At some point, your spirit-led work may need a formal home: a container that can hold your money, your relationships, and your responsibilities. This is where legal structures come in. Maybe you’ll become a nonprofit so you can receive donations and grants. Maybe you’ll form a business or social enterprise to earn income with flexibility. Maybe you’ll build a cooperative where power and ownership are shared. Or maybe you’ll start out with a fiscal sponsor, drawing on another organization’s legal and financial infrastructure for a fee. Every country has its own rules, so it’s important to get local advice. But wherever you are, the structure you choose should help your work come to life—not weigh it down.
There’s no one-size-fits-all. Each legal path has strengths and quirks, and what’s easy in one model might be harder in another. The key is to ask: What kind of structure will best support our purpose, our values, and how we want to grow? This isn’t just paperwork; it’s spiritual architecture. It should hold your vision with care, give you room to expand or change, and help others trust and invest in what you’re building.
Three questions to explore
1. What are the legal structures in my country or context?
Take some time to explore what the options are where you live. These categories exist in some form in nearly every country:
- For-Profit Entities such as corporations, companies, sole proprietorships, and partnerships. The legal purpose of for-profits is to generate profit for owners and shareholders, but they can be used to provide goods and services, including of a spiritual nature. The global meditation app Insight Timer, legally known as Insight Network Inc., is an example of a for-profit, privately held company that combines free content with premium subscriptions and in-app purchases and donations.
- Nonprofit and Not-for-Profit Organizations such as charitable organizations, foundations, associations, and NGOs. The legal purpose of nonprofits is to serve the public or provide a benefit, and most countries grant them tax exemption for this reason. Limmud is an innovative British Jewish educational charity that produces a large annual festival in the UK, and which also has a private charitable company and communities around the world. Limmud is a good organization to learn from, since their team has navigated different structures in different global contexts over the course of multiple decades.
- Cooperatives and mutual aid societies, which are owned and operated by members. These exist globally, especially as worker cooperatives in specific industries such as agriculture, finance, and retail. They can be created to serve any shared interest or purpose. Nearness is an example of a spiritual innovation with a cooperative structure in the US.
- Hybrid structures that combine profit and mission. Examples include Benefit Corporations (B Corps), Community Interest Companies (CICs), Social Enterprises, and low-profit limited liability companies (L3Cs). These legal structures continue to evolve as interest in this area grows. Wanderlust is an example of a B Corp that hosts yoga, mindfulness, and wellness festivals in different parts of the world, designed to help people "find their true north."
- Religious and cultural organizations, which may be legally distinct in your context or fall under nonprofits. This varies by country depending on the regulation of religion and civil society. In Croatia, for instance, religious communities are recognized as separate legal entities with particular rights that are regulated separately from standard NGOs. Chan Center, an innovative Dharmaloka Buddhist community, is an example of a registered religious organization in Croatia.
2. What is the best structure for me?
Reflect on which structure aligns with your values and priorities.
- What are the strengths and drawbacks for each model?
- Which best embodies your values and vision?
- Knowing things can change quickly, which allows you the most flexibility?
- Do you know someone who’s involved with a similarly structured organization? What can you learn from them?
3. What resources can help me get started where I live?
Research other organizations in your context that are structured in the way you hope to be. Consider interviewing a few people who lead those organizations, to learn about their pathway to legal incorporation or certification.
Here are a few organizations that may be particularly helpful for helping you get started:
- If you’re a small project and need a nonprofit legal status to raise money, you might consider becoming fiscally sponsored by a larger nonprofit. This saves you a lot of paperwork, and usually costs only a small percentage of your income. If you’re in the US, check out Holistic Underground and Beloved, which specialize in supporting spiritual innovators.
- Spirit Tech Collective has a comprehensive list of mostly for-profit tech companies creating scalable, scientifically congruent innovations that support spiritual health and development.
- Start.Coop is a great starting point to learn about cooperatives in the United States. They also run programs for new coops and can help connect you with great lawyers and accountants who specialize in cooperatives.
- The B Lab website has a comprehensive step-by-step description of the pathway to B Corp certification around the world.
