Brief re: Legal Structure in the United States
Given you will not state the claims which you or others will be making, we are attempting to decipher the core of your article based on your ever-evolving questions. It seems that you are focusing your questions on US based companies, such as Hersheys, Walgreens, Dow Chemicals, so therefore allow us to pro-actively comment on the specific nature of our US structure. (We will also comment on the one Canadian company you referenced, Loblaws, at the end of this note). We want to ensure that you do not misrepresent the partnerships with these corporations and WE Charity or ME to WE Social Enterprises. Please ensure you read this briefing document carefully and ensure it is fairly reflected in your reporting. Given the global nature of our work, entities are incorporated in multiple countries, including that of our work with ME to WE. In Canada, due to the structure of the Canadian tax code limiting the ability of charities or foundations to engage in commercial enterprises to raise funds for their cause, we were
forced to incorporate ME to WE Social Enterprises within technically a ‘for
-
profit’ status, but then also create a formal process to prove, beyond reproach, that it exists for the “social good”. To ensure that
the social enterprise is to the benefit of the charity, we further built strong controls via multiple layers of governance, reporting, and third-party review by government agencies and other entities. However, it is equally important to note that other countries have more progressive tax systems governing social enterprise activities, including the United States. As such, in the United States, we have therefore incorporated the ME to WE Foundation (a legally incorporate 501 C3 foundation), which is designed to provide products and services to support the work
of WE Charity in the United States. It is important to note that the entity is a “Foundation” in legal status
and it is designed for social benefit. This has a number of important implications: 1.
The companies and activities you referenced above have their relationship with the organization(s) which are legally based in the United States. There is no engagement in Canada and/or for Canadian schools/ youth/ families for activities of these companies with our organization(s). For the sake of accuracy and transparency, we would insist that this is clear in
your article that the companies you referenced, including DOW, Hershey’s
and Walgreens. They are NOT active in our Canadian programs in any way whatsoever for either ME to WE or WE Charity. To be specific, these companies are not active in Canadian WE Days, they are not engaged in campaigns or educational programs in Canadian schools and they not active in our Canadian retail relationships. We want to make explicitly clear that if you are making any claims regarding the engagement US based companies, that this distinction is made for your reader. 2.
It is important to further state that these companies have this relationship with WE Charity or
“The ME to WE Foundation”
,
especially anything which has to do with your new line of
questioning, including “Track Your Impact”
. As in so much of the information we have shared with you, details matter. We believe that Canadaland has acted disingenuously in the past by referring to ME to WE Social Enterprise
s as a “private company” on your podcast, as it is clearly
a social enterprise dedicated towards the social purpose of assisting WE Charity, with third-party validation, controls, governance, and audits. Nonetheless, we want to make explicitly clear that if you are making any claims regarding the engagement US companies which you have listed, the relationship is with WE Charity or The ME to WE Foundation
–
and we want to be very clear that it would be factually incorporate to state that any of these companies have a partnership with
“a private company” or any other misleading, disingenuous, or ambiguous statement. Should
you reference these US based companies in relation to our mission, it important to ensure that you readers understand that these US companies have partnership with a US charity and a US foundation
–
and not any “private company” or any other similar reference.
The only Canadian company that yo
u’ve ever reference in correspondence is Loblaws. WE Charity currently has a legal partnership with President Choice’s Children’s Charity. Nonetheless, in full
transparency, there is a vender partnership between Loblaws and ME to WE Social Enterprises. Specifically, ME to WE Social Enterprises retails its coffee and chocolate via select Loblaws stores. We assume that any reference to this partnership, should it be included, Canadaland will note the extensive supply sourcing in place to verify the proper working conditions and salaries of ME to WE chocolate and coffee.