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BENEFIT CORPORATIONS
A Georgia benefit corporation is a profit corporation organized under the Georgia Business Corporation Code
(O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 2) that elects to be a benefit corporation and have a public benefit(s) be a purpose of the
corporation in addition to the traditional corporate purpose of maximizing profit for its shareholders. 'Public benefit'
is defined as a positive effect, or reduction of negative effects, on society, on the environment, or on one or more
communities or categories of persons, entities, or interests, other than shareholders in their capacity as shareholders,
including effects of an artistic, charitable, cultural, economic, ecological, educational, environmental, literary, medical,
religious, scientific, social, or technological nature. In lieu of the corporate name indicators in O.C.G.A. § 14-2-401,
a benefit corporation may use the phrase Benefit Corporation or Public Benefit Corporation, or the abbreviation BC,
B.C., PBC, or P.B.C. in its name. Please review O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 2, Article 18 for additional information
and statutory requirements related to benefit corporations. The effective date of the Georgia benefit corporation law is
January 1, 2021.
Articles of incorporation for benefit corporations include the same information required of profit
corporations, and must also include the following information:
1. State that the corporation is a benefit corporation; and
2. Contain a public provision statement, which means a provision stating that a purpose of the
corporation is to pursue a public benefit or benefits.
An incorporator named in the articles, or an attorney in fact, must sign articles of incorporation. Beneath
the signature, the signer must state the capacity in which he or she is signing.
Thus, articles of incorporation for a benefit corporation might appear as follows:
Articles of Incorporation
of
Widgets World, BC
Article 1
The name of the corporation is Widgets World, BC.
Article 2
The corporation is a benefit corporation.
Article 3
A purpose of the corporation is to pursue a public benefit or benefits. (Add statement stating the
specific public benefit the corporation will pursue.)
Article 4
The corporation is authorized to issue (fill in the number) shares. (Number may not be “0”.)
Article 5
The street address of the registered office is 123 Magnolia Lane, Atlanta, Georgia 12345. The
registered agent at such address is John Doe. (The registered office address must be a street address at
which the agent may be personally located.) The county of the registered office is Fulton County.
Article 6
The name and address of each incorporator is:
John Doe
123 Magnolia Lane
Atlanta, GA 12345
Article 7
The mailing address of the corporation’s principal office is 2 Magnolia Lane, Atlanta, GA 12345.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed these Articles of Incorporation on the
_____day of ______________, 2021.
(signature)
John Doe
(Capacity of signer (i.e. incorporator or attorney in fact))
Page 5 Filing Procedure –Corporation
(Rev. 12/2020)
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