Depending on your state you may have different choices to explore. Some states allow the "benefit corporation" or "B-Corporation, while others allow the low-profit limited liability company or LC3 corporations and Series LLCs. Almost all states; however, allow a form of a Limited Liability Company, which you can explore with competent legal and professional advice to create an entity that can work for the needs in your community.

What is an LLC?

The Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a relatively new form of doing business in the United States that combines the characteristics of corporate and partnership structures. Like a corporation, an LLC is a separate legal entity that confers limited liability on its members, which means members are not personally liable for the LLC’s debts and obligations. But, unlike a standard corporation, an LLC’s earnings are entitled to be treated like earnings from partnerships, sole proprietorships and S-corporations. This means, for example, that LLCs may use “pass-through” taxation, so that, unlike a standard corporation, the earnings of an LLC are not generally subject to double taxation issues.

The LLC’s owners/investors are called members. Members can be virtually any entity including individuals, corporations, other LLCs, trusts, pension plans, etc.  Unlike corporate stocks, investors purchase membership units. LLCs also have greater flexibility in structuring than corporations. The LLC operating agreement, for example, may define who performs the

The LLC’s management functions such as distribution of funds, oversight of accounting and tax preparation, convening membership meetings and otherwise managing the group’s interests.

Because Sustainable Prosperity is a nonprofit, it cannot manage a for-profit LLC investment fund. Instead, if a Good Cause/Good Investment program is desired in a community, Sustainable Prosperity will guide the community to the proper professionals in order for a fund to be created. In Chatham County, the North Carolina Sustainable Community Fund was spun off from one of our programs and created with Dr. Sally Goerner as our first community based fund.