What is an L3C?
An L3C
(low-profit limited liability company) is a legal form of business
entity in the United States that was created to bridge the gap between
non-profit and for-profit investing by providing a structure that
facilitates investments in socially beneficial, for-profit ventures
while simplifying compliance with Internal Revenue Service rules for
"Program Related Investments".
For a full definition follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L3C
Why is this important to ECS?
The
bottom line for the purposes of Energy Conservation Services of Vermont is
that status as an L3C corporation allows us to pursue funding for our
CSR (Corporate Social Resposibility) agenda that would not be available
to a typical for profit company. The L3C status allows
foundations and other not-for-profits to invest or offer grants as part
of their mission-based non-profit work without jeopardizing their own
tax status. These types of investments and grants are referred to
as PRI's (Program Related Investments) or MRI's (Mission Related
Investments)
These types of funds will be used to pay for services that would be difficult to fund otherwise.
These include things like:
- Development and implementation of Educational Programming
- Consumer consultation related to financing of projects
- Delivery of services to low-income customers
With these distinctions, incorporating as an L3C makes it clear
that there is more to ECS than one would find in a typical for profit company.
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