Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg published a touching letter written to his week-old daughter Max which announced the beginning of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The Initiative’s mission focuses on two ideas: advancing human potential and promoting equality. And the statement that raised all the attention: We will give 99% of our Facebook shares...
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Social enterprises are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas. … In its early days, the social enterprise movement was identified mainly with nonprofits that used business models and earned income strategies to pursue their mission. Today, it also encompasses for-profits whose driving purpose is social. Mission is primary and fundamental; organizational form is a strategic question of what will best advance the social mission. – Social Enterprise Alliance
Entrepreneurs with social goals must consider many factors in determining the appropriate structure – whether it involves a nonprofit organization, a for-profit entity (including the so-called hybrid entities—B corporations, benefit corporations, flexible purpose corporations, and L3Cs), or both. Understanding the different forms and utilizing the appropriate ones may be critical in the implementation of the social/business plan.
California Social Purpose Corporation: An Overview
The social purpose corporation is one of two “hybrid” corporate forms in California that provide alternative business entity options to entrepreneurs who want to combine profitability with broader social and environmental objectives (the other is the benefit corporation). Formerly known as the flexible purpose corporation, the social purpose corporation...
SOCAP15
Many key players in the social enterprise / impact investing space throughout the world converged in San Francisco this week for SOCAP15 (yup, that’s John Legend). I’ve been writing and tweeting about SOCAP since 2010, and I am thrilled to be attending this year. Also, a quick disclosure that some of the entities represented are...
Social Impact Bonds: National Summit on Quality in Home-Visiting Programs
I’ll be at the Fifth National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting Programs in Washington DC on May 7, 2015 participating on a panel discussing social impact bonds and pay-for-success financing. I’ll be joined on the panel, moderated by Lauren Schumer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, by: David Juppe, Department of Legislative...
Mapping the Fourth Sector
Last Thursday, I attended the Mapping the Fourth Sector gathering in DC sponsored by the Federal Reserve, George Washington University, Urban Institute, and The B Team. At the invitation-only gathering, I listened to, met, and shared thoughts with some amazing people pioneering the development of this sector made up of...
Nonprofit Radio: The Fourth Sector
l’ll be discussing the “Fourth Sector” – the sector composed of for-benefit organizations – with host Tony Martignetti on Nonprofit Radio this Friday, January 16, at 1:30 pm ET / 10:30 am PT. For-benefits are a diverse class of organizations that share two main characteristics: 1) they are primarily...
Starting a Related Nonprofit: 7 Initial Considerations
If your for-profit company is interested in starting a related nonprofit, here are 7 initial considerations to take into account before moving forward: 1. Are you properly intentioned? A nonprofit exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code must have a charitable, educational, or other 501(c)(3)-consistent purpose and must not...
A Prediction for the Nonprofit Sector in 2015
Predictions for the new year – love ’em or hate ’em – they’re difficult to do well. Good prognosticators have to go beyond stating obvious trends but without being careless. I’ve tried this once before (see 2008: Policy & Random Predictions by Gene Takagi, Esq.), and it’s instructive to look...
Best of the Nonprofit Law Blog 2014
Here are some selected highlights from NEO Law Group over the past year that we hope you’ll find helpful. 2014 was also highlighted by an addition to Erin’s family and Michele’s graduation and passage of the bar exam! Amazing year for all of us. Blog Posts Governance What Issues Should a...
Financing Social Enterprises: From Start-Up Through Exit
The Boalt Social Enterprise Group, Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy (BCLBE) and the Impact Law Forum are excited to present a ground-breaking symposium on social enterprise law and finance! The symposium will explore cutting-edge legal issues faced by social enterprises in different stages of growth. We’ll...
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