Your On-Ramp to Benefit Corporation Certification.

Benefit Corporation leaders gathering at Happy Hour for Good.

Built for small, purpose-driven businesses ready to become benefit corporations — without the cost or complexity of traditional certification.

Many small businesses are looking for a practical, values-driven alternative to traditional certification models.

Benefit Corporations for Good offers a clear, affordable pathway for companies seeking a credible B Corp alternative focused on transparency, accountability, and community impact.

We help small businesses formalize their values, align with the Triple Bottom Line — People, Planet, and Profit — and show the world they mean it. Faster, more accessibly, and with a community around them every step of the way.

As one of just four standards recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State — and the only one based in the state — we've helped dozens of businesses across 13 states and one Canadian province take that first real step.

This isn't the finish line. It's the on-ramp. And it starts here. Take our free, 2-minute “values alignment quiz” to see if you’re on-ramp ready.

Common FAQs:

  • A benefit corporation is a for-profit business that has made a legal commitment to more than just making money. It’s a business structure — recognized by most U.S. states — that requires companies to think about how their business decisions affect people and the planet, not just their bottom line.

    In a traditional corporation, the law says you have to put shareholders first, full stop. A benefit corporation changes that. It means you’re legally required to consider your employees, your customers, your community, and the environment in the decisions you make. It’s not just something nice you say about your business. It’s built into how your business is structured.

  • These two get confused a lot — even by people who’ve been in business for years. Here’s the simple version.

    A benefit corporation is a legal business structure, like an LLC or a sole proprietorship. You become one by filing paperwork with your state.

    A B Corp is a certification given out by a nonprofit called B Lab. They put companies through a detailed review to verify their social and environmental practices. You can have one without the other.

    Benefit Corporations for Good (BCFG) certification is also a third-party certification — similar to B Corp, but built with small businesses in mind. We’re one of only four standards recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State, and the only one based in Oregon. Getting certified with us means a real, independent review has confirmed that your business genuinely lives its values.

  • Because small businesses deserve a way to prove what they stand for.

    So many purpose-driven business owners — bakers, winemakers, professional services leaders, consultants — are already doing right by their people and their community. They just don’t have a way to show it that customers and employees will actually trust and recognize.

    We started BCFG to change that. We wanted to create a certification that’s meaningful enough to matter, but built for real small businesses — not just big companies with full-time sustainability teams. When more businesses commit to doing good, everyone benefits. And we believe a community of purpose-driven businesses is more powerful than any one business going it alone.

  • If you run a small business and you genuinely care about your employees, your neighborhood, and the world you’re operating in — this is for you.

    Our certified businesses come from all kinds of industries: law firms, solar companies, marketing agencies, wine bars, and more. What they have in common is a real commitment to people and planet, not just profit.

    You don’t have to be doing everything perfectly. You do have to be serious about it. Our process includes a 60-question assessment across eight standards, followed by a short interview. It’s thorough, but it’s also designed to meet you where you are — and help you keep getting better. For businesses with 5 or fewer FTEs, the fee is only $299.

    If you’re wondering whether this is for you, that’s usually a pretty good sign that it is.

Take Our Free Values Alignment Quiz

Is Your Business Ready to Join Our Community?

  • “We’re grateful for BCFG’s support and the way they show up for small businesses like ours. As a benefit corporation and woman-owned video production company, Soulful Production works with mission-driven organizations that need a trusted partner to create impactful videos that support their communities. BCFG certification strengthens that trust with our nonprofit partners and has opened doors to projects and opportunities that may not have been possible otherwise.”

    - Margaret Cohen, Creative Director, Soulful Production

  • “For years, we searched for a platform that could best convey our commitment to doing business in a way that honors the social and environmental causes we base our company on. We found that platform in Benefit Corporations for Good. The platform and staff are incredibly easy to work with and their support does not simply end at certification. With yearly one-on-one reviews, not only do we recap ways in which we’ve grown over the past 12 months, we get incredibly useful feedback and new ideas for improvement. As a solar company who’s very mission is embedded in the triple bottom line, I would highly recommend BCFG.”

    - Kathleen Vandegrift, Project Development Manager, Advanced Solar Products

  • "The North Coast EOL Collective is sincerely grateful to Benefit Corporations for Good. From the outset, we aspired to align with a business model rooted in purpose and meaningful impact. We hold that one need not be a nonprofit to contribute positively, uphold environmental stewardship, and operate with transparency and fiscal responsibility. Benefit Corporations for Good—and its director, Tom Hering—were instrumental in helping us realize that vision. This process has not only strengthened our accountability but also deepened our commitment to aligning our work with the values that matter most to our community."

    Margo Lalich, MPH, RN, Co-Founder, North Coast EOL Collective

  • "Being designated as a Benefit Corporation was important to us from the very beginning, however it seemed cost prohibitive until we found BCFG. The certification process was challenging in all the right ways, pushing us to deeply examine our mission, goals, and the culture and systems that support them. It forced us to answer tough questions and set us on a path of continuous improvement and accountability. Beyond the certification itself, the BCFG community has been great, providing amazing networking opportunities! We genuinely look forward to our annual recertification every year because it gives us the chance to reflect on who we have become, how far we have come, and what is next. We especially appreciate the opportunity to meet with Tom each year. He always offers great strategic advice and actionable recommendations to keep us growing."

    -Garrett Hartwell, Founder
     Power NW

  • "Benefit Corporations For Good offers small businesses a fair, affordable, and informed alternative to B Corp certification. Whether you're just starting out, well established, or seeking an alternative path, BCFG is the answer. Their responsive, accessible, and personable team makes the process manageable without high costs and reporting burdens. Sun Light & Power is a charter California B Corp and a 100% employee-owned certified Green Business with our own campus solar array. However, we found B Lab’s new standards impossible to meet. Thankfully, BCFG provides a conscientious recertification solution which allows us to stay focused on our mission to drive clean energy adoption."

    - Seamas Brennan, IT & Marketing Coordinator, Sun Light & Power

  • "BCFG's insights have been instrumental in helping us see beyond traditional metrics of success. Tom's encouragement, practical tools, and steady leadership have supported our evolution as a purpose-driven business that delivers measurable value to our clients and communities, while remaining true to our social and environmental commitments. We are proud to be a Benefit Corporation for Good, and we are grateful for Tom’s continued leadership in helping businesses like ours do well by doing good."

    Ernie Polsom, CEO, FireWise Consulting and Learning Academy

  • "BCFG has been profound for getting me connected to local like-minded business owners and our business wears the certification proudly as a recognition of our commitment to a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit in that order. The certification and renewal process is more applicable than the B Lab certification and the infographic is a great public-facing piece to simply convey the information."

    Corey Kaster, FSCP, LUTCF, Inbundance Wealth Management

  • "It was great to work with a local company like BCFG to affirm our company’s commitment to our values. We appreciated receiving actionable feedback from BCFG that we can incorporate into the work we do. The certification helped us to assess the work that we are doing to ensure that it is what’s best for our people, our community, and our planet."

    - Perry Jaqua, MBA, Senior Director of External Affairs, Communications, and Corporate Engagement , Northwest Permanente

  • “As a Public Benefit Corporation, Positive Energy Solar has pursued a variety of third-party certifications over the years to help ensure we stay true to our mission and values. The Benefit Corporation for Good certification offers the ideal balance of accountability, support, and accessibility. It has helped us deepen our commitment to the triple bottom line while continuing to grow responsibly. Tom’s dedication and genuine passion for building a community of principled businesses has reaffirmed we've made the right choice and are in 'good' company.”

    - Christopher Fortson, Employee Owner & Director of Marketing, Positive Energy Solar

  • “Kaleido Studio Architecture LLC has been a Benefit Corporation since 2018, following a triple bottom line approach to business. People. Planet. Prosperity. After a few rounds of certification through another approach, we found our 'right fit' certification partner with Benefit Corporation For Good. We received more and better feedback during our application process and our BCFG evaluation call with Tom than we had in previous years of certification. We look forward to our BCFG partnership and continuing our B-Local PDX engagement in this amazing community!”

    – Corey Omey, Owner, Kaleido Studio Architecture LLC

  • “BCFG has been an amazing partner to our organization. They are true experts at what they do. They care about our success and have been so helpful to us in our work to integrate better and more sustainable practices into our work and operations. We feel very grateful and appreciate our partnership with Benefit Corporations For Good.”

    Trever Cartwright, Founder, Coraggio Group

  • “Working with Tom to get Marketing On a Mission certified was a wonderful experience. He is so generous with his time and knowledge, and I'm thrilled to be a certified Benefit Corporation for Good. This certification is an acknowledgment of all the good work my clients and I believe in as business as a force for good.”

    Randye S Spina, MBA, Marketing on a Mission

  • "At Chocolat-e we felt from the beginning the importance of being a part of a community that has strong values and ethics. When we discovered the Benefit Corporations For Good community, we felt we found such a community. Tom Hering, the co-founder and partner helped us get through the process and was a real advocate for those within the group. If you are considering certification as a Benefit Corporation For Good, just do it - take the step today."

    Norm Rice, Co-Founder, Chocolat-e

  • "I've known about Benefit Corporations for Good for a while. I've always appreciated their approach to business and the importance of the "triple bottom line." When I was able to purchase my business, joining as a Business Corporation for Good was important to me. Reaching out to Tom, attending events, and getting to know members only confirmed my decision. Thanks to Tom for his support!"

    Agnes Zach, Founder, Nonprofit Professionals Now

  • "BCFG is an excellent company. Not only do they help businesses get certified as B-Corps, but Tom Hering provides invaluable support to business owners looking to improve the good that their business does in the world."

    Heidi Mandler-Huff, Founder, Liska Law

  • “I highly recommend Benefit Corporations for Good. The audit process was simple and efficient and the recommendations that I received were personalized for my business to help us market our certification and help us make a greater impact.”

    Alicia Chapman, CEO, Willamette Technical Fabricators

  • “Great organization with great processes and values--happy to have them as a certifier of our business!”

    Michael Jonas, Founder, Narwhal Law & Business Strategy

  • “I love working with Benefit Corporations for Good to do our annual assessment for being a certified Benefit company. They’re very kind, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. I often recommend them to other small businesses too.”

    Erik Croswell, Founder, Bridge City Media

2025 Highlights

BCFG leaders volunteering for local clean-up activity.

  • Began work on legislation to provide benefit companies and benefit corporations a true financial advantage as forces for good

  • Doubled Happy Hour for Good events to enable other BCFGs to learn and connect with other purpose-driven leaders

  • Celebrated 4th year working with Allen Hall PR team at the University of Oregon helping BCFG with PR strategy and social media