Leff, Benjamin M --- "The boundary between the not-for-profit and business sectors: social enterprise and hybrid models" [2018] ELECD 1347; in Harding, Matthew (ed), "Research Handbook on Not-For-Profit Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 171

Book Title: Research Handbook on Not-For-Profit Law

Editor(s): Harding, Matthew

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781785369988

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: The boundary between the not-for-profit and business sectors: social enterprise and hybrid models

Author(s): Leff, Benjamin M

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

This chapter reviews the boundary between not-for-profits and the commercial sector. It argues that we ought to evaluate the legal treatment of the boundary with not only the tax concessions afforded to not-for-profits in view, but also the value associated with the not-for-profit brand. Thus, the chapter observes that when thinking about new legal forms enabling social enterprise, we should assess the risk that such forms might generate confusion in relation to the boundary between commercial and not-for-profit spheres. Confusion seems especially likely in circumstances where social enterprise forms are largely beyond the regulatory scrutiny of the state, circumstances that obtain in relation to Benefit Corporations and Social Purpose Corporations in the United States.