Hunting Stag with FLY Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise

Dana Brakman Reiser and Steven A. Dean, Hunting Stag with FLY Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise, Boston College Law Review, 2013, Forthcoming

Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper No. 332

40 Pages Posted: 3 Apr 2013

Date Written: April 2, 2013

Abstract

Social entrepreneurs and socially motivated investors share a belief in the power of social enterprise, ventures that pursue a “double bottom line” of profit and social good. Unfortunately, they also share a deep mutual suspicion. Recognizing that social ventures — just like traditional for- and non-profit enterprises — need capital to flourish, this Article offers a financing tool to transform that skepticism into commitment. Unlike the array of new entities that have emerged in recent years — including L3Cs, benefit corporations and flexible purpose corporations — the hybrid financial instrument it describes provides a robust and transparent solution to the puzzle that lies at the heart of every social enterprise: how to blend a profit motive with a social mission. Recognizing their shared dilemma as an example of what economists call a stag hunt, FLY Paper strikes that elusive balance by allowing investors and entrepreneurs to credibly signal a reciprocal commitment to the pursuit of a dual bottom line.

Keywords: Social Enterprise, Corporate Finance, Game Theory, Flexible Debt, Tax, Benefit Corporations, L3C, Flexible Purpose Corporations

Suggested Citation

Brakman Reiser, Dana and Dean, Steven, Hunting Stag with FLY Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise (April 2, 2013). Dana Brakman Reiser and Steven A. Dean, Hunting Stag with FLY Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise, Boston College Law Review, 2013, Forthcoming, Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper No. 332, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2243833

Dana Brakman Reiser (Contact Author)

Brooklyn Law School ( email )

250 Joralemon Street, Rm. 814
Brooklyn, NY 11201
United States
718-780-0396 (Phone)
718-780-0376 (Fax)

Steven Dean

Brooklyn Law School ( email )

250 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
285
Abstract Views
3,418
Rank
221,030
PlumX Metrics