Law Commons^™

The Legal Regulation Of U.S. Crowdfunding: An Organically Evolving Patchwork, Joan Macleod Heminway

Scholarly Works

The legal regulation of crowdfunding in the United States is neither well calibrated nor holistic. With the exception of specific securities regulation legislation, the regulation of crowdfunding under U.S. law exists as an extension of principles of pre-existing regulation to a specific new and continually changing Internet-based financing space. As a result, while some common consumer protection objectives can be identified, the legal regulatory approach to crowdfunding did not develop through deliberate, rational choice based on coherent public policy objectives. Instead, it arose and evolved by necessity in response to the spontaneous and natural origination and development of crowdfunding as …

Selling Crowdfunded Equity: A New Frontier, Joan Macleod Heminway

Scholarly Works

This article briefly offers information and observations about federal securities law transfer restrictions imposed on holders of equity securities purchased in offerings that are exempt from federal registration under the CROWDFUND Act, Title III of the JOBS Act. The article first generally describes crowdfunding and the federal securities regulation regime governing offerings conducted through equity crowdfunding — most typically, the offer and sale of shares of common or preferred stock in a corporation over the Internet — in a transaction exempt from federal registration under the CROWDFUND Act and the related rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. …

Financing Social Enterprise: Is The Crowd The Answer?, Joan Macleod Heminway

Scholarly Works

How does a business that wants “do good” while doing well finance its operations? In particular, how does a business of that kind find investors who understand and are committed to both its nonfinancial and financial objectives? This chapter addresses issues at the intersection of corporate governance and corporate finance with those questions in mind. Specifically, the pages that follow assess common foundational elements of social enterprise and crowdfunding and whether crowdfunding may be a promising (or even suitable) source of funding for social enterprise businesses.

As young popular and populist corporate governance and corporate finance adventures, social enterprise and …