Better lives.
Affordable essentials, useful technology, healthier lives and work that gives people a fair chance.
ABOUT BENEFITER
Who benefits?
A company can earn money and make the world better. We believe it should be accountable for both.
Created by Jack Jesionowski
HOW THIS STARTED
A filing question.
A bigger realization.
Benefiter began as Jack’s research path to find where to incorporate his own for-profit public benefit corporation: a civic education, participation and technology group.
That search opened up a much larger question. Why should only some companies have a legal duty to consider their impact on people and the world around them?
What started as a state-by-state comparison became a conviction: all companies should be benefit companies. They should be able to earn a profit while taking responsibility for the public consequences of how they earn it.
That is the idea this project advocates. It is not the law everywhere today, and adopting a benefit designation does not by itself prove a company is doing good. The research explains the current rules; the reform pages explain what we want to change.
THE BIGGER CHANGE FOR HUMANITY
Value the benefit.
Not just the balance sheet.
The broader vision is written about at Recapitalism.com: begin judging which companies are worth the most by the value they provide to the world.
By the “techno-capital machine,” we mean a system that treats more profit, faster growth and greater control as success even when the costs fall on everyone else. In plain language: a business can make its owners richer while leaving workers worse off, draining people’s attention, damaging communities or pushing pollution onto the public.
Our proposed shift is simple to describe, even if hard to build: a company should be valued for helping people live better, protecting a livable planet and widening opportunity. Profit can help sustain that work. It should not be the only thing that counts.
Shared opportunity.
More access, fair treatment and stronger communities, with the costs of a business honestly counted.
A future worth living in.
Less harm, responsible use of resources and benefits that last beyond the next earnings report.
These are examples of the impact we want to value, not a finished valuation formula or a claim about any listed company.
Read the bigger vision at Recapitalism ↗WHAT BENEFITER MAKES PRACTICAL
Understand the rules.
Make the path easier.
Research the real differences.
Explore all 50 states, their public-benefit rules, personal protections, taxes and costs. Follow the primary sources and download a state guide.
Compare the states →Turn intent into governance.
Find the approval and filing steps an existing company needs, and explore proposed legislation that would make voluntary adoption easier.
Explore conversion and reform →Look at companies, with evidence.
Browse source-linked benefit-company records and the Fortune 500 adoption paths. A directory entry or a pledge is distinct from verified public impact.
Explore the company directory →HOW TO USE THE RESEARCH
Evidence before promises.
The state-law and tax research was reviewed on October 11, 2026. Each state record links to its evidence and identifies source dates, limitations and conflicts. Scores express the stated preferences for a new private company; they do not predict lawsuits, investment returns or a company’s social value.
Benefit corporation legal status is different from private B Corporation certification. The company directory is a dated, source-linked collection rather than a complete national census. Proposed reforms are labeled as proposals. The pledge creates a private copy on the signer’s device and does not collect signatures or change legal status.
Use this educational research to prepare a better conversation with qualified advisers about your actual company, operations and governing documents. Benefit status does not excuse violations of campaign-finance, tax or other laws.
Read the source ledger and download the research →