Nonprofits & Civil Society
Both nonprofits and for-benefits pursue a wide range social and environmental aims as their primary purpose, with the difference that for-benefits earn their revenues primarily through market based approaches, by selling a board range of products and services.
Due to their extensive experience dealing with social and environmental challenges, non-profits can become validating partners to uphold the integrity of the fourth sector in ensuring for-benefits continuously put purpose before profit.
In addition, nonprofits and for-benefits can develop trusted partnerships that combine their respective strengths through win-win strategies to achieve their purposes and amplify their effectiveness and reach.
Specific actions nonprofits can take to enhance the space for the fourth sector while harnessing it to advance their objectives are as follows:
1. Participating on boards of for-benefit enterprises to give advice based on their expertise and ensure its integrity and alignment with their guiding principles.
2. Partner with for-benefit enterprises to access new funding and other resources and expand their social and environmental impact.
3. Contribute to developing standards and metrics for the fourth sector.
4. Advocating for the fourth sector and creating awareness of its potential to contribute to addressing global challenges in a sustainable way.
5. Establishing their own for-benefit subsidiaries or branches to leverage market based solutions to achieve their mission.
6. Leveraging the fourth sector to increase the size of overall philanthropic assets available to advance social and environmental causes.
7. Actively contributing to shape policy and regulatory frameworks to support the fourth sector’s development and hold it accountable.