Emily and I are here in beautiful Portland to attend and present at the 2011 Net Impact Conference. Net Impact is a public charity whose mission is to mobilize a new generation to use their careers to drive transformational change in their workplaces and the world. With 2,600 attendees, the Net Impact Conference is the world’s largest and most inspirational event for students and professionals using their business skills to create social and environmental good.
Today, we're talking to the professional chapters about the development of organizational structures and strong foundations to further Net Impact's mission. The student chapters may be the lifeblood of the organization, but the professional chapters are absolutely critical and necessary to advance the movement. The professionals are closer to the places of power and authority in all sectors - public, for-profit, and nonprofit - to advocate, create, and implement transformational changes in the way we all do business.
On Saturday, we'll be leading the session "Nonprofit, For-profit, B Corp, L3C? The Right Legal Entity for Your Social Enterprise." Here's how it's described in the program:
In recent years, leaders seeking to change the world through business have been presented with greater choices and opportunities for their social enterprises. Various state legislatures across the nation have either enacted or are considering laws that create new forms of legal entities to occupy this unique space between traditional for-profit and non-profit values such as the low-profit limited liability company (L3C), the benefit corporation, and the flexible purpose corporation. These new hybrid entities, in addition to the other ways social enterprises are being accomplished through nonprofits engaged in business and for-profits engaged in social ventures, create a wealth of choices, but also confusion, for the social entrepreneur. In this session, we’ll compare these various choices and discuss key considerations before selecting the type of legal entity for your social enterprise.
The Conference programming looks incredible. We're excited to learn and share with all the other attendees. And as a lifetime member and former board member of Net Impact, I see that we are making a difference. Finally, we'd like to extend our thanks to the staff, board, members, and host committee!
