“We measure our success as a company by how well we achieve that mission, not by the size of our profits”, the company website says.

Kickstarter is placing an emphasis on social good, not profit. Sacca said he believed there were other ways for shareholders to see returns from their investment in Kickstarter besides an acquisition or an initial public offering.

Kickstarter is legally re-incorporating in Delaware, where it has always been incorporated, as a benefit corporation.

The charter outlines business practices for Kickstarter, including a commitment to not reducing its taxes through legal loopholes and not selling users’ data to third parties.

With its latest action, Kickstarter joins a relatively small group of big-name companies that have taken the plunge to marry their idealism to their operational structure, including the eco-friendly cleaning products company Method and the outdoor-gear company Patagonia.

Benefit corporations are obligated to create a positive impact on society and the environment, and are required to consider the impact of their decisions on shareholders, workers and the community at large. Perhaps most notably, as part of its new charter, the crowdfunding platform says that it will donate 5 percent of its after-tax profits towards arts and music education, and to organizations fighting to end systemic inequality.

“From Kickstarter’s inception, we’ve focused on serving artists, creators and audiences to help bring creative projects to life”, the founders wrote in the blog post.

New York City-based Kickstarter launched in early 2009 as an online venue where creative projects seek financial backing from people who pledge funds, usually with the promise of a reward related to the endeavor being backed. “We’re now Kickstarter PBC – a Public Benefit Corporation”.

“More and more voices are rejecting business as usual, and the pursuit of profit above all”, the announcement said. Other companies, including the e-commerce site Etsy, which went public in April, and Warby Parker, the eyeglasses retailer, have also opted to become B Corporations. Board members must also take that public benefit into account when making decisions, and the company has to report on its social effect. The move to PBC further reinforces its founders’ resistance to floating the company on the stock market.

“As younger companies come up and think about how they operate and how they want to be structured, maybe they won’t be so easily be swept up by all the usual choices”, Chen said.

“It is a fast-growing, highly profitable enterprise”.

The company is also planning to release benefit statements annually.