Stanford Social Innovation Review Books

There are now over 10,000 benefit corporations and public benefit corporations in the United States, including at least fifteen public companies. This is the authoritative guide for leaders, advisors, and board members. Entrepreneurs and leaders often have an inspiring vision for how their business can not only make money for shareholders, but also benefit society. In recent years a new legal structure has emerged, the "Benefit Corporation" or "Public Benefit Corporation," which helps organizations make this ethical vision a legally authorized and protected reality. Companies like Patagonia, Kickstarter, Warby Parker, Danone North America, Allbirds, and King Arthur Baking have become benefit corporations to help advance both their business and their broader mission. Rather than narrowly maximizing profits, they consider their business' impact on employees, customers, suppliers, the environment and others. The goal of benefit corporations like these is to foster a new, more humane, and sustainable capitalism by pursuing both profits and mission. Benefit corporation status helps protect the company mission even when leadership changes-and in the face of pressure from investors, shareholders, bankers and lenders. Becoming a Public Benefit Corporation explains this exciting new type of corporation, when it makes sense, and how becoming a benefit corporation can help leaders and organizations balance the tradeoffs between profits and mission. Law professor and corporate governance expert Michael B. Dorff also covers the weaknesses of benefit corporations, arguing that the enforcement mechanisms around benefit corporations are currently too weak to prevent "purpose washing." With examples from top companies, the book shows mission-driven leaders, board members, and advisors how to use the benefit corporation structure to make the world a better place.

The hidden dangers of randomized controlled trials The need to demonstrate the effectiveness of nonprofit social programs has led to a rapid rise in the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), for evaluation. As a result, most nonprofit sector professionals can tell you why nonprofits should do an RCT. This book tells you why they probably shouldn't, and what to do instead. Mismeasuring Impact explores why RCTs are being embraced as the "gold standard" for nonprofit evaluation, despite the high cost and time investment required and the serious problems with using RCTs in a nonprofit context. (Most RCTs conducted in nonprofits fail to meet required standards for rigor, undercutting their accuracy). The book describes what happens inside nonprofits when they take part in RCTs, the unintended equity issues that arise, and why nonprofits feel pressured participate in RCTs despite the problems. University of Chicago professors Marwell and Mosley's research is based on extensive interviews with key players: nonprofit managers, professional program evaluators, and program officers in philanthropic foundations. The book argues that, ultimately, RCTs are used to poorly ground nonprofit legitimacy, not to foster nonprofit improvement. RCTs also privilege program and organizational standardization over the key strengths of nonprofit organizations: flexible innovation and responsiveness to community needs. Nonprofits and funders need forms of evaluation that lift up these strengths. Mismeasuring Impact offers alternative approaches that build strong organizations, not just cookie-cutter programs, and which funders and nonprofits of all sizes can support.