Advancing the Development of 
For-Benefit Enterprises and 
Their Supportive Ecosystem

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for joining us for the Mapping the Fourth Sector conference — an effort to define, measure and understand the impact of for-benefit organizations—enterprises that pursue social or environmental aims through market-based approaches.  We appreciate your time, expertise and enthusiasm.

Fourth sector organizations are creating jobs alongside the three traditional economic sectors -- government, nonprofits and for-profit businesses. Despite their growth potential, questions remain about the scale and scope of the sector. What motivates their leadership and investors? What policies might enhance their value to the economy, to society and to the environment? 

For a full day, you will be helping us to answer these questions, and pose others. And you will help inform a multi-stakeholder effort driven by The Urban Institute in partnership with The B Team and a 170-member Advisory Council to create the first thorough data map of the fourth sector and its supportive infrastructure. 

There is growing recognition of the fourth sector's potential for delivering solutions to a broad array of social, environmental and economic challenges. These range from job creation and sustainable economic development to climate change, health care, education, social services, energy and more. Unlocking this potential requires greater understanding and clarity, and substantial collaboration.

We are pleased to be hosting more than 250 researchers, practitioners, policymakers, funders and support organizations, for an action-oriented gathering. We hope that together we will discover—and create—opportunities for collaboration through the morning plenary sessions and afternoon Design and Action Labs. 
 

Sincerely,
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- George Washington University
- The Urban Institute
- The B Team