July 13 Email Request Sent to Heather Van Dusen

Greetings again Heather,

I was on the SVN/ASBC call with you this morning and would like your advice please. 

When I first learned about Benefit Corporations a few years ago at an SVN conference, I instantly resonated with the cause-oriented approach. That was natural based on my decades of experience in community economic development, intentional communities and disaster relief.

While I have helped cofound a couple of start-up companies, the traditional model just never seemed appropriate for our focus on community empowerment, sustainability and spirit in business. My partners and I recently incorporated Universal Stewardheirship, Inc. and the Community Economic Development Resource Center, Inc. (in Arizona as I presently live in Sedona). We have based these companies on the Benefit Corporation model and we have allocated 40% of the shares in US, Inc. to affiliated non-profits.

More recently, we decided to help establish a network of Community Economic Development Benefit Corporations in conjunction with CED practitioners, CED oriented B Corps (in states that haven't yet passed the legislation) and a network of local non-profit CED Resource Centers that feature Self-help, Empowerment and Capacity-building. Our primary advisor is Dr. Michael Swack, founding Dean of the CED Masters program at Southern New Hampshire University. He is now is a faculty member at the University of New Hampshire, where he has appointments at the Carsey Institute and at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

Because most of my board members and our major investors are in California, we started there (as soon as the legislation was passed) and we incorporated the California Community Economic Development Benefit Corporation, Inc. In the past couple of weeks, we have identified a couple of dozen other "communities" and potential creators and supporters that we are affiliated with that we believe will also be interested in helping promote and create Benefit Corporations, B Corps, and support legislation in more states. Some of those groups include: Community Development Corporations, Community Action Agencies, intentional communities, and various organizations involved in promoting the application of spiritual principles and values in business.

FYI: I have been involved for decades with organizations such as Spirit in Business, the Association for Spirit at Work, the Association for Global New Thought, the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas, etc.

During the call this morning, I sent a couple of email messages to David and Jeffrey at ASBC, following up on Mariann's comments about outreach to diverse populations. I shared a brief outline of our vision and mission of helping educate, enable and empower the greatest possible level of cocreative participation in Benefit Corporations, B Corps and Crowd Funding. 

That is a key facet of our vision of helping Expand the Circle of Success by providing greater access to training on successful living skills for the 21st century (including entrepreneurship, infopreneurship, and social entrepreneurship) and our ultimate vision of helping Fulfill the Ultimate Destiny of the USA that Benjamin Franklin said was not power but light.

My question for you is to whom should I submit our request for collaboration with B Lab? At a minimum, we would like permission to include some of the information on your web site in our publications and web sites, with full credit and links back to your sites of course.

Would it be most appropriate to address our proposal to Jay, Bart, and Andrew, to the board and or to other staff members? Because we have developed a few marketing materials, I assume that sending a package by mail would be most effective means of sharing the details.

Thank you for your leadership role and for your assistance with this request.

And Thank You all at B Lab and SVN also for your leadership and continuing successes in this exciting and transformation initiative.

Charles Betterton, MSCED
Phone: 928-284-2671
Cell 760-212-9931
www.ultimatedestinyuniversity.org
www.successpuzzle.com
www.expandingthecircleofsuccess.org
www.cedbcorp.com

www.universalstewardheirship.com

Sharing a Vision and Invitation to Help Empower
Millions of People, Manifest Stewardship
Over Billions of Dollars for Personal, Social and
Global Transformation and Leave a Trillion Dollar
Legacy of and for StewardHeirShip.

www.CommunityEconomicDevelopmentBenefitCorporation.com