Purpose Trusts for Wisconsin’s Future Initiative

Initiatives
Written By Aaron Aslin

Purpose Trusts for Wisconsin’s Future - Header Image Depicting a Red Barn, Flowing Rivers and Coulees of the Wisconsin Landscape

Project Background

Purpose Trust Partners was founded to steward the conditions for people to create and scale purpose driven organizations that tackle the complex problems of our time, putting equity and climate challenges at the center of that purpose. We view Perpetual Purpose Trusts (PPTs) as a structural necessity to leverage businesses as a force for good.

Purpose Trusts for Wisconsin’s Future project aims to introduce and establish legislation to enable PPTs as an option for business ownership in Wisconsin. This project will bring the national Purpose Trust movement to the state, keep more business ownership in Wisconsin, and put the Dairy State at the forefront of states with PPT-specific statutes. 

What are PPTs? Perpetual Purpose Trusts are growing in popularity as an ownership structure that empowers companies to permanently pursue purposes other than maximizing shareholder profit. Many businesses are founded for purposes beyond maximizing profit, such as providing stable livelihoods to employees, reducing our impact on the environment, or advancing the prosperity of a local community. But these good intentions are as short-lived as the good-will of the owner, who could retire, sell the business, or have a change of heart. Perpetual Purpose Trusts solve this issue by providing business owners a vehicle to protect their vision and the legacy of their business in perpetuity. Through a PPT, the corporate fiduciary duty of maximizing shareholder profit is permanently replaced or supplemented by the purpose of the trust, which owns the company's voting shares. Through the trust, community stakeholders may share the benefit of the business' success in perpetuity.  

Why Legislation? Today, Wisconsin legislation has not yet accounted for this innovative form of ownership. Businesses must choose to set up PPTs in a handful of other states. This is costly to businesses who must pay out-of-state trustee and administration services, and costly to Wisconsin that could retain these investments and jobs. There is also a desire for the trust to be in the state of Wisconsin, where the business is proud to operate and call home. 

Who Benefits? There are nearly 50,000 Wisconsin businesses with owners beyond retirement age. Many don’t have succession plans that keep their businesses operating in their local communities, with the employees, supply chains and partners they worked so hard to set up. In addition, there are many entrepreneurs who are motivated by their own noble purpose that don’t want to see it abandoned with their exit. 

Project Goals 

Goal 1. Come 2025, PPTs are a viable and recognized option for business ownership in Wisconsin.

Goal 2. Start the Wisconsin PPT movement of people and organizations who share a common interest in starting or migrating businesses to Perpetual Purpose Trusts. 

Goal 3. Support the National and International PPT movements with organizational infrastructure.

Scope

  • In Scope:

    • Non-partisan advocacy for Perpetual Purpose Trust legislation

    • Public awareness campaigns

    • Educational programming to support adoptions by businesses and organizations

    • Research to inform Perpetual Purpose Trust adoption and effectiveness

  • Out of Scope:

    • Lobbying for legislation or any activity involved in lobbying

    • Political campaigning or any activity involved in a political campaigning

Project Plan and Deliverables

  • Active - Establish Core Team of diverse SME’s & Organizers to ensure project success

  • Active - Update the Wisconsin legislation to allow for PPT’s for business ownership in perpetuity

  • Active - Establish sustainable sources of financing to support investments in advocacy, awareness, and educational strategies

  • Active - Build relationships with partners, businesses, and entrepreneurs by hosting 1-1 conversations to hear needs and build awareness

  • Pending Funds - Host fishbowls with diverse stakeholders to share needs during ownership transitions and learn from each others’ different perspectives

  • Pending Funds - Host events with prospective business owners, entrepreneurs and community leaders to build connections amongst the PPT ecosystem in Wisconsin

  • Pending Funds - Launch public awareness advertising campaign to ask business owners to consider PPTs as an option for their succession plans

  • Complete - Launch a website that provides free educational resources, tools, and knowledge sharing

Budget

FUNDING SOURCES

$20,000 - The Business Council Organizational Microgrant - Applied 7/22/2024. Pending Q4, 2024

$162,694 - WEDC Entrepreneurship Partnership Grant - Applied 9/6/2024. Pending Q4, 2024
including matching In-Kind (Unlimited Boundaries, Scholz NP Law, Aslin Ventures, Others)

TBD - Individual Donations, Foundations, Donor Advised Funds

$182,694 - TOTAL SOURCES

FUNDING USES 

$26,457 - Programming: 12 In-Person Workshop & Online Webinars Sharing PPT 101 in 2025

$50,610 - Programming: 20 Businesses receiving 5 PPT Coaching Sessions in 2025

$18,067 - Programming: 5 Ecosystem Development (Fishbowl & Networking Events) in 2025

$50,000 - Statewide public awareness campaign (PR firm, creative, advertising, media) in 2025

$5,000 - Contingency/ Miscellaneous 

$12,011 - Driftless Curiosity Nonprofit Fiscal Sponsorship Fee

$150,134 - TOTAL USES

Financial Administration

Purpose Trusts for Wisconsin’s Future will receive funds through a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Driftless Curiosity 501(c)(3), which will manage and disburse the funds according to the project’s budget and needs.The fiscal sponsor will handle all financial administration, including receiving donations, providing tax receipts, and ensuring compliance with nonprofit financial regulations. This structure allows the project to benefit from the fiscal sponsor’s tax-exempt status and established financial systems. Furthermore, Driftless Curiosity has garnered much esteem leading with its purpose of deepening connections between people and the land, and this alignment reinforces the broader vision for both the project and Purpose Trust Partners itself.

Aaron Aslin