Purposely is a free tool to put purpose at the heart of a business. Businesses with a purpose beyond profit are committed to fulfilling a social, economic or environmental goal. There are more than 1.2 million of them in the UK. Purposely is a digital tool to embed your purpose in a company’s governing articles. And it’s free to use.
Purposely has been developed following upon the recommendations of the 2016 Mission-Led Business Review that recommended that government should raise awareness of the existing legal flexibility to embed purpose within a conventional limited company and establish clear ways for entrepreneurs to take advantage of it.
Purposely is designed for founders who have already decided that the Company Limited by Shares legal structure is right for them. There are other legal structures that automatically include purpose, including the Community Interest Company and various charitable structures.
Purposely was designed and created by UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with law firm Bates Wells, and with strategic support from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).
We are grateful to the following for their input as members of the project Sounding Board:
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
For a detailed guide on the Purposely articles and how they differ from the default model articles,please read this guide.
For the avoidance of any doubt, the Model Articles include language to make it clear that stakeholders are not granted rights of recourse against directors in respect of the carrying out of their responsibilities.
In any event, the shareholders may decide to amend the Articles of Association to remove the Model Articles special features by passing a shareholders resolution (provided that there are no additional provisions to entrench the special features of the Articles of Association).