WHAT IS THE CORPORATE “FORM”?

At its most basic level, the corporate form is the entity label and accompanying legal structure an organization adopts. It dictates how a company is organized; who its owners are and what they control; the extent of liability for debts and other obligations; the extent and type of tax owed; how decisions must be made and reported; and who can invest.

Nonprofits and cooperatives are corporations with specific “forms,” as are LLCs and B-Corps and benefit corporations.

In Power Lab’s universe, all these forms are suspect when one or a handful of entities wields considerably more power than many, many individuals acting together. But this power imbalance occurs most frequently in regard to very large publicly traded corporations. Think: Meta, Tesla, Exxon-Mobile.

We’re focused on reimagining and reinventing the corporate form because it is the structure from which singular profit mandates, short-sighted fiduciary duties, and impunity for reckless and abusive behavior spring. Rewire what a corporation looks like and why it functions, and you’ve also rewired its power.

IS THIS JUST A CRITIQUE OF CAPITALISM?

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are owned and controlled by private individuals and entities. Crucially, the fruits of production are also often routed to these same owners. This system has created extraordinary wealth and transformed much of the world in a short amount of time, but that progress has come with intolerable consequences.

For now, Power Lab is focused on something narrower than total system overhaul. However, if we succeed in radically redesigning the corporation and redirecting its use of power to new purposes... then, yes, much of the capitalist system as we know it will have been altered. This is progress; the systems that got us here won’t be the ones that get us elsewhere.

details on the organization? (TAX STATUS, FINANCIALS, ETC.)

Power Law & Policy Lab is a non-profit corporation, incorporated in the District of Columbia. We’re working diligently to set it up as a 501c3 charity organization under federal IRS tax regulations. Once this is complete, we will be able to receive tax-deductible donations. Until that time, we are not asking for financial support. Our services are free and Power Lab’s activities will be privately funded (by our Founder & Executive Director, Reynolds Taylor— no dark money here) until we have the right vehicle in place to solicit and accept additional monetary support.

what will success look like? (in 2026.)

• Positive engagement with projects already identified as priority, including use by organizations or entities putting policy and governance ideas into practice.

• Recognition by forums and organizations in partner fields (corporate accountability, labor, human rights, pro-democracy, climate justice).

• Collaborations with 3-4 subject-matter experts and/or practitioners on developing model legislation or new theories of distribution.

• New projects started in the second half of the year, inspired by feedback received for work done in the first half of the year (i.e., success sometimes looks like iteration!).