YIKES, Inc. to be Among First to Become Benefit Corporation
Award-winning web designer YIKES, Inc. will be among the first companies in Pennsylvania to become a benefit corporation, when the company files its amended articles of incorporation at a ceremony held January 22, 2013 at the Independence Visitor Center in
Philadelphia. Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele was on hand to accept YIKES’ registration as a benefit corporation. YIKES, based in Philadelphia and committed to sustainable business practices, is represented by member, Gabrielle J. Sellei.

Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that have passed legislation creating benefit corporations, which allows sustainably minded companies to adopt a corporate structure that frees them of the traditional corporation’s requirement to maximize profit and shareholder returns. A benefit corporation allows –and requires — its directors to take into account “public benefits” that include the environment, the community and other constituents, some of whom may have no direct connection to the entity. Under the new Pennsylvania law, any corporation that elects benefit corporation status must, in addition to its stated business purpose, also adopt a purpose of creating a “public benefit,” and must also file an annual benefit report and fulfill other requirements of the law in order to maintain benefit corporation status. “The opportunity to elect benefit corporation status gives companies the ability to continue their traditional business mission while allowing them the ability to benefit the wider community,” says Sellei. “YIKES does everything it does with integrity and with the wider community in mind, and is the paradigm of the benefit corporation. I congratulate the Pennsylvania legislature for catching up to YIKES and the many other ventures across the Commonwealth who share YIKES’ commitment to people, planet and profit.”

YIKES, Inc. is a Philadelphia-based, full-service, web design and development company. YIKES builds smart, effective, creative web solutions for businesses and non-profit organizations. As a company, YIKES has been dedicated to sustainable business practices since 1996. The company is committed to building a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable local economy, YIKES is a socially responsible business observing the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit. YIKES is proud to have earned B Corporation Certification and is a member and sponsor of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. YIKES received the 2011 B Corporation Award “Most Inspirational Project,” and the Triple Bottom Line Award at the 2005 Social Venture Institute. The YIKES office is located in a LEED Platinum certified building and is powered by 100% Renewable electricity. Additionally, YIKES is a certified Woman Owned Business by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities and City of Philadelphia Office of Economic Opportunity.

To learn more about YIKES, Inc., visit www.yikesinc.com, email info@yikesinc.com, or call 215-238-8801.

Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC has been providing legal services to a wide range of enterprises throughout the region, including serving as outside general counsel for middle market
companies, startups and non-profit organizations, providing niche services to multinational corporations and general legal advice to many long-standing business clients. With 18 attorneys, the firm focuses on these areas of law: corporate, business transactions, commercial litigation, non-profits, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, real estate, employment, health care, bankruptcy, trusts and estates, and arts, entertainment and media law.

Gabrielle J. Sellei is a member of the business and intellectual property practice groups, and a founding member of the arts, entertainment and media law practice group at Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC.
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