2023 Benefit Report for ICC PBC
Integrative Care Collective is both a community and a business. Specifically, we have ‘Integrative Care Collective’, the free online community, and Integrative Care Collective PBC (ICC PBC), the Colorado Public Benefit Corporation. ICC PBC was started as a for-profit company to serve the needs of providers in Colorado. The Founder and CEO, Cole Butler, offers therapy services and coaching services through ICC PBC.
In Colorado, Public Benefit Corporations are required to state a public benefit, and to generate a report every year detailing how they met, or failed to meet, their stated public benefit. Additionally, the company is required to assess the overall social and environmental performance of the public benefit corporation against a third-party standard. That report is to be shared with all shareholders and posted on the company’s website.
ICC PBC’s stated public benefit, as documented in the company’s Articles of Incorporation, is:
“The purpose for which the Corporation was formed is to benefit the people of Colorado by providing integrative, collaborative care to clients by serving the practice needs of providers.”
At this stage in the company’s life, we are still figuring out how to do that best. We would note that we have made significant strides to achieving said purpose in 2024, and we look forward to the progress we can report in our Benefit Report for 2024. That said, this post will list our Benefit Report for 2023. The following text is Integrative Care Collective PBC’s Benefit Report for the year 2023.
Integrative Care Collective PBC Public Benefit Report 2023
Reporting Requirements
Colorado Revised Statutes 2021, 7-101-507 outlines the criteria for a Benefit Report to be generated annually by all Public Benefit Corporations in Colorado. This document is Integrative Care Collective PBC’s Benefit report for the year 2023.
The following information outlines regulatory requirements for this benefit report:
7-101-507. Benefit report - definition.
(1) A public benefit corporation shall prepare an annual report that includes:
(a) A narrative description of:
(I) The ways in which the public benefit corporation promoted the public benefit identified in the articles of incorporation and the best interests of those materially affected by the public benefit corporation's conduct;
(II) Any circumstances that have hindered the public benefit corporation's promotion of the identified public benefit and the best interests of those materially affected by the public benefit corporation's conduct; and
(III) The process and rationale for selecting or changing the third-party standard used to complete the assessment pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section; and
(b) An assessment of the overall social and environmental performance of the public benefit corporation against a third-party standard:
(I) Applied consistently with any application of that standard in prior benefit reports; or
(II) Accompanied by an explanation of the reasons for any inconsistent application. The assessment does not need to be performed, audited, or certified by a third party.
(2) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, "third-party standard" means a standard for defining, reporting, and assessing the overall corporate social and environmental performance, which standard is developed by an organization that is not controlled by the public benefit corporation or any of its affiliates and that makes publicly available the following information: (a) The criteria considered when measuring the social and environmental performance of a business, the relative weightings of those criteria, if any, and the process for development and revision of the standard; and (b) Any material owners of the organization that developed the third-party standard, the members of its governing body and how they are selected, and the sources of financial support for the organization, in sufficient detail to disclose any relationships that could reasonably be considered to compromise its independence.
(3) A public benefit corporation that prepares a report pursuant to this section shall send it to each shareholder.
(4) A public benefit corporation shall post all of its reports prepared pursuant to this section on the public portion of its website, if any, but the public benefit corporation may omit from the posted reports any financial or proprietary information included in the reports.
(5) If a public benefit corporation does not have a website, the public benefit corporation shall provide a copy of its most recent report, without charge, to a person that requests a copy, but the public benefit corporation may omit any financial or proprietary information from the copy of the benefit report so provided.
Introduction
Integrative Care Collective PBC, hereinafter referred to as ICC PBC, was originally incorporated on July 13th, 2023. The Articles of Incorporation were Amended and Restated on February 3rd, 2024, but that did not affect the stated purpose of the Public Benefit Corporation. The Articles of Incorporation were filed by Mr. Cole Allen Butler. Article 5 identifies ICC PBC’s Public Benefit as follows: “The purpose for which the Corporation was formed is to benefit the people of Colorado by providing integrative, collaborative care to clients by serving the practice needs of providers.”
This public benefit was achieved through the formation of an online community of providers that all share a vested interest in providing optimal care to their clientele. The terminology in the stated public benefit “practice needs of providers” may be open to interpretation.
Providers, in and of itself, is a broad term. ICC PBC’s target population is mental health care providers, which may include therapists, social workers, nurse practitioners, yoga teachers, coaches, and anyone else who provides a service to their clients that has a direct or indirect effect on that client’s mental health care.
The term “practice needs” may vary widely in its interpretation, because each provider may have different needs based on who they are, how they practice, and what they practice. For example, a provider who is employed at a mental health agency may have many colleagues with whom they are able to correspond and form community with. A provider who operates a private practice as a therapist may find themself isolated in their practice and in-need of community. Additionally, some providers may have more tangible needs, such as assistance in marketing, locating an office space, finding client referrals, and more.
The philosophy of ICC PBC is that, by meeting these various needs of providers, the people of Colorado are better served and, thus, the people of Colorado are provided with benefits. Specifically, it is the belief of ICC PBC that mental health care is best provided in community. That doesn’t mean that several providers need to see one client at a time, but, rather, that the providers are given a community in which they can seek out additional consultation, and lean on others for support in terms of business or clinical needs. To the ICC PBC, this is the essence of what we call “integrative, collaborative care”. That is, providers are collaborating on their cases by seeking alternative viewpoints, seeing clients as whole people with various needs. Contribution to these needs from various perspectives may help clients most.
Promotion of the Public Benefit
ICC PBC believes that it has promoted the identified public benefit and the best interests of those materially affected by the public benefit corporations’s conduct through the following actions in 2023:
Formation of an online community (termed Integrative Care Collective) on Google Groups, serving the need of providing a community for providers. Additionally, this group has the benefit of being an internal referral source, driving business for providers, another critical need.
Hosting events for community members, including dinners at the home of the Founder to meet the need of community for providers.
Establishing a working relationship with the Drala Mountain Center (DMC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Through this working relationship, ICC PBC has identified several providers in the Integrative Care Collective community that have interest in running retreats. Retreats at DMC will offer providers payment for their services and the ability to offer their services to a broad array of clientele. ICC PBC believes that this serves another core need of providers: financial wellness. Operating as a provider can often be a challenge financially, especially for providers who operate private practices, as they are often required to generate their own clientele. In this role, ICC PBC has served as an intermediary between providers in Colorado and the DMC, giving the providers the opportunity to expand their offerings to clientele and meet their financial needs.
Conducting program design and coordination for Ketamine Wellness Retreats (KWRs) at DMC. ICC PBC has developed programming to run KWRs at DMC. The providers that would execute these KWRs are all members of the Integrative Care Collective online community. ICC PBC has taken the time and energy to develop these programs, so that providers can run them without having to develop their own programming. By having program design in place, providers are able to do their job best, without having to worry about expending cognitive capacity and time on programming.
Hinderance to the Promotion of the Public Benefit
ICC PBC believes that it the following circumstances have hindered promotion of the identified public benefit and the best interests of those materially affected by the public benefit corporations’s conduct through the following actions in 2023:
Lack of access to capital. ICC PBC was started solely with the funds of its Founder, Mr. Cole Allen Butler. Funds were used to consult a lawyer to obtain Articles of Incorporation that met regulatory requirements, as well as to file those articles with the state, and to obtain other materials (an HDMI cord for presentation purposes). These expenses total $1,186.85. ICC PBC did not generate any revenue in 2023. The lack of access to capital hindered ICC PBC’s ability to consult professionals on regulatory issues, to enhance the formation of the company, to market the company to ideal clientele, and to consult professionals on program design.
Lack of a clear business plan and trajectory. ICC PBC generated a draft business plan and consulted with the Larimer County Small Business Development Council (SBDC) on the formation of a business plan. However, ICC PBC failed to generate a clear runway to the generation of revenue. It was considered that ICC PBC would serve as a consulting organization to DMC in the execution of KWRs through the following actions: Program design, program evaluation, program management, and liaising between providers that would staff retreats and the organization that would run them (DMC). Budgetary data was generated for how ICC PBC could receive revenue in terms of receiving any capital that was generated from the execution of KWRs that did not go to paying retreat program staff. This hindered the promotion of the identified public benefit due to the fact that the organization was unable to serve providers’ needs without a clear understanding of its focus.
Lack of participation by providers in the community in events and programs hosted by the ICC PBC. On one occasion, ICC PBC offered to host a “Collaborative Case Consultation” meeting, whereby providers from different disciplines could come together to get different perspectives on their cases. However, no one attended the first Collaborative Case Consultation meeting, and the meetings were temporarily disbanded. Further, ICC PBC offered to host one meeting in the home of the founder for the purposes of building community, but no one was able to attend. These actions hindered ICC PBC’s ability to promote the identified public benefit because it was unable to meet providers’ needs of community and consultation.
Justification for the Choice of Third-Party Standards and Assessment of Congruence
Information on regulatory reporting requirements, as well as information about the company was plugged into ChatGPT-4 to generate suggestions on third-party standards by which to evaluate the ICC PBC. ISO 26000 is an International Third Party standard for how organizations contribute to social responsibility. This was chosen as the Third Party standard for the assessment of the overall social and environmental performance of the public benefit corporation due to its relevance to the mission of ICC PBC, and it’s comprehensive approach, particularly in areas such as community involvement and development.
ISO 26000 defines Social Responsibility as follows:
Social Responsibility (SR) is the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior that:
•Contributes to sustainable development, including the health and welfare of society
•Takes into account the expectations of stakeholders
•Is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behavior, and
•Is integrated throughout the organization and practiced in its relationships.
ISO 26000 identifies seven core principles that organizations should adhere to:
Accountability
Transparency
Ethical behavior
Respect for stakeholder interests
Respect for the rule of law
Respect for international norms of behavior
Respect for human rights
ICC PBC has adhered to the 7 principles of ISO 26000 as follows:
Accountability: ICC PBC was able to uphold the principles of accountability in 2023 by being answerable to its decisions and activities to all relevant governing bodies, authorities, and its stakeholders. Specifically, ICC PBC remains committed to being in compliance with all regulatory bodies and ensuring the furtherance of its mission through benefits to stakeholders.
Transparency: In 2023, ICC PBC was able to uphold the principle of transparency about its decision making processes and activities through the regular communication with its stakeholders about the positioning of the company. ICC PBC provided regular updates in the form of emails to its community members, as well as verbal updates on a regular basis in meetings and personal exchanges.
Ethical Behavior: ICC PBC adhered to the principle of ethical behavior in 2023 through a constant questioning of whether its behavior was considered right, good, and just. Additionally, ICC PBC’s core members adhered to relevant ethical codes for their professions.
Respect for Stakeholder Interests: ICC PBC upheld the principle of respect for stakeholder interests by taking into consideration all of the various stakeholders it affects. Specifically, ICC PBC has identified the following stakeholder groups: Mental Health Providers in the Community, Community Members (clients of the mental health care providers and the people they interact with), and the ICC PBC Faculty. ICC PBC takes into consideration each group when making decisions
Respect for the Rule of Law: ICC PBC upheld the principle of respect for the rule of law by complying with all applicable laws and regulations. ICC PBC is committed to operating above-board and following all applicable regulations, even those not enforced. This is evidenced by the fact that ICC PBC is generating this benefit report.
Respect for International Norms of Behavior: International Norms of Behavior are principles and behavior that is universally recognized. ICC PBC upheld International Norms of Behavior in situations with the law or it’s implementation did not provide adequate environmental or social safeguards by considering generally recognized international norms of behavior. I.e., ICC PBC did not engage in any behavior that would be considered disrespectful or harmful from international perspectives when it did not otherwise have guidance from local legislation.
Respect for Human Rights: ICC PBC upheld the principle of respect for human rights by taking into consideration vulnerable populations. ICC PBC’s stakeholders include community members that are affected by the actions and care provided by mental health care providers that the ICC PBC corresponds with. In this, ICC PBC has offered a culturally sensitive treatment approach that adopts an understanding that not all groups are always treated equally. To that end, ICC PBC strived to provide culturally competent care.
Conclusions
ICC PBC was established with a purpose and a mission in mind: to be of service. This cuts to the core of the organization’s values - we strive to provide for others. We set ourselves up as a Public Benefit Corporation to adhere to the ideal that corporations are not profit-generating machines, but, rather, entities that are established to be of service to the public. We believe that by giving, we get back. We look forward to how we can continue to grow as an organization in 2024, while continuing to reference our mission and adhere to the principles outlined in this Benefit Report.
Thanks for reading,
Cole Allen Butler
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Integrative Care Collective PBC
