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Devin: What is your superpower?
Marc: I think it has to do with how you frame issues, how you message, how you think more holistically about what your organization is trying to achieve and how it may be described in a way that appeals to others so that they wish to support you. A lot of this has to do with bridging silos.
Profit and purpose can reinforce each other when integrity, public policy and smart legal structures work together to empower social enterprises.
That idea sat at the center of my conversation with Marc J. Lane, President of The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane and author of the Capital and Conscience newsletter. Marc is a nationally recognized business and tax attorney whose work spans nonprofits, social enterprises, impact investing and public policy.
What makes Marc’s story compelling is that his career didn’t begin as a tidy social impact plan. It began with values.
“I was a child of the ’60s,” Marc told me. “You would see me out there in the world protesting, supporting and empowering those who were involved in the women’s movement, the gay and lesbian movement, the green movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement.”
He later built a successful career as a corporate and tax attorney and financial planner. About 20 years ago, he said, he pivoted toward the social impact ecosystem, bringing those professional tools back into alignment with who he had always been. “I am one of the blessed ones: my professional life and my personal life are really one and the same,” he said.
That oneness shows up in Marc’s view of integrity. We discussed a recent essay he wrote about voters who say they care about honesty and accountability but too often excuse ethical failures when candidates support their preferred policies. Marc’s view is clear: “Without integrity, you really have no idea what somebody’s going to do in office other than potentially self-enrichment.”
For Marc, the same principle applies to business. He connects social enterprise and public policy through empowerment. He has helped draft legislation for L3Cs, benefit corporations and procurement preferences that give mission-driven ventures a better shot at sustainability.
“Public policy really is the tool by which social enterprises have a greater shot at financial sustainability and achievement of mission,” Marc said.
That insight matters for founders, nonprofit leaders, investors and policymakers. Legal structures are not just compliance boxes. They can determine whether a nonprofit can earn revenue, whether a social enterprise can attract capital and whether communities can benefit from innovation at scale.
Marc’s message is refreshingly practical. “With no money, no mission,” he said. Social impact requires resources. The challenge is not choosing between financial success and measurable good. The opportunity is designing ventures where each strengthens the other.
tl;dr:
Marc turned corporate law, tax planning and financial expertise into tools for social impact.
Integrity matters because leaders without trustworthiness cannot be expected to serve the public good.
L3C legislation can help nonprofits and social enterprises attract capital while preserving mission.
Public policy gives mission-driven ventures a better shot at sustainability and measurable impact.
Stakeholder alignment helps nonprofits, investors, businesses and government collaborate around shared value.
How to Develop Stakeholder Alignment As a Superpower
Marc’s superpower is stakeholder alignment. He helps mission-driven leaders identify “necessary or desirable stakeholders” and “create value propositions for each of them.” As he explained, “It has to do with how you frame issues, how you message, how you think more holistically about what your organization is trying to achieve.” His gift is seeing across sectors that have historically operated in silos, then finding ways to bring nonprofits, businesses, investors, government and academia together so each can advance its own goals while contributing to a shared impact agenda.
Marc illustrated this superpower through his work with Chicago Scholars, a successful nonprofit helping high school students map educational and career paths. The organization wanted to turn its curriculum into an app and expand beyond its local reach. Marc helped create an L3C subsidiary, giving the nonprofit equity it could sell and allowing outside investors to shoulder entrepreneurial risk. The venture raised seven figures, secured a patent and reached far more students. Because of the structure, earnings could flow through the nonprofit in a tax-exempt way, improving investor returns while expanding mission impact.
Identify every stakeholder whose support could help your mission scale.
Create a clear value proposition for each stakeholder, not just for your organization.
Frame your message around aligned interests so others can see why supporting you helps them, too.
Bridge silos among nonprofits, businesses, investors, government and academia instead of working alone.
Hold yourself to both financial sustainability and measurable social impact standards.
Measure outputs that serve as reasonable proxies for impact, not just activities.
Keep checking whether the financial model makes sense so the mission can endure.
By following Marc’s example and advice, you can make stakeholder alignment a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!
Guest Profile
Marc J. Lane (he/him):
President, The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane
About The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane: The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane offers successful people and their organizations a strategic, multidisciplinary approach to tax, corporate, intellectual property, and estate planning. We counsel clients from a wide spectrum of occupations, backgrounds and situations. Our clients include executives, private investors, individuals, families, businesses and their owners, nonprofit organizations, professionals and philanthropists. We are affiliated with Marc J. Lane & Company, a registered broker-dealer and SIPC member; and Marc J. Lane Risk Management, Inc., an Illinois licensed insurance agency.
Website: marcjlane.com
Biographical Information: Marc J. Lane is President of The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, P.C., a Chicago-based, nationally recognized business and tax law firm. Marc is also a Master Registered Financial Planner, a Registered Financial Counselor, and a Certified Investment Specialist. Twice a recipient of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Lincoln Award, he has taught law at Northwestern University School of Law and business in the MBA program at the University of Illinois.
Marc drafted Illinois’ Low-profit Limited Liability Company (L3C) legislation and other laws that help drive positive social change.
By appointment of then-Gov. Pat Quinn, Marc chaired the State of Illinois’ Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise. Gov. Quinn also appointed him as a Commissioner of the Serve Illinois Commission. By appointment of then-Cook County Commissioner and now-Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, he serves as Vice Chairperson of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation. He is the President of Social Enterprise Chicago.
Marc is the author of 36 books, including “The Mission-Driven Venture: Business Solutions to the World’s Most Vexing Social Problems,” “Social Enterprise: Empowering Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs,” and “Profitable Socially Responsible Investing? An Institutional Investor’s Guide.”
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