Corporate Governance

Mission

Our mission is to engage in fundraising activities, as efficiently as possible, so that as much as possible, of each and every donor's contribution, goes to their chosen activities, and as little as possible, to administration. We will do so in a sustainable way, over the long term and across several countries. Our activities will adapt new technologies and new ways for people to communicate, and constantly strive for increased effectivity. This increased efficiency is not aimed at increase profit, but to benefit donors and organizations.

Prerequisites

To fulfill our mission, we need:

  • Skilled and highly motivated people;
  • Business dynamics to adapt to new and changing conditions;
  • A distinctive culture;
  • Sufficiently strong finances (liquidity, solvency and investment funding);
  • Adequate compensation to employees, directors and investors.

Type of Enterprise

We have considered various ways of organizing our activities, including the non-profit organization, foundation and corporation. Intuitively, we believed that we should avoid the shareholder form, because it is based on managing operations, with the primary objective of maximizing profit.

Even so, we have concluded that the non-profit organization or foundation restricts our operations in terms of control and force for change. Securing financing is also more difficult. In addition, we have concluded that we can manage a corporation (Inc.), so that the company is suited to our mission and prerequisites. A corporation (limited liability company), with its clear set of regulations, is also beneficial for managing issues of transparency, auditing etc.

(We also considered a Benefit Corporation, a legal form available in some US states. This form in the US, provides the same well-defined rules as the Corporation Act provides here in Sweden. Perhaps if it had been available in Sweden, it may have been the ideal corporate structure for us.)

Management of the Corporation (Limited Liability Company)

Management of the corporation (limited liability company) Pennybridge is stipulated in the corporation charter and by a shareholder’s agreement. Among other things, it regulates that:

  • Our purpose is to benefit the public welfare by effective collection, not to maximize profit for our shareholders;
  • We will work according to the principles of the UN Global Compact;
  • We will use ongoing surplus to lower our costs that we debit;
  • The Company shall provide reasonable (however not high) compensation to shareholders, the Board and Management.