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PURPOSE FOUNDATION


We strive to contribute to an economy fit for the 21st century, an economy that serves people, society, and the planet. With our non-profit activities, we aim to realise the full potential of steward-ownership and make it accessible for everyone around the world.

AT THE HEART OF A MOVEMENT

The Purpose Foundation is part of the broader Purpose Network that spreads the word about steward-ownership, pursues activities in steward-ownership aligned financing or directly helps companies to transition. Our role as the Purpose Foundation is to build the field and act in service of the whole ecosystem and broader public – by identifying the most effective leverage-points to bring the concept to the next levels: at universities, in the public, amongst stakeholders. Today, the idea is already better known and easier to implement than a few years ago. But still, there’s quite a way to go, and we are passionate about operating right at the heart of a globally growing steward-ownership movement.

 

 

Challenges Today

Although some forerunners like Bosch, Zeiss, Patagonia, Einhorn or Ecosia (find many more here) have found ways to become steward-owned, the path towards steward-ownership is still hilly. As a result, there are not enough steward-owned companies out there to fully realize its potential – due to a lack of information and narratives, the complexity of its legal implementation, and a lack of aligned capital.

OUR ACTIVITIES

  • KNOWLEDGE SHARING

    We gather information, knowledge and experiences around steward-ownership, create open content and make it accessible online and distribute it.
  • EDUCATION & UNIVERSITIES

    We bring steward-ownership to universities to widen the narrative around ownership and reach the decision-makers of tomorrow.
  • GROUNDWORK & BUILDING BRIDGES

    We refine and safeguard the definition & narratives around steward-ownership, bring it into public discourse & connect it with other spheres & topics.
  • SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH

    We conduct research and inspire academics to build up the knowledge base around steward-ownership.
  • GLOBAL MOVEMENT

    We support organizations multiplying the concept of steward-ownership in specific regions or sectors with our knowledge and experience.
  • LEGAL INFRASTRUCTURE

    We reduce the legal costs of becoming steward-owned by providing legal solutions as well as educating the legal support system.
  • NETWORK & BRINGING TOGETHER

    We bring together the diverse actors around steward-ownership to foster a connected, inclusive and effective movement.
  • ALIGNED FINANCING

    We support the shift of more investment capital into steward-ownership by inspiring and enabling relevant actors.

WE PAVE THE WAY

We build, support, and hold the emerging steward-ownership movement by inspiring and enabling relevant actors on their path to steward-ownership. All our activities address the three main hurdles on the way to steward-ownership. We thereby make steward-ownership more easily accessible for everyone and realize its potential for an economy fit for the 21st century.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR WORK

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“(…) more than the design of specific products or services, what matters most is the deep design of the organisation itself.”

Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics
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“It’s pretty revolutionary what you are doing. And that’s why I’m so excited about steward-ownership.”

Rutger Bregman, Author of Humankind & Utopia for Realists, September 2022
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“Purpose Foundation offers a kind of corporate therapy. It rewrites the psychology of companies, changing the deep structures that shape their behavior.”

The New York Times, January 2022
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“This is not woke capitalism, this is the future of business.”

Ryan Gellert, CEO Patagonia

Support us

Our non-profit work is made possible through donations. These help us fulfill our non-profit mission to research, to inform and enable alternative forms of ownership and financing in the future, to create open-source materials, hold lectures and workshops and share our practical experiences and knowledge with entrepreneurs, founders and investors.

We believe that a sustainable and more equitable economy is only possible if we all work together.

Donate now and support our non-profit work!