Proceedings of 3rd Global Business and Finance Research Conference
9 - 10 October 2014, Howard Civil Service International House, Taipei, Taiwan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-61-0
Paradigmatic Shifts in the Regulatory Environment of Social
Entrepreneurs: Stricter Oversight of American Nonprofits
Robert Wu and Dennis Anderson
New York State’s Non-Profit Revitalization Act became effective as of July 1, 2014 and it brings
sweeping regulatory changes to non-profit organizations throughout the State. Among many goals,
the Act seeks to reduce regulatory barriers for social entrepreneurs seeking to form non-profit
organizations while holding the stewards of non-profits organizations accountable for their leadership
amid of numerous high profile scandals. The recent changes in New York’s laws are in line with a
broader trend in many American jurisdictions seeking to lower barriers to non-profit formation while
simultaneously achieving greater oversight of these organizations. For example, two other States,
Utah and Iowa, have relatively recently enacted revised non-profit laws (i.e., effective dates of April
30, 2001 and January 1, 2005, respectively) with similar goals as New York. With the amended laws,
social entrepreneurs seeking to operate non-profit organizations in the United States will experience
a paradigmatic shift in the way they operate as changes in the regulatory environments bring more
accountability to the mostly unchecked and less regulated non-profit industry. This paper explores
the similarities and differences in recently enacted non-profit laws between New York and two other
States, Utah and Iowa, and it analyzes those regulatory schemes within the broader context of a
changing regulatory landscape in the United States for non-profits. This paper further analyzes the
impact of the changes to those States’ laws on the operations of non-profit organizations and
conclude about the predicted impact that New York’s regulatory changes will have on its non-profits.
Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Non-Profit Regulation, New York Non-Profit Revitalization Act of 2013,
Non-Profit Organization, Governance, Leadership

Robert Wu, J.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting & Business Law; Assistant Director of Programs at the
Center For Entrepreneurship, St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Email: rwu@sfc.edu

Dennis Anderson, Ph.D., Professor & Chair, Department of Management & Information Technology; Executive Director
at the Center For Entrepreneurship, St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Email: danderson@sfc.edu,