> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.contributionism.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.contributionism.io/choosing-an-organisational-design/organisational-purpose-and-intended-beneficiaries.md).

# Organisational purpose and intended beneficiaries

Before deciding who receives rights, an organisation should establish why it exists and whom it is intended to benefit.

Contributionism does not require every organisation to have the same purpose. An organisation may exist to provide livelihoods, serve members, deliver public services, support external recipients or pursue a combination of these goals. Its purpose should influence its compensation and governance arrangements.

## **Three separate questions**

Organisational design should distinguish three questions:

1. **Who is the organisation intended to benefit?**
2. **Who legally owns its assets or ownership interests?**
3. **Who has authority over particular decisions?**

These questions are related, but their answers do not have to be identical.

A public hospital may exist for the benefit of a population, hold publicly owned assets and delegate many operational decisions to its workers.

A consumer cooperative may exist to benefit its members, while employing workers who exercise substantial authority over daily operations.

A charity may involve donors in selecting priorities without giving those donors transferable ownership of its assets.

Confusing purpose, ownership and governance can lead to unsuitable recommendations.

## **Contributor-benefit organisations**

A contributor-benefit organisation primarily exists to benefit people or organisations that supply the labour or capital needed to create and sustain it. Examples can include:

* Sole traders.
* Partnerships.
* Worker cooperatives.
* Employee owned businesses.
* Family-owned and operated businesses.
* Private and shareholder-owned companies.
* Jointly owned business collectives.

The distinguishing feature is the basis of the beneficiary relationship: priority arises from supplying labour or capital.

These organisations can still provide substantial benefits to consumers and communities. The classification identifies the primary intended beneficiary relationship, not every effect of their activities.

## **Member-benefit organisations**

A member-benefit organisation primarily serves people who formally belong to it. Examples include:

* Social, sports and recreational clubs.
* Professional and trade associations.
* Trade unions.
* Consumer cooperatives.
* Credit unions and mutual societies.
* Residents’ and community associations.
* Membership-based cultural, religious or political organisations.

Membership may require fees, purchases or participation. However, benefits are organised around membership rather than necessarily being proportional to the market value of each member’s contribution.

This distinction matters when considering voting rights. One member, one vote can reflect a membership relationship without implying that every member contributes an identical economic amount.

## **Public-benefit organisations**

In the classification used here, a public-benefit organisation operates under public authority to serve a population or fulfil public responsibilities. Examples include:

* Government departments and local authorities
* Police, fire, defence and justice services
* Public schools, universities and hospitals
* Regulatory and public-health bodies
* Public transport and infrastructure authorities
* Public utilities
* Public libraries, museums and broadcasters

Their governing mandate is not simply an agreement among current workers. Worker participation may improve operations, but the wider public retains a legitimate interest in priorities, access, service quality and the use of public assets.

## **Recipient-benefit organisations**

A recipient-benefit organisation primarily serves people, communities or causes outside the organisation. Examples include:

* Poverty-relief, homelessness and food-support charities
* Health, disability and social-care organisations
* Children’s, youth and older-person support organisations
* Refugee, humanitarian and disaster-relief organisations
* Educational, scholarship and employment-support charities
* Community development and housing organisations
* Environmental, animal welfare and heritage organisations

Workers and donors help sustain the organisation, but they are not necessarily its primary intended beneficiaries. This creates an important governance question: how are the interests of recipients represented when recipients cannot easily participate or provide financial resources?

## **Using the classification**

These categories are analytical tools, not universal legal definitions.

An organisation may have a primary and secondary beneficiary relationship. Its legal classification may use different terminology.

The purpose of the exercise is to identify potential conflicts before selecting a governance model. For example:

* Workers may prefer higher compensation.
* Consumers may prefer lower prices.
* Donors may prefer visible short-term projects.
* Recipients may need less visible long-term support.
* Public authorities may require universal access.

A suitable organisational design should make these interests visible rather than assume that one contributing group automatically represents everyone.