New York SBDC Research Network

From MarketingProfs : Consumers in the United States rate Wegmans, Publix, and Amazon.com as the most socially responsible companies, according to recent research from The Harris Poll. The report was based on data from a survey of 23,000 consumers in the United States. Respondents were asked to rate the 100 most visible companies in the US on attributes such as supporting good causes, environmental responsibility, and community responsibility. Consumers say the most important corporate social responsibility issues are employee treatment (39% cite it), ethics (38%), and respectful treatment of customers (35%). Monsanto, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs rank as the least socially responsible companies.

There are a growing number of entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, and governments worldwide that are embracing the power of business to create positive social change. Social entrepreneurs are starting businesses that generate earned income (like traditional for-profits) while simultaneously generating a social benefit (like traditional non-profits), and an increasing number of consumers, job-seekers, and investors want to be a part of this emerging social enterprise sector. Andrew Delmonte, Social Enterprise Coordinator at the Buffalo SBDC , has created the Benefit Corporation Guide. Intended to be a legal roadmap for the small business social entrepreneur, the guide introduces the New York State benefit corporation, and guides prospective social enterprises through both the process of incorporation and the procedures necessary to meet the ongoing requirements of benefit corporation law. Download the Benefit Corporation Guide here.

From Andrew Delmonte , Social Enterprise Coordinator at the Small Business Development Center at SUNY Buffalo State. The SBDC’s Social Enterprise Services include free one-to-one counseling in the following areas: social business planning, Benefit Corporation filing, social impact measurement and reporting, and financing your social enterprise. For more information contact Andrew at (716) 878-4030. Is your business venture motivated by more than profits? Do you want to start a “triple bottom line” business, to pursue both social impact and financial self-sufficiency? If so, Benefit Corporation legal status might be right for you. A Benefit Corporation is a hybrid legal entity that blends elements of nonprofit and for-profit corporations. It is taxed like a traditional corporation. It protects directors from liability for pursuing a social objective instead of simply profit. Benefit Corporations measure both financial and social bottom lines, and report their social and environmen...

"Social enterprise" is the new buzzword within both the nonprofit and for-profit world, encompassing an organization or individual who wish to do well while doing good – that is, achieving the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, profit (that is, having social, environmental, and economic goals). Presented in partnership with Community Wealth Ventures and the Social Enterprise Alliance, this is a free, searchable directory of nonprofit social enterprises . Search by keyword, type of organization (think interest/activity area), budget, type of venture, legal status, and/or state. Your search results typically include basic contact information, stated mission, and any specific enterprise or partner venture(s).