Social Impact

Overview

Lowenstein Sandler is committed to fostering growth in the social impact space. Our Social Impact team provides solutions to mission-driven companies (both for-profit and nonprofit) and the funds that invest into them.

We recognize that mission-driven entrepreneurs, organizations, and investors have unique goals and legal challenges. We have a long history of working with a range of clients across this space, including social enterprises (traditional for-profits, benefit corporations, and hybrids); impact fund managers; institutional investors; foundations and operating nonprofits; family offices and high net worth individuals; corporate venture capital (CVC) and other socially-motivated investors.

Our cross-disciplinary social impact team closely monitors the rapidly changing landscape of laws, regulations, and business norms relevant to the social impact sector. We think creatively to help clients develop tailored approaches to achieve their unique social impact objectives.

Working closely with these clients, our lawyers:

Counsel social enterprises on entity selection, including alternative corporate forms such as public benefit corporations
Advise founders on integrating impact into existing for-profit and nonprofit entities
Guide social enterprises to successful financings and exits
Advise investors in social enterprise and mission-driven company financings across a variety of sectors
Counsel fund managers, institutional investors, and family offices on successfully integrating social and environmental goals into traditional debt and equity investments
Advise fund sponsors in their structuring, formation, and operation of impact funds, including with respect to impact measurement and management
Design bespoke solutions for nontraditional mission-backed entities, including fiscal sponsorships, joint ventures, and hybrid structures consisting of one or more nonprofit entities and one or more for-profit entities
Advise cross-border social impact clients on regulatory compliance, including economic sanctions compliance, anti-corruption programs, anti-money laundering compliance, Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) compliance, and international finance
Provide sophisticated IP licensing, privacy, and data security counsel in a range of social impact transactions
Advise clients on the inclusion of social impact-related covenants in licensing and other types of contracts

Contacts

Chandra K. Shih
Partner

Christina Holder
Senior Public Interest Counsel

Elinor Ramey
Partner
Chair, Exempt Organizations

Kristin V. Taylor
Partner

Alyssa A. Frederick
Partner

Matthew R. VanderGoot
Partner

Ed Zimmerman
Partner
Chair and Co-Founder, Emerging Companies & Venture Capital (fka, The Tech Group)

EXPERIENCE

Social Enterprise Formation and Transactions

Represented Aptera Motors Corporation, a solar mobility company and public benefit corporation, in its successful direct listing of its Class B common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SEV.”
Represented Bloombox Design Labs, a Delaware public benefit corporation which brings solar-powered computer labs constructed from upcycled shipping containers to areas that lack electricity and internet connectivity in countries including Malawi. Lowenstein assisted the founder with forming the company and protecting its intellectual property.
Represented Got Produce, a California public benefit corporation based in California and Namibia that specializes in sustainable local food production using hydroponic growing technology to improve access to fresh produce and enhance nutrition. Lowenstein helped the organization form a charitable arm to house projects that improve food security, nutrition, and access to decent work for 750,000 Namibians.
Represented Julie, a new healthcare brand that aims to support individuals in making educated decisions when preventing pregnancy, in its series seed financing led by Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between the talent agency CAA and venture capital firm NEA. Julie emergency contraception offers an over the counter, FDA-approved, progestin-only emergency contraceptive that helps prevent pregnancy by temporarily delaying or stopping ovulation.
Represented Planet Forward, Inc. in its sale of Moonshot, a snack brand known for its climate-friendly practices, to the food and beverage division of Patagonia, the buyer’s first acquisition in more than 20 years. Moonshot crackers use renewable energy in a LEED-certified facility and makes its boxes with 100% recycled materials. Its main ingredient is grown with regenerative and organic practices and is traceable to the farm and field.
Counseled Studio Samuel, a nonprofit that supports girls’ education in Ethiopia through a licensed two-year life-skills program, a vocational college, and a microlending program, on nonprofit governance issues and the structuring of various business activities related to its economic empowerment mission.
Worked closely with the United Way of New York City to expand Plentiful, a free, user-friendly app-based reservation system that allows food pantry users to find food pantries in their area, reserve a time slot to pick up food, and receive updates on changing conditions at food pantries. The app now reaches more than 900,000 users. Drafted template agreements to be used by food banks and food pantries, prepared data privacy and security policies, drafted memoranda of understanding with various stakeholders, and assisted with preparations for a spinoff.

Impact Investing

Served as lead counsel in $83,000,000 transaction representing New Jersey nonprofit Brick by Brick in an innovative blended finance deal that that allowed the organization to purchase 34S residential properties to be transformed into affordable housing units for low- and moderate-income families seeking to achieve homeownership.
Represented Jibu, a social enterprise headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, that capitalizes and equips African entrepreneurs to launch and grow franchises that sell safe drinking water and other necessities at affordable prices. The company operates in emerging African markets, including Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Assisted Jibu with structuring debt and equity investments in the company to support the expansion of its activities.
Formed and launched the Historic Fund (recognized as a 2023 Bloomberg Innovator), which raised an initial $10.2 million in committed fund interests to build HBCU endowments. Recruited additional venture fund managers to participate in the initiative.
Provided structuring and advisory counsel to Emerging Markets Investors Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that enables institutional emerging market investors to support good governance, promote sustainable development, and improve investment performance in the governments and companies in which they invest.
Provided structuring, regulatory, tax, and general corporate counsel to Refugee Investment Network (RIN), the first impact investing and blended finance collaborative dedicated to creating long-term solutions to global forced migration.

Advised Climate Change AI, a global nonprofit whose mission is to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce and respond to climate change, on U.S. sanctions compliance and licensing requirements.
Advised CTrees, a startup tax-exempt California nonprofit whose mission is to track carbon in every tree on the planet and to deliver science-based geospatial data for enabling natural climate solutions in determining what open source license, terms of use, and attribution requirements to provide on its website for users who access or download data.
Represented LEEP, a Delaware nonprofit headquartered in Chicago and London whose purpose is to reduce the amount of lead in the environment and prevent lead-related disabilities in children, in developing a compliance plan to monitor foreign grantmaking activities.