How on Earth: Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World

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1 How on Earth: Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World Jennifer Hinton jennifer.hinton@su.se Post Growth Institute Stockholm Resilience Centre

2 Bold Hypothesis: Not-for-profit business has the potential to systemically transform the economy

3 What are Not-for-Profit Businesses? businesses that prioritize purpose ahead of profits

4 Compared to for-profit business structures, NFPs: Have a social/environmental mission as their primary purpose Must use 100% of their profits for their mission (no private distribution) Have a board to hold them accountable for pursuing their social mission

5 This means they See profit as a means to achieving deeper goals Are held to higher standards with regard to social impact Allow for an ethic of enough

6 Many types of businesses are NFP Consumer cooperatives and credit unions e.g. - Coop Mutual insurance companies e.g. Folksam Lots of social enterprises (and most community interest companies in the UK) Nonprofits/charities that do business

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11 NFP business is a new player in the economy: Traditional nonprofits are increasingly generating their own revenue through trade A new generation of entrepreneurs are starting up their businesses as NFP All over the world, in every sector of the economy

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13 We live in a for-profit world.

14 Wealth Ability to buy more shares For-profit business Dividends Profit Products/ Services Operating Expenses Revenue

15 Wealth Extraction Siphon Elite economy Common economy

16 Why the for-profit economy has to grow: Psychological & social pressure to maximize profit requires growth of businesses Compensating for extracted profits requires growth of businesses Competition for market share pushes businesses to grow An economy that s full of businesses trying to expand to maximize profits must grow

17 How the for-profit economy leads to inequality: Goal: to accumulate private wealth Privatization of profit (extraction from the real economy) Private ownership of businesses and their assets, which allows owners to accumulate even more Leads to speculative activities to accumulate even more

18 How the for-profit economy leads to ecological crises: Maximize profit at all costs (Dominator model/utilitarian approach/invisible Hand) Requires constant expansion Converting nature into goods, and relationships into services Promotes consumerism Inequality fuels conspicuous consumption as part of status competition

19 NFP business Profit Products/ Services Operating Expenses Revenue

20 The Business Spectrum

21 The Extractive vs Generative Spectrum

22 Social Enterprises Cooperatives NFP Business Multinational Corporations Ethical/ Green Businesses Local Businesses

23 An entirely NFP market economy would allow for: More equality Real value creation (purpose-oriented economy) Less consumerism more wellbeing and less ecological destruction

24 NFP advantages Leaner Tax exemptions, donations and volunteers Rise of ethical consumption and concern about social and environmental issues Work force increasingly motivated by purpose

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27 What if the future of the economy is not for-profit?

28 Practical actions Citizens, activists, consumers Entrepreneurs and business leaders Nonprofit employees and managers Civil servants and governments

29 Panacea Utopia Silver bullet The NFP World is not a: It is a realistic bridge from what we have now to something more sustainable and enjoyable

30 Jennifer Hinton Post Growth Institute

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32 Leverage points (Donella Meadows)

33 Ref: Göpel, M. (2016) The Great Mindshift (p. 47).