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<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head><meta charSet="utf-8"/><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"/><title>Why Nava is a public benefit corporation</title><link rel="icon" href="/favicon.svg" type="image/x-icon"/><meta property="og:type" content="website"/><meta property="og:title" content="Why Nava is a public benefit corporation"/><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.navapbc.com/insights/why-nava-public-benefit-corporation"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.navapbc.com/insights/why-nava-public-benefit-corporation"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Nava PBC"/><meta property="og:description" content="The social mission written into our founding charter has as much weight as a corporation’s fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders."/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Why Nava is a public benefit corporation"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="The social mission written into our founding charter has as much weight as a corporation’s 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28.5163H7.74495V14.874V11.1042H7.81959C8.17418 12.0187 8.8647 13.3064 9.4619 14.5194L17.4868 28.535H26.1649V0.0186637H18.4199V13.9036V17.4681H18.3453C17.9907 16.4977 17.1882 14.8554 16.6283 13.7729L9.08865 0H0.0186608L0 28.5163Z" fill="black"></path><path d="M95.4028 36.2236H0V43.9499H95.4028V36.2236Z" fill="black"></path></svg></a><div class="block "><button aria-label="menu" aria-expanded="false" class="font-sans text-gray-900 border-grey"><svg width="20" height="25" viewBox="0 0 27 22" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M26.3997 1H1" stroke="black" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"></path><path d="M26.3997 10.7695H1" stroke="black" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"></path><path d="M26.3997 20.5391H1" stroke="black" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"></path></svg></button></div></div><nav aria-label="main" class=" absolute left-0 top-[60px] responsive-container w-full flex flex-col bg-white z-50"><div class="react-slidedown"></div></nav></div></header><main id="main"><header class="overflow-hidden"><div class="bg-sage-900"><div class="responsive-container z-10 relative pt-2xl lg:pt-3xl pb-2xl"><div><h1 class="animate-titleSlide font-sans type-preset-1 font-bold md:font-black w-full text-sage-200 xl:w-3/4">Insight</h1><p class="animate-titleSlideB text-white type-preset-1 font-sans font-bold md:font-black w-full xl:w-3/4 pb-md">Why Nava is a public benefit corporation</p><div class="animate-titleSlideC font-serif font-light type-preset-4 py-lg text-white w-full xl:w-3/4"><p class="pb-md">As a public benefit corporation, the social mission written into our founding charter has as much weight as a corporation’s fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. </p></div></div></div></div><div class="bg-sage-900 hide-in-print"><div class=" responsive-container pt-3xl"><div class="w-1/4 false"><div class="flex items-stretch"><div class="bg-sage-800 max-h-4xl h-full text-[0px] overflow-clip"><img alt="" loading="lazy" width="72" height="72" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="object-cover " style="color:transparent;max-width:100%;height:auto" src="/_next/static/media/Nava-Brand-Pattern-Direction1-Heavy-White.d95be682.svg"/></div><div class="bg-sage-600 max-h-4xl h-full text-[0px]"><img alt="" loading="lazy" width="72" height="72" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="object-cover" style="color:transparent;max-width:100%;height:auto" src="/_next/static/media/Nava-Brand-Pattern-Terrain1-Heavy-White.2062ea9f.svg"/></div><div class="bg-sage-200 max-h-4xl w-4xl"> </div></div></div></div></div></header><div class="animate-fadeIn2"><div class="responsive-container py-2xl flex flex-col-reverse md:grid md:grid-cols-12"><article id="article" class="w-full md:col-span-8 text-gray-900 font-serif"><section id="intro"><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">In 2015, after having worked together for almost two years on HealthCare.gov, Nava incorporated as a public benefit corporation. This is a relatively new designation, and we often get asked what it is and what it means to us. Here’s a start.</p></section><section id="what-is-a-corporation"><h2 class="type-preset-3 font-bold font-sans pt-lg pb-md">What is a corporation?</h2><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">To describe what a public benefit corporation is, it’s important to be clear on what corporations are. A corporation is a for-profit entity whose leaders have a responsibility to corporate interests, mainly maximizing shareholder value. Corporations that break this responsibility can be sued for a breach of fiduciary duty. In an early case against Henry Ford’s attempt to lower prices and raise employee salaries to <a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co." target="_blank">grow the business</a>, the court ruled that “a business corporation is organized and carried on primarily for the profit of the stockholders. The powers of the directors are to be employed for that end.”</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">In Milton Friedman’s 1962 book, <a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_and_Freedom" target="_blank">Capitalism and Freedom</a>, he states that while corporations are a form of people, they have vastly different responsibilities: </p><blockquote class="my-2xl border-l-[20px] border-l-plum-50 pl-md "><div class="text-plum-900 type-preset-5 font-serif font-bold"><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">There is one and only one social responsibility of business — to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.</p></div></blockquote><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">These are pretty clear cut lines, and have given rise to the idea that the sole duty of corporations is to maximize shareholder value. In the decades since, we’ve seen all sorts of examples of how this narrow view has incentivized companies to act in their own self-interest over the interests of the public.</p></section><section id="what-is-a-public-benefit-corporation"><h2 class="type-preset-3 font-bold font-sans pt-lg pb-md">What is a public benefit corporation?</h2><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">Being a public benefit corporation isn’t too different on the surface from being an average corporation. We’re a profitable company and give generous options regardless of role so that everyone can have equity in Nava. We’ve never needed to raise money from investors, but if we ever needed to, being a public benefit corporation doesn’t prevent us from pursuing the option.</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">What is different is that public benefit corporations stand for something. A public benefit corporation has a social mission written into the founding charter that has as much weight as a corporation’s fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. Stated simply, a public benefit corporation is responsible to both itself and the broader public.</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">The ideas behind public benefit corporations are not new, and build on efforts like <a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line" target="_blank">triple bottom line accounting</a> and <a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_Corporation_(certification)" target="_blank">B-Corp certifications</a>. But unlike past efforts, a public benefit corporation designation is not just a best practice or a label — it has legal weight, and is part of a company’s DNA. The people who work at Nava have a fiduciary duty not only to our shareholders, but to our stated mission: to improve the access, effectiveness, and simplicity of government services.</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">Our accountability to our mission comes from all of us. Past, present, and future employees are the shareholders of Nava. As shareholders, we all have a voice in Nava’s future. If, somehow, Nava were to ever stray from our focus on improving government services, Nava’s shareholders — even if the shareholders were no longer at the company — would have a legal path to hold Nava accountable for its stated mission.</p></section><section id="why-is-nava-a-public-benefit-corporation"><h2 class="type-preset-3 font-bold font-sans pt-lg pb-md">Why is Nava a public benefit corporation?</h2><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">The public benefit corporation designation is new, but it is a systemic solution to a systemic problem — the myopic focus of existing corporations on maximizing shareholder value.</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">While some companies forgo their social responsibilities in order to maximize shareholder value, we choose not to. We choose to be a public benefit corporation because in order to be <a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="https://www.navapbc.com/values/" target="_blank">good stewards</a>, we need to take responsibility for the social, ethical, and civic impacts of our work. Though we work in complex environments, we cannot treat the impact of our work as an externality. All told, our work now directly affects over 64 million people, and indirectly affects tens of millions more.</p><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">Companies become what they measure; we do not measure ourselves by our profits. Instead, we measure ourselves by our progress towards our mission, which means measuring our impact on the access, cost, and effectiveness of government services. Together we have enrolled millions of households in health coverage, saved government agencies tens of millions of dollars, and saved years of caseworker labor.</p><aside class="bg-plum-50 my-xl p-2xl"><blockquote><svg width="68" height="38" viewBox="0 0 68 38" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path class="fill-plum-400" d="M10.9058 0C3.15695 2 0 6.35714 0 12.3571V25.1429H14.3498V11.6429H8.03587V11.5C8.03587 8.42857 9.11211 6.78571 13.6323 5.57143L10.9058 0ZM28.5561 0C20.8072 2 17.6502 6.35714 17.6502 12.3571V25.1429H32V11.6429H25.6861V11.5C25.6861 8.42857 26.7623 6.78571 31.2825 5.57143L28.5561 0Z"></path><path class="fill-plum-400" d="M57.0942 37.1428C64.843 35.1428 68 30.7857 68 24.7857L68 12L53.6502 12L53.6502 25.5L59.9641 25.5L59.9641 25.6428C59.9641 28.7143 58.8879 30.3571 54.3677 31.5714L57.0942 37.1428ZM39.4439 37.1428C47.1928 35.1428 50.3498 30.7857 50.3498 24.7857L50.3498 12L36 12L36 25.5L42.3139 25.5L42.3139 25.6428C42.3139 28.7142 41.2377 30.3571 36.7175 31.5714L39.4439 37.1428Z"></path></svg><br/><div class="text-plum-900 type-preset-4 font-sans font-bold"><p class="pb-md">We measure ourselves by our progress towards our mission, which means measuring our impact on the access, cost, and effectiveness of government services. </p></div></blockquote></aside><p class=" py-md type-preset-5">Public benefit corporations are new and rare, but they shouldn’t be. When we forget our myriad responsibilities as individuals — to our family, to our friends, to our communities — we weaken the bonds of our society. Corporations that recognize their responsibilities — to the people affected by their work, and to the public — should be the norm.</p></section><div class="mt-xl font-sans"><h2 class="font-bold type-preset-6 pb-xs">Written by</h2><hr class="h-[2px] bg-gray-300" aria-hidden="false"/><div class="grid grid-cols-9 w-full font-sans type-preset-7 py-md"><div class="col-span-2 sm:col-span-1 mr-sm"><img alt="" loading="lazy" width="65" height="65" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="object-cover" style="color:transparent;max-width:100%;height:auto" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F4wRx2lBbk1rEfQF17iJPPQ%2F333c1ffb32ca24aea2eb7517b77e7210%2Fteam-sha.jpeg&w=96&q=75 1x, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F4wRx2lBbk1rEfQF17iJPPQ%2F333c1ffb32ca24aea2eb7517b77e7210%2Fteam-sha.jpeg&w=256&q=75 2x" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F4wRx2lBbk1rEfQF17iJPPQ%2F333c1ffb32ca24aea2eb7517b77e7210%2Fteam-sha.jpeg&w=256&q=75"/></div><div class="sm:pl-md col-span-7 sm:col-span-8 block sm:grid sm:grid-cols-8"><div class="w-full sm:col-span-3 pr-sm"><p class="font-bold"><a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="/authors/sha-hwang" target="">Sha Hwang</a></p><p class="text-gray-700">COO and Cofounder</p></div><div class="w-full sm:col-span-5 sm:pt-0 pt-sm">Sha Hwang is the COO and cofounder of Nava. Sha has worked with clients such as the New York Times, the Harvard Library Lab, MTV, Flickr, and Adobe and cofounded the company Movity, which was acquired by Trulia.</div></div></div></div></article><div class="hidden md:block md:col-span-1"></div><div class="w-full md:col-span-3 pt-md"><div class="type-preset-7"><div class="font-sans md:block flex justify-between pb-xl md:pb-2xl"><div><div class="pb-2xl"><p class="font-sans"><b class="font-bold block pb-sm">Published</b>November 9, 2017</p></div><div class="md:pb-2xl"><p class="font-bold pb-sm">Authors</p><ul><li id="Sha Hwang" class="pb-md "><p><a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="/authors/sha-hwang" target="">Sha Hwang</a></p><p class=" text-gray-700">COO and Cofounder</p></li></ul></div></div><div><p class="font-bold pb-md">Topics</p><ul><li id="Civic tech" class="pb-md"><a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="/tags/civic-tech" target="">Civic tech</a></li><li id="Equity" class="pb-md"><a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="/tags/equity" target="">Equity</a></li> </ul></div></div></div><div class="sticky top-48 gap-xl md:gap-3xl flex flex-col pb-xl md:pb-2xl"><div class="mt-md type-preset-7 w-full max-w-[240px] hidden md:block "><h3 class="font-sans font-bold pb-sm">On this page</h3><ul class="border-l-2 border-gray-200"><li class="font-sans pl-lg my-md ml-[2px]"><a class=" text-gray-600 hover:text-sage-700 " href="#intro" target="">Intro</a></li><li class="font-sans pl-lg my-md ml-[2px]"><a class=" text-gray-600 hover:text-sage-700 " href="#what-is-a-corporation" target="">What is a corporation?</a></li><li class="font-sans pl-lg my-md ml-[2px]"><a class=" text-gray-600 hover:text-sage-700 " href="#what-is-a-public-benefit-corporation" target="">What is a public benefit corporation?</a></li><li class="font-sans pl-lg my-md ml-[2px]"><a class=" text-gray-600 hover:text-sage-700 " href="#why-is-nava-a-public-benefit-corporation" target="">Why is Nava a public benefit corporation?</a></li></ul></div><div class="type-preset-7"><h3 class="font-sans font-bold pb-sm">Stay up to date</h3><span><a class=" text-gray-900 underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2 hover:text-sage-700 " href="/nava-newsletter" target="">Sign up for our newsletter</a></span></div></div></div></div><section id="why-nava-public-benefit-corporation-more-posts" class="pt-xl pb-4xl"><div class="responsive-container"><hr class="h-[2px] bg-gray-300" aria-hidden="false"/><div class="w-full pt-md flex justify-between items-center "><div class="md:w-2/3 "><h2 class="font-sans type-preset-3 font-bold">More from Nava </h2></div><div class="hidden md:inline-block"></div></div></div><div class="pt-2xl"><section class=""><div class="responsive-container "><div class="w-full"><div class="w-full grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-x-md md:gap-x-2xl gap-y-3xl "><div class="w-full self-stretch "><a href="/insights/technology-successful-Veteran-service-member-transition" class="group flex flex-col sm:flex-row gap-md md:flex-col h-full article-feed" aria-labelledby="/insights/technology-successful-Veteran-service-member-transition"><div class="w-full sm:w-1/3 md:w-full"><img alt="A young Black man holds a mixed-race baby and hands it to a young, white, female Veteran wearing an army uniform. " loading="lazy" width="16" height="9" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="bg-navy-700 object-cover w-full group-hover:scale-105 ease-in duration-200" style="color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto" sizes="100vw" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=640&q=50 640w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=750&q=50 750w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=828&q=50 828w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=1080&q=50 1080w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=1200&q=50 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=1920&q=50 1920w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=2048&q=50 2048w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1UIL0EIEOe3WHpb4eyTrqq%2F718436bfa65a94b5a7a3a9803f8340f1%2FPeople_Military_person_exited_to_see_family_Credit_George_Pak.jpg&w=2048&q=50"/></div><div class="w-full sm:w-2/3 md:w-full"><p id="/insights/technology-successful-Veteran-service-member-transition" class="type-preset-6 mb-sm font-bold tracking-tight text-gray-900 font-sans group-hover:text-sage-400">How technology can enable successful service member transition</p><p class="type-preset-6 font-sans text-gray-700">We spoke with Crystal Francis, Nava’s Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on ways to expand access to VA’s resources.</p></div></a></div><div class="w-full self-stretch "><a href="/news/nava-nwa-wic-usda" class="group flex flex-col sm:flex-row gap-md md:flex-col h-full article-feed" aria-labelledby="/news/nava-nwa-wic-usda"><div class="w-full sm:w-1/3 md:w-full"><img alt="" loading="lazy" width="16" height="9" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="bg-navy-700 object-cover w-full group-hover:scale-105 ease-in duration-200" style="color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto" sizes="100vw" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=640&q=50 640w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=750&q=50 750w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=828&q=50 828w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=1080&q=50 1080w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=1200&q=50 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=1920&q=50 1920w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=2048&q=50 2048w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2FTIoT4bZX9BHrVnDCIAzng%2F6d1a57962004ebeabd38993cf004eef7%2FPNG_Toolkit_Pattern_6_V2.png&w=2048&q=50"/></div><div class="w-full sm:w-2/3 md:w-full"><div class=" type-preset-8 text-gray-500 mb-md">November 13, 2024</div><p id="/news/nava-nwa-wic-usda" class="type-preset-6 mb-sm font-bold tracking-tight text-gray-900 font-sans group-hover:text-sage-400">National WIC Association receives USDA funding to modernize WIC Management Information Systems</p><p class="type-preset-6 font-sans text-gray-700">This four-year cooperative agreement is part of larger effort to streamline and innovate WIC technology.</p></div></a></div><div class="w-full self-stretch "><a href="/news/nava-maryland-famli-prime" class="group flex flex-col sm:flex-row gap-md md:flex-col h-full article-feed" aria-labelledby="/news/nava-maryland-famli-prime"><div class="w-full sm:w-1/3 md:w-full"><img alt="" loading="lazy" width="16" height="9" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="bg-navy-700 object-cover w-full group-hover:scale-105 ease-in duration-200" style="color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto" sizes="100vw" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=640&q=50 640w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=750&q=50 750w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=828&q=50 828w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=1080&q=50 1080w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=1200&q=50 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=1920&q=50 1920w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=2048&q=50 2048w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Ft2ekr6eg3fr3%2F1iB2Wkij6HYsNHt6TG9iaK%2F521472a2f3edb0535a8b7659bb87b5fc%2FToolkit_Pattern_3_V2.png&w=2048&q=50"/></div><div class="w-full sm:w-2/3 md:w-full"><div class=" type-preset-8 text-gray-500 mb-md">October 24, 2024</div><p id="/news/nava-maryland-famli-prime" class="type-preset-6 mb-sm font-bold tracking-tight text-gray-900 font-sans group-hover:text-sage-400">Nava awarded prime contract on Maryland FAMLI </p><p class="type-preset-6 font-sans text-gray-700">We’ll partner with Maryland to build and launch a new paid family and medical leave program that’s human-centered, flexible, and future-proof.</p></div></a></div></div></div></div></section><div class="responsive-container md:hidden py-lg flex justify-end"></div></div></section><section 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This is a relatively new designation, and we often get asked what it is and what it means to us. Here’s a start.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"What is a corporation?","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"heading-2"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"To describe what a public benefit corporation is, it’s important to be clear on what corporations are. A corporation is a for-profit entity whose leaders have a responsibility to corporate interests, mainly maximizing shareholder value. Corporations that break this responsibility can be sued for a breach of fiduciary duty. In an early case against Henry Ford’s attempt to lower prices and raise employee salaries to ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co."},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"grow the business","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":", the court ruled that “a business corporation is organized and carried on primarily for the profit of the stockholders. The powers of the directors are to be employed for that end.”","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"In Milton Friedman’s 1962 book, ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_and_Freedom"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Capitalism and Freedom","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":", he states that while corporations are a form of people, they have vastly different responsibilities: ","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"There is one and only one social responsibility of business — to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"}],"nodeType":"blockquote"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"These are pretty clear cut lines, and have given rise to the idea that the sole duty of corporations is to maximize shareholder value. In the decades since, we’ve seen all sorts of examples of how this narrow view has incentivized companies to act in their own self-interest over the interests of the public.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"What is a public benefit corporation?","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"heading-2"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Being a public benefit corporation isn’t too different on the surface from being an average corporation. We’re a profitable company and give generous options regardless of role so that everyone can have equity in Nava. We’ve never needed to raise money from investors, but if we ever needed to, being a public benefit corporation doesn’t prevent us from pursuing the option.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"What is different is that public benefit corporations stand for something. A public benefit corporation has a social mission written into the founding charter that has as much weight as a corporation’s fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. Stated simply, a public benefit corporation is responsible to both itself and the broader public.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"The ideas behind public benefit corporations are not new, and build on efforts like ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"triple bottom line accounting","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":" and ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_Corporation_(certification)"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"B-Corp certifications","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":". But unlike past efforts, a public benefit corporation designation is not just a best practice or a label — it has legal weight, and is part of a company’s DNA. The people who work at Nava have a fiduciary duty not only to our shareholders, but to our stated mission: to improve the access, effectiveness, and simplicity of government services.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Our accountability to our mission comes from all of us. Past, present, and future employees are the shareholders of Nava. As shareholders, we all have a voice in Nava’s future. If, somehow, Nava were to ever stray from our focus on improving government services, Nava’s shareholders — even if the shareholders were no longer at the company — would have a legal path to hold Nava accountable for its stated mission.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Why is Nava a public benefit corporation?","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"heading-2"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"The public benefit corporation designation is new, but it is a systemic solution to a systemic problem — the myopic focus of existing corporations on maximizing shareholder value.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"While some companies forgo their social responsibilities in order to maximize shareholder value, we choose not to. We choose to be a public benefit corporation because in order to be ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://www.navapbc.com/values/"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"good stewards","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":", we need to take responsibility for the social, ethical, and civic impacts of our work. Though we work in complex environments, we cannot treat the impact of our work as an externality. All told, our work now directly affects over 64 million people, and indirectly affects tens of millions more.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Companies become what they measure; we do not measure ourselves by our profits. Instead, we measure ourselves by our progress towards our mission, which means measuring our impact on the access, cost, and effectiveness of government services. Together we have enrolled millions of households in health coverage, saved government agencies tens of millions of dollars, and saved years of caseworker labor.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{"target":{"sys":{"id":"2kd7ISEiKM3CbxHyNL18It","type":"Link","linkType":"Entry"}}},"content":[],"nodeType":"embedded-entry-block"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Public benefit corporations are new and rare, but they shouldn’t be. When we forget our myriad responsibilities as individuals — to our family, to our friends, to our communities — we weaken the bonds of our society. 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