The crux seems to be “Instead of ‘going public,’ you could say we’re ‘going purpose.’ …100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. The funding will come from Patagonia: Each year, the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis.”
I’m interested in this approach because it seems totally compatible with current business models (avoiding some of the worst non-profit incentive and oversight snarls) while still providing funding legitimately dedicated to advance the purpose. If this works, it might be a good framework for other purposes as well.