Online fundraising innovator named Canada’s first certified B Corporation – a new corporate structure for our times

MaRS client Better The World Inc. successfully evaluated for corporate transparency, accountability and legally binding social purpose.

Toronto, March 11, 2009 — Better the World Inc., a novel for-profit online fundraising platform, has been named Canada’s first certified “B Corporation”.

Investors, employees, business partners and customers are increasingly looking to support companies that make a positive impact on society and the environment in which they operate. B Corporations – as designated by the standards advisory council of B Lab of Philadelphia — are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards and legally protect those social-purpose interests through their corporate structure.

With this designation, Better The World joins an exclusive community of more than 175 corporations, representing over 30 industries and close to a $1 billion marketplace, that are using their businesses as drivers to help resolve global social and environmental issues. The designation requires an annual review to ensure ongoing commitment to stated social missions.

“We became a B Corporation to make a formal commitment to our stated social mission: to use the power of innovation to help resolve global social issues and make the world a better place,” said Mark Bachman, Partner, Better The World. “By making a public commitment and legally embedding this mission in our governance, we’re clearly articulating our values and principles to our community, stakeholders and business partners.”

Better The World’s flagship site, bettertheworld.com, empowers millions of Internet users to raise money for charity simply by surfing the web. In less than two minutes, people can join www.bettertheworld.com, download a browser sidebar (for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox) and start raising money for their cause.

As a non-profit centre supporting innovative Canadian entrepreneurs, MaRS worked with Better The World to chart their progress and ensure other companies could benefit from their experience in gaining this designation through the support of a pro bono legal team from Carters Professional Corporation, Ogilvy Renault and Blake, Cassels & Graydon.

“This is a very proud moment for the Social Innovation Generation (SiG) team at MaRS as we are actively seeding the growth of a vibrant social enterprise sector in Canada and one way to do that is through the growth of new corporate structures like the B Corporation. We applaud companies like Better The World and will be supporting more companies like them through our SiG@MaRS initiatives,” said Allyson Hewitt, MaRS Director of Social Entrepreneurship and SiG@MaRS.

“We believe our certification sends a clear, positive message to our partners, employees and members,” Bachman added. “Becoming a B Corporation is a powerful endorsement to our members that they actually can better the world by simply surfing the web. We can proudly say that our company has moved one step closer to becoming the unifying platform for our partners, employees and members to collectively make a positive difference in our world.”

“We are so pleased to have Better The World join the over 175 other Certified B Corporations, representing over 30 industries and close to a $1 billion marketplace,” said Bart Houlahan, a founder of B Corporation. “Better The World combines innovation, the Internet and a social mission in a formula for the ideal business of the future. They clearly demonstrate that it’s possible to combine success, profitability and ‘social good’. This is a path we hope other businesses in Canada will follow.”

About Better The World

Bettertheworld.com is the world’s first effortless fundraising platform that provides tools to empower millions of people to raise money for charity simply by surfing the web. The tools include a browser sidebar, and Google-powered search toolbar, both of which seamlessly integrate into Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Members can choose to support leading global and local charities, including Habitat for Humanity, TakingITGlobal, Children’s Miracle Network, United Way Toronto, CANFAR, SickKids Foundation, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Better The World is a for-profit social venture that is privately owned and operated in Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit

http://www.bettertheworld.com

For More Information:

Steve Croth, Better The World,
647.827.0412 x25 or 416.254.0440
scroth@bettertheworld.com

About B Lab

B Lab, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, supports B Corporations by: certifying B Corporations who achieve a minimum score on the B Ratings System; disseminating a legal framework to institutionalize stakeholder interests within existing corporate law; promoting B Corporations through a unifying brand; and helping B Corporations access mission-aligned capital markets. For a full list of Certified B Corporations please see the B Community page on www.bcorporation.net.

About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a large scale, mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies. MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and digital media technologies, cleantech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose business.

For more information, contact:
Linda Quattrin
Director Communications
MaRS Discovery District
416.673.8104
lquattrin@marsdd.com