Our 2025 Certified Benefit Company Annual Report
Public Benefit Purpose
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy is an Oregon Certified Benefit Company organized to provide legal and strategic services that strengthen mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, mutual aid groups, and socially responsible businesses. Our public benefit purpose is to expand access to knowledge, reduce systemic barriers, and support equitable, community-rooted economic activity.
We believe business is more than profit. It is a tool for resilience, accountability, and change. Our work is guided by four core brand tenets that shape how we operate, who we serve, and how we measure impact: Empowerment Through Knowledge, Intentional Problem Solving, Community Partnerships, and Equity in Action.
For purposes of decision-making, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy considers clients, community organizations, partners, public institutions, and the broader nonprofit and small business ecosystem as key stakeholders.
Company Overview and Mission
In uncertain political, economic, and social times, mission-driven organizations need strong legal and strategic support to remain resilient and effective. Narwhal Law and Business Strategy exists to meet that need.
As a Certified Benefit Company, we are committed to balancing profit with purpose and prioritizing social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and community well-being in every aspect of our work. We do not simply advise mission-driven organizations. We are one.
Narwhal provides legal and strategic guidance to nonprofits, mutual aid organizations, benefit companies, social enterprises, wellness businesses, and environmental initiatives. Our services include formation, governance and compliance, contracts and risk management, strategic planning, and organizational resilience.
Our Owner and Principal Attorney, Michael Jonas, JD, MBA, is the founder of Rational Unicorn Legal Services and previously served as its owner. His work is rooted in the belief that changemakers deserve clear guidance and trusted partnership, particularly during periods of uncertainty and transition.
Why Narwhal? Like the resilient and community-oriented creatures we are named for, we lead with integrity, adaptability, and innovation. We partner with our clients to navigate complexity and create lasting impact.
Values and Ethical Commitments
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy operates with a clear set of values that inform decision-making, client selection, service design, and community engagement. These values guide how the firm exercises professional judgment and fulfills its public benefit obligations.
Narwhal believes that legal and strategic services should be accessible, transparent, and grounded in care for people and communities. We prioritize clarity over complexity, partnership over hierarchy, and long-term stewardship over short-term gain.
Integrity and accountability guide our professional conduct. We approach our work with honesty, rigor, and respect for fiduciary duties, ethical obligations, and the trust placed in us by clients and community partners.
Narwhal values community-rooted leadership and believes sustainable impact is created through collaboration rather than isolation. We seek alignment with organizations and partners whose missions reflect shared commitments to equity, dignity, and responsible use of resources.
These values are operationalized through our Brand Tenets and reflected throughout our governance practices, community engagement, and public benefit activities.
Brand Tenets in Practice
Empowerment Through Knowledge
Narwhal prioritizes education as a core deliverable. During the reporting period, we delivered workshops, trainings, and plain-language resources designed to demystify legal, regulatory, and operational systems. Our approach emphasizes understanding over dependency, equipping organizations with the tools and confidence to lead sustainably.
Intentional Problem Solving
Recognizing that no two organizations face the same challenges, Narwhal designs legal and strategic approaches tailored to each organization’s mission, values, and long-term goals. This intentionality allows us to address root causes, reduce risk, and support durable solutions rather than temporary fixes.
Community Partnerships
Narwhal believes organizations thrive when they are connected to the communities they serve. We collaborate with chambers of commerce, community organizations, consultants, and public-sector partners to strengthen the broader ecosystem through shared learning and coordinated support.
Equity in Action
Equity is embedded in how we choose work, structure services, and define success. Narwhal prioritizes supporting under-resourced, culturally specific, and historically excluded organizations through flexible pricing, accessible education, and values-aligned legal practice.
Community Education and Engagement
Public-facing education and ecosystem-building are central to Narwhal Law and Business Strategy’s public benefit mission.
During the reporting period, Narwhal organized and hosted 19 community events through its Learning with a Porpoise and CORAL Chat programs. These offerings included workshops, trainings, and facilitated conversations focused on legal compliance, governance, risk management, and organizational sustainability for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations.
Firm leadership also served as a guest speaker or presenter at more than 30 external events, contributing legal and strategic expertise to conferences, panels, seminars, and community gatherings hosted by partner organizations.
These engagements expanded access to practical legal knowledge, reduced information barriers, and strengthened cross-sector relationships across the nonprofit, small business, and community organization ecosystem.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice Statement
At Narwhal Law and Business Strategy, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice are essential practices that guide how we work, who we serve, and how we measure success.
We recognize that systemic inequities shape access to power, capital, and opportunity. Our work intentionally prioritizes disadvantaged, historically excluded, and underrepresented communities through legal and strategic services designed to challenge inequitable systems rather than reinforce them.
Equity requires responsiveness, not uniformity. We tailor guidance to meet organizations where they are, while inclusion and belonging mean creating spaces where voices are respected, heard, and treated as essential to decision-making.
Justice informs how we evaluate impact. We actively support policies, practices, and systems that promote dignity, accountability, and fairness, and we continually assess whether our actions align with our stated values.
Sustainability Statement
Sustainability is integral to how Narwhal Law and Business Strategy operates. We minimize environmental impact by maintaining an almost paperless office, using cloud-based legal tools, and prioritizing virtual meetings to reduce travel-related emissions. We partner with local vendors who share our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.
We also support clients whose work centers environmental justice and long-term social impact, ensuring that our legal and strategic services contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.
Certifications, Standards, and Accountability
During this reporting period, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy achieved and maintained several certifications that reinforce accountability, transparency, and alignment with its public benefit mission.
Narwhal is a Certified Oregon Benefit Company and applies the standards and best practices set forth by Benefit Corporations for Good, a nationally recognized organization supporting benefit companies in aligning governance, operations, and impact with public benefit commitments.
The firm is also certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce as an LGBTQ+ Business Enterprise. This certification verifies that the business is at least 51 percent owned, operated, and controlled by LGBTQ+ individuals and is widely recognized by corporations and government agencies engaged in inclusive procurement.
Additionally, Narwhal holds COBID Emerging Small Business certification through the Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity, supporting participation in public contracting and inclusive economic development.
These certifications represent verified commitments and ongoing accountability rather than symbolic designations.
Leadership and Community Engagement
The Firm Owner and Principal Attorney serves on several nonprofit boards and advisory committees, contributing legal, governance, and strategic expertise in support of community-led work. Current and recent board and committee service includes:
• Oregon Pride in Business Advocacy Committee
• Benefit Corporations for Good Advisory Committee
• Pride Northwest Board of Directors
• Portland Farmers Market Board of Directors
• Act Lead, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
In addition to formal board and committee service, the Firm Owner engages in volunteer leadership and advisory roles from time to time, including but not limited to:
• Volunteer judge and mentor for pitch competitions
• Business mentorship and advisory support through the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship and related programs
This service strengthens Narwhal’s understanding of the real-world operational, governance, and compliance challenges organizations face and directly informs the firm’s practical, client-centered approach. All board, committee, and volunteer service is undertaken with care to uphold fiduciary responsibilities, professional ethics, and conflict-of-interest standards.
Nonprofit Resilience, Readiness, and Ecosystem Leadership
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy remains actively engaged in the broader conversation around nonprofit sustainability, resilience, and accountability. The firm has been front and center in discussions with nonprofit leaders, funders, and public partners about how organizations can adapt to prolonged uncertainty while continuing to serve their communities with integrity.
During the reporting period, Narwhal launched a dedicated Resilience and Readiness section on its website, providing practical guidance and legal context for nonprofits navigating moments of transition.
In the coming year, Narwhal is prepared to support nonprofits of all types as they evaluate options to narrow focus, consolidate operations, restructure, or dissolve. This work is viewed as a critical public benefit that supports compliance, dignity, and responsible stewardship of community resources.
Narwhal is also prepared to contribute to community resource mapping, shared infrastructure initiatives, and coordinated efficiency efforts that strengthen collective capacity and reduce unnecessary duplication across the nonprofit ecosystem.
NarwhalPod and Shared Community Infrastructure
During the reporting period, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy built and introduced NarwhalPod, a curated network and shared platform connecting nonprofits, small businesses, and community organizations with trusted, values-aligned professional service providers.
NarwhalPod is designed to reduce fragmentation, improve transparency, and support coordination across legal, financial, creative, operational, and strategic services. The platform reflects the belief that sustainable organizations thrive within strong, well-connected ecosystems rather than isolated support structures.
Educational resources, community programming, and shared tools offered through NarwhalPod are intended to support general understanding and capacity building and do not replace individualized legal advice. Narwhal Law and Business Strategy maintains strict client confidentiality and professional responsibility standards across all services and platforms.
PSU MBA Capstone Partnership
To support the thoughtful expansion of NarwhalPod, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy will partner with a four-member Portland State University MBA Capstone team during the first half of 2026.
The Capstone team will assist with strategic planning, operational design, and growth modeling for NarwhalPod, helping ensure the platform scales responsibly while remaining aligned with the firm’s public benefit purpose. This partnership supports experiential learning while strengthening a community-centered initiative.
Digital Treasure Chest of Community Resources
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy is developing a Digital Treasure Chest of practical, ready-to-use resources designed to help community organizations navigate legal, governance, and operational challenges quickly and affordably.
Resources are organized into four categories: Activities, Checklists, Information Guides, and Document Templates. These tools are designed to increase access to reliable guidance, reduce cost barriers, and support organizational confidence when full legal engagement is not necessary.
Contract Readiness and Public Sector Engagement
During the reporting period, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy intentionally built internal capacity, systems, and certifications to support public-sector and large-scale organizational work. The firm engaged in readiness conversations with city and county departments, grantmaking organizations, and entities overseeing chartered, regional, or affiliated organizations.
In the coming year, Narwhal is prepared and enthusiastic about entering into a variety of contract-based engagements aligned with its public benefit mission.
Assessment of Public Benefit Performance
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy uses the standards and principles set forth by Benefit Corporations for Good as a guiding framework for evaluating public benefit performance.
The firm also evaluates impact using a qualitative, mission-aligned approach, including expanded access to knowledge, strengthened governance and compliance, organizational clarity during transition, and feedback emphasizing trust, empowerment, and usefulness.
Goals for the Coming Year
In the year ahead, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy will focus on supporting community organizations navigating sustained uncertainty. Many nonprofits and mission-driven entities are facing funding constraints, regulatory pressure, leadership transitions, and external instability.
Narwhal plans to expand support for organizations narrowing scope, consolidating operations, restructuring, or dissolving. These transitions, when handled legally and ethically, are viewed as a meaningful public benefit.
During the reporting period, Narwhal refined its slogan from Helping mission-driven organizations navigate ever-changing waters to maximize social impact to Guiding community through the current, reflecting a commitment to steady, present-moment guidance.
Organizational Capacity and Growth
In 2026, Narwhal Law and Business Strategy plans to thoughtfully expand its team, potentially adding one or two attorneys and a client service manager. Growth decisions will prioritize financial stability, operational sustainability, equitable workloads, client experience, and alignment with the firm’s public benefit mission.
Conclusion and Approval
Narwhal Law and Business Strategy remains committed to demonstrating that legal and strategic services can be rigorous, humane, and equity-driven. This Annual Benefit Report reflects accountability to the communities served and a belief that guiding organizations through uncertainty is itself a meaningful public benefit.
This Annual Benefit Report was prepared by Narwhal Law and Business Strategy and approved by firm leadership as an accurate reflection of the company’s public benefit activities and commitments for the reporting period.
