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/market-intel) - [Outside Organizations & Resources](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources#organizations) [Talk to Us](https://oldharboradvisors.com/talk-to-us) [Succession Planning](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/tag/succession-planning) · [Boston & New England](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/tag/boston-new-england) # The MassCEO stipend: what it pays for, who qualifies and how to apply OCTOBER 7, 2026 · [OLD HARBOR ADVISORS](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/author/old-harbor-advisors) Since October 6, 2026, Massachusetts has offered to share the cost of taking a serious look at employee ownership. The Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership, known as MassCEO, runs a Technical Assistance Stipend Program that can pay half of certain advisory costs for a company exploring a sale to an ESOP or a conversion to a worker cooperative. Its limits matter as much as the money. ## What the Program Is MassCEO is an office within the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. The stipend is a competitive program meant to reduce the cost barrier that can keep Massachusetts businesses from exploring employee ownership. It pays toward what the program calls pre-conversion technical assistance: the outside advice a company needs to explore or structure a move to an ESOP or a worker cooperative, before ownership changes hands. ## How Much It Pays, and to Whom - **ESOP projects:** up to $25,000, which is 50 percent of up to $50,000 in qualifying costs. - **Worker cooperative projects:** up to $12,500, which is 50 percent of up to $25,000 in qualifying costs. The company pays the other half from its own resources or private financing. The stipend is not paid to the company. Once the company has paid its share, MassCEO pays its matching share directly to the provider. ## What It Can Pay For The stipend applies only to work done by a MassCEO-approved provider and included in the approved scope of work. As of October 26, 2026, the program page lists three approved ESOP providers and four worker cooperative providers. For an ESOP, the eligible work includes: - **ESOP advisor work:** a feasibility study, transaction structuring and debt placement. - **Valuation services:** a preliminary valuation, a fairness opinion and an annual valuation. - **Trustee services:** an institutional trustee. - **Legal services:** counsel for the company, the trustee and the sellers. The guidelines also list employee education and some plan administration work. For worker cooperatives, the list covers cooperative development, legal work, valuation, transaction structuring and tax planning. [What an ESOP feasibility study covers](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/what-an-esop-feasibility-study-covers) explains the usual first step. ## What It Cannot Pay For - Costs incurred before MassCEO approves the application. - Work by a firm that is not a MassCEO-approved provider. - Operating expenses or other costs not directly tied to eligible advisory work. - Advice after the conversion. - Other forms of employee ownership, such as an employee ownership trust. The stipend is for ESOP and worker cooperative projects. Each business may submit one application at a time and may engage only one approved provider through the program. ## Who Is Eligible An applicant must: - Currently operate a business in Massachusetts. - Not be majority employee-owned today. - Be exploring a potential transition to employee ownership. - Propose eligible work by an approved provider. - Show it can fund the matching share and has a credible need for the stipend. Existing businesses must also certify good standing with the Department of Revenue, the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Department of Unemployment Assistance. The official pages set no minimum company size or employee count. ## How to Apply Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through MassCEO’s application on Submittable, linked from the program page. Awards depend on available funding, and MassCEO may cancel the program at any time. The program’s performance period runs until June 30, 2029. The form asks about succession plans and the advice needed in the next 6 to 12 months, along with estimated business value, recent revenue, the advisory budget and the source of the matching funds. A review team weighs readiness, need, financial capacity and the benefit to workers and the community. It also considers whether the work is likely to lead to a conversion or to a well-supported go or no-go decision. Approved applicants receive a commitment letter setting out the amount, the scope and any conditions. Once a contract is signed, the stipend may run for up to six months. Awardees report each June 30, including whether a conversion was completed, and may need to make records available in an audit for up to seven years. ## When This May Not Be the Right Next Step - **An ESOP or cooperative may not fit the company.** Small, uncertain earnings, a need for significant cash at closing or a higher price from a different buyer can point to another path. The stipend can lower the cost of finding out. It does not change the answer. - **It covers part of the cost.** The company pays half of qualifying costs, plus anything above the cap, outside the approved scope or done by a firm not on the list. - **The owner is not yet ready to explore a conversion.** The program looks for readiness. An owner still deciding what matters most may gain more from a general conversation first. - **Confidentiality matters at this stage.** Application materials are subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, and the form asks for estimated value and revenue. ## Where Old Harbor Advisors Fits Old Harbor Advisors is not on MassCEO’s list of approved providers, and the stipend does not pay for our work. Our approach is education first. Your initial conversation can remain general. Before you provide confidential information about your company or ownership, we execute an NDA. If the ownership is interested in going further, we introduce a leading national ESOP advisory firm. The feasibility study is provided at no cost to the client. The ESOP advisory firm and Old Harbor Advisors are compensated only upon the successful completion of the contemplated transaction. There is no obligation to proceed at any stage. If you are weighing the stipend, we can walk through whether the program fits your situation, alongside the other paths open to you. This note reflects the program as of October 26, 2026; check the program page before applying. ## Where to Go From Here [Is an ESOP the Right Fit?](https://oldharboradvisors.com/resources/esop-fit) sets out the signals on both sides. [Our Approach](https://oldharboradvisors.com/the-practice) describes how Old Harbor Advisors works with owners. For the official terms and the list of approved providers, read the [MassCEO program page](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massceo-technical-assistance-stipend-program). If you would like to talk it through, [talk to us](https://oldharboradvisors.com/talk-to-us). ## Sources - [Mass.gov, MassCEO Technical Assistance Stipend Program](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massceo-technical-assistance-stipend-program) - [Mass.gov, MassCEO Technical Assistance Stipend Program Guidelines (PDF), updated September 22, 2026](https://www.mass.gov/doc/rfp-massceo-technical-assistance-stipend) - [Mass.gov, Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-center-for-employee-ownership) - [Mass.gov, Healey-Driscoll Administration Launches New Program to Help Businesses Explore Employee Ownership (press release), October 6, 2026](https://www.mass.gov/news/healey-driscoll-administration-launches-new-program-to-help-businesses-explore-employee-ownership) This post is for general information only. It is not legal, tax, or investment advice. [Succession Planning](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/tag/succession-planning) [Boston & New England](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/tag/boston-new-england) MORE NOTES ### [OCTOBER 7, 2026 Keeping your company independent when you retire, without selling to a competitor](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/keep-your-company-independent-without-selling-to-a-competitor) ### [OCTOBER 7, 2026 Management buyout or ESOP? How two inside sales compare](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/management-buyout-vs-esop) ### [OCTOBER 7, 2026 The Section 1042 rollover: who qualifies, and what it defers](https://oldharboradvisors.com/notes/section-1042-rollover) ## Questions About Whether an ESOP May Fit Your Company? 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