Kickstarter has decided to become a public benefit corporation, giving it a legal requirement to act for the good of society at large.
The reincorporated Kickstarter PBC (rather than Inc) will require the firm to push to have a positive impact on society, rather than push for profit at all costs.
“More and more voices are rejecting business as usual, and the pursuit of profit above all,” the company explains (via The Verge). “Positive impact on society becomes part of a Benefit Corporation’s legally defined goals.”
The decision means Kickstarter will now need to report on social impacts, while the board will now need to consider the effect any decisions will have on the public.
The firm will donate 5 per cent of annual post-tax profit to arts and educational programs that fight inequality, while it’ll also publish annual reports on progress towards the commitments made.
See also: From the Archives: 10 cool tech Kickstarter projects
The company added: “From Kickstarter’s inception, we’ve focused on serving artists, creators, and audiences to help bring creative projects to life.
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Kickstarter says it is joining the .01 per cent of American businesses to do this, but says it is getting ahead of a predicted widespread change in the coming years.
Would you like to see Apple or Google adopt a society-over-profit approach? Share your thoughts below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
