Empresa de cultivo orgánico

“OGG’s Sustainable Food and Agriculture Perpetual Purpose Trust is committed to “quadruple-bottom-line leadership focused on people, planet, purpose and profit. This means we focus on positive economic, social and environmental impacts while maintaining our independence forever —never to be sold.”

-- From the OGC Website

As their website describes, Organically Grown Company (OGC) was founded in 1978, “by a group of hippies, small-scale farmers, activists, food-lovers and dreamers who believed that organic food and farming was the answer to healthy people and planet.”

As the OCG founders approached retirement age, they sought an “exit with purpose.” The founders wanted to sell their shares to fund their retirement but worried about the company’s mission of supporting local farmers and organic farming, if outside investors bought a controlling interest in the stock. OGC's leadership was concerned with the fact that their prior structure, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), governed by federal law (ERISA) that required the company to maximize stock value. This could have forced the sale of the company to an outside buyer who made a high offer. Additionally, OGC’s leadership wanted the company to grow without growing impersonal or “selling out.” The founders decided that a business purpose trust was the perfect vehicle to preserve their mission and be rewarded for what they built.

From the OGC Trust Agreement

“The purpose of the trust established by this Agreement is to support the efforts of independent, Values-Aligned organizations (including, but not limited to, the Company) that advance Sustainable Agricultural Practices and food systems.”.

This established purpose guaranteed a commitment to the founders’ mission while also ensuring higher than industry average salaries, awarding over $165,000 in grants to mission-aligned partners, and raising over $50,000 for charity through sales by 2022.

”OGC proudly stands as a purpose led and trust owned organization and Benefit Company dedicated to supporting organic agriculture while benefiting all our growers, customers, coworkers and communities.

By balancing the profit needed to support our mission and purpose, we show that a business can thrive while making a real difference for people and the planet. Bottom line, we get to put everything we have into growing the organic movement.

-- From the Organically Grown Company website

WORK WITH PURPOSE: OGC CO-WORKER TESTIMONIALS

“I like my team a lot and I like working from an organization that’s principle focused. It feels like a privilege to work here rather than somewhere with a traditional business model. I also really like produce. In Quality Assurance I see local varieties come through and I love the weird ones.”

– Justin Dewan, OGC Quality Assurance Team Lead

“I”m proud to work for a mission driven company that actually walks the walk.”

– Coworker Survey Comment

“Here at OGC, we do a lot to give back to the community. Also, the commitment to sustainability and supporting organic are beautiful things.”

– Coworker Survey Comment

“OGC is making an effort to create a more diverse and equitable work culture.”

– Coworker Survey Comment

All worker comments from the OGC company website: www.organicgrown.com/our-team

OREGON’S EOT LAW S UPPORTS OGC’S MISSION DRIVEN JOURNEY

OGC created its Sustainable Food and Agriculture Perpetual Purpose Trust (SFAPPT) in 2018 as an Oregon Benefit Company. By structuring the trust under Oregon law as a perpetual purpose trust, OGC removed the pressure to maximize short-term profits for shareholders under federal ESOP law, and guaranteed its mission could continue indefinitely. This goal was further enabled when Oregon, the company's home state, adopted UTC guidelines in 2019 to amend the Rule Against Perpetuities, allowing for a “Stewardship Trust” that can hold the assets of a business in perpetuity. In addition to its legally recognized perpetuity, the updated Oregon code allows a Stewardship Trust to avoid the potential juridical reduction in assets that threaten other types of non-charitable purpose trusts.

Oregon’s new Stewardship Trust (ORS § 130.193(4)) provides an unambiguous legal structure, offering confidence to business owners looking for an alternative exit strategy. A Stewardship Trust may provide for Trust Committee representation from multiple stakeholder groups on the stewardship committee or may give control primarily or entirely to employees. Its flexible governance model empowers a stewardship committee to manage operations and ensure the trust’s purposes are upheld, keeping control local and aligned with long-term community and employee interests.

This type of trust offers business owners a clear “exit with purpose” strategy, without fearing the sale of their company to an external buyer who may not prioritize local jobs or community welfare. As seen with OGC’s founder were able to retire without worrying that their company legacy and values would be compromised by new ownership. By establishing a commitment to organic agriculture, together with an employee-centered purpose, retiring business owners could lock-in and grow their local economic impact, lift up their employees’ prospects, and expand charitable donations to the community– embedding their values into broader social contexts indefinitely.