What do Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, New Belgium Brewing, Kleen Kanteen, Sunrise Banks, and thedatabank have in common? (Hint: they are all Certified B Corps).

What ARE B Corps? What about benefit corporations? Do you know the difference between the two?**

*UPDATE* Did you know that Minnesota lawmakers enacted The Minnesota Benefit Corporation Act on April 25?

What about the fact that 22 states and the District of Columbia have already established benefit corporations as a legal designation?

If you’ve got lots of questions on benefit corporations and B Corps, we’ve got you covered! Join us at this upcoming event to get all your questions answered – and for some networking and fun too!

DETAILS:

You are cordially invited to a two-part briefing sponsored by the Minneapolis Net Impact Professional Chapter and the University of St. Thomas Net Impact Graduate Chapter on Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps on May 28.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is strongly encouraged. Register Here. (if you don’t have time just show up, bring a friend)

**UPDATE** Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credit is now available for this event; sponsored by Hamline University Law School

AGENDA:

6:00 Benefit Corporations – Secretary of State Mark Ritchie

Benefit Corporations are a new, more transparent legal form of doing business. They enable corporate directors to focus not only on the interests of their shareholders, but other stakeholders such as workers, the community, and the environment. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will cover benefit corporations and other options for Minnesota entrepreneurs who want the legal standing of their corporation to reflect their values. His discussion will include:

Non-profit LLCs and cooperatives,
Public Benefit Corporations and legislation newly passed by the Minnesota Legislature,
Existing business types and how they might be modified to minimize the emphasis on shareholder profit,
and his experience creating Peace Coffee, LLC

7:00 Certified B Corps — Chris Hanson, CEO, thedatabank and David Reiling, CEO, Sunrise Banks

Representatives from two Minnesota Certified B Corps will share their experience working with B Lab to get a B Corp certification. They’ll cover the ins and outs of a certified B Corp, why they pursued the certification, challenges they’ve faced, and benefits they’ve seen.

7:30 Q&A (Look a bonus section, this is where you come in – come with good questions!)

After-Event We’ll be gathering at Brit’s Pub afterwards to network and keep the conversation going

NOTE: This occurred on May 28 after the annual chapter reporting timeframe. Revised for June 1, 2014 to count towards current year annual chapter reporting.