07
2015
A New Collaboration?
Foundations must spend at least 5% of their corpus each year, under a federal requirement governing their activities. Imagine what could be done if all of their corpus–spending and investments-were directed at their missions? What about their staffs—those substantive and technical experts they hire—could they work cooperatively as truly equal partners with nonprofits and for-profits in the formulation of the very projects they all want to see succeed? For many years, a handful of foundations have been making program-related low interest loans to further their mission; others have been managing investments away from certain areas, e.g. cigarettes, fossil fuels, gambling…
09
2014
Guest Post: All Corporations Should Be a Benefit
Guest Post by Steve Boland, Next in Nonprofits Secretary of State Mark Ritchie joined a panel of experts to discuss proposed legislation (which he says will pass in 2014) to create a new class of business in Minnesota. The “public benefit corporation” allows for businesses with shareholders to set a community purpose as a primary business driver, abrogating the perceived risk of a shareholder lawsuit if the publicly held company chooses to emphasize social good over shareholder value – though of course the purpose of a benefit corporation may well be to achieve both things. Where nonprofit corporations must provide…