“We love this, and it’s so aligned with our mission,” Kate Danaher of RSF Social Finance remembers telling the leadership of Organically Grown Co. when they first approached her in 2017. “Unfortunately I don’t see how we could help you out!”
Two years after the idea of transferring ownership into a Purpose Trust sounded crazy, Danaher was addressing the first annual stakeholder meeting for the Sustainable Food Perpetual Purpose Trust, the “stakeholder” entity that now owns 100% of Oregon-based Organically Grown, a large distributor of organic produce in the Pacific Northwest. (RSF ultimately provided a $10 million loan to help buy out previous shareholders, as well as $1 million in working capital.)
The meeting in Portland last week included a room full of 150 stakeholders representing the five groups to whom the Purpose Trust is accountable: coworkers, growers, community allies, customers and investors.
Aner Ben-Ami is a founding partner of Candide Group.
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