Benevity Becomes a Certified B Corporation

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Calgary - JUNE 8, 2010 - Benevity Social Ventures, Inc. (www.benevity.org), a software company that helps businesses build more engaging, strategic and choice-driven cause marketing, corporate philanthropy and workplace giving programs, today announced that it has achieved B Corporation status.  Benevity is amongst the first companies in Alberta and one of only 15 companies in Canada to be certified as a B Corp.  It joins other leading companies, including Seventh Generation, Workplace Dynamics and Method Products, who are committed to meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

B Corporations are a new kind of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  In just over three years, there are already over 420 Certified B Corporations in North America from over 50 industries, representing $1.5 billion in collective revenues and $6.5 billion in capital under management.  The performance standards for certified B Corporations are comprehensive and transparent.  They measure a company’s impact on its employees, suppliers, community, and the environment.  Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their employees, suppliers, community, consumers, and environment.

“We are pleased and proud to become a certified B Corp. This designation is a natural fit with our ethos as a social enterprise,” said Bryan de Lottinville, CEO of Benevity.  “We are a different kind of organization; a software company with a strong social mission to change the landscape of philanthropy and community investment.  As we succeed as a business by powering innovative cause marketing, community investment and workplace giving programs for our business clients, so too will we succeed in our social mission of democratizing giving and optimizing donation processing.  That dual purpose is the essence of a hybrid enterprise and being a B Corp formally commits us to these higher standards.  One day, we expect all companies will in essence be “B Corps” but until that time, we appreciate the distinction.”

Benevity's software helps companies better engage with customers and employees around social responsibility and giving back, increasing the brand, business and social returns on cause marketing, community investment, loyalty, workplace giving and other social good programs.  Its award winning software platform and products enable companies to increase the social and business impacts from their social good programs.

About B Corp
Certified B Corporations 1) meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance; 2) legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of broader stakeholder interests; and 3) build collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand.  As of January 2010, there are over 375 Certified B Corporations from over 50 industries, representing a diverse multi-billion marketplace.

About B Lab
B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  B Lab drives systemic change through three interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing; 2) accelerating the growth of the impact investing asset class through use of B Lab’s GIIRS impact rating system by institutional investors; and 3) promoting supportive public policies, including creation of a new corporate form and tax, procurement, and investment incentives for sustainable business.

About Benevity
Benevity's software helps companies build more engaging, strategic and choice-driven cause marketing, community investment, workplace giving and other charitable programs that deliver greater ROI.  The Benevity platform is a customizable giving engine companies can use to build choice-driven charitable giving and matching programs into their businesses, using their own brands and systems.  The Benevity platform also powers Benevity’s web-based products, including Spark! workplace giving (see www.benevity.org/spark) and The Givatron, the first charity-of-choice giving application for Android-based mobile devices.  To find out more or to request a demo, visit us at www.benevity.org or view our short video at www.benevity.org/Goodness3.0.

Benevity PR Contact:
Jana Taylor
VP Marketing
jana@benevity.org
403.237.7875 x201

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