When he was a finalist for “The Most Generous Business in America” award back in 1999, Hal Taussig was invited along with the other finalists to New York for a big gala where the winner of this prestigious award would be announced. When the award organizers were meeting all the finalists, they found out Hal was staying at a local hostel and not at the Waldorf Astoria where all the others were staying. They apologized for what must have been a mistake, to which Hal said, “There’s no mistake. Until everybody has a roof over their head, I’ll be staying at the hostel.”
Many of you in the community of Certified B Corporations likely don’t know the name Hal Taussig — and in his humility, Hal would probably like to keep it that way. But Hal played a pivotal role in launching the B Corp movement, and his legacy is one that continues to inspire us and remind us what matters most as we go about the business of changing the world.
Hal Taussig had many careers before ultimately founding UnTours back in the early 1970s as a slow travel company operating across Europe. He went into business to provide meaningful experiences that reconnect people to each other and to the Earth. As it turned out, he was onto something. The business grew as people were drawn to this genuine way of traveling, but Hal didn’t want to keep the profits for himself or his family. So he created a business model that — to this day — has donated 100% of UnTours’ profits to the UnTours Foundation to be reinvested in mission aligned businesses across the world who are at the forefront of advancing social, environmental, and economic justice.
Since its inception, the UnTours Foundation has provided over $10 million in catalytic capital to launch and grow world-changing businesses. From local investments in our home community outside Philadelphia to early support of Fair Trade Certified companies to funding other B Corps across the world, our focus is on supporting entrepreneurs who would otherwise face challenges accessing affordable capital. We are proud to have made over 350 investments to businesses that are driving solutions to the challenges we collectively face.
Hal was a social entrepreneur and impact investor long before those terms even existed. He had a fundamental belief that, “If capitalism is good, it must be good for the poor.” As someone who truly lived his beliefs and values, Hal not only gave away every cent of his company’s profits, he also didn’t take a salary or receive any compensation from UnTours. In fact, one year UnTours was audited by the IRS, and the only thing they found odd was that Hal was not taking a salary. They levied a fine, Hal agreed to take a salary, then promptly signed it over entirely to the foundation.
He believed in and modeled sharing, period. He even gave away his car to a hitchhiker one day and rode his bike to work for the rest of his career. This practice of generosity and radical kindness fully translated into how Hal ran his business. He was simply living his values, and Hal’s contemporaries continue to remark on how truly joyful he was as he went about the business of making capitalism work for everyone.
Celebrating the Recipients of the Hal Taussig Award
During the late 1990s, Hal got connected with the individuals who went on to become the co-founders of B Lab. According to B Lab Co-Founder Jay Coen Gilbert, “Hal said some of the most challenging, provocative, and aspirational things to me that really inspired the B Corp movement to get off a piece of paper and into the real world.” Jay has written more about the influence that Hal had on him personally elsewhere, including in this piece.
Now, at every Champions Retreat, B Lab U.S. & Canada presents the Hal Taussig Award to an individual who most embodies the highest aspirations of the B Corp movement. First given in 2011, the award has been given to 12 exceptional individuals who carry on the vibrant, tenacious, and loving spirit of Hal by leading their respective B Corps to new heights of impact and radical kindness.
To learn more about the Hal Taussig Award recipients, read the original article at B The Change.
