(Continued) 2. What advantages and disadvantages may have accompanied the conversion to a nonprofit in 2011? 3. Larry Harvey thought that creating a nonprofit in 2011 would preserve Burning Man's original culture and values better than continuing as a limited liability company. Yet, by 2019, some people thought that the event had evolved away from those original principles. What do you think might have been the causes of that change? Did it have anything to do with Burning Man's legal status or was it attributable to other things? Would the shift still have occurred if it had been a nonprofit from the start? CASE 2.3 Burning Man In 1986, Larry Harvey and a few friends gathered at Baker Beach in San Francisco and set an eight-foot tall wooden man on fire. This rebellious symbolic action, burning "The Man," became an annual tradition. More friends joined, and, in 1990, the event moved to a larger space in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. By 2018, Burning Man attracted 70,000 people and had become a nine- day event (Holson, 2018). Every year, "burners," as par- ticipants are called, form a temporary community in the desert, which has become known as Black Rock City. Burning Man is dedicated to ten philosophical principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodifi- cation, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy (Burning Man, 2019). During the annual event, there are displays of art and spontaneous entertainment, and people wear creative costumes, but it is more than a traditional festival. Individuals pay to attend, but no money is exchanged during the event itself. Burners are expected to bring all of their own shelter, food, water, and power and, consistent with the leave-no-trace ethic, to remove everything and return the space to its natural state at the conclusion (Walske, 2018). In 1997, the Burning Man event had grown to the point that it needed some type of legal structure in order to conduct business and manage risk. Harvey considered forming a nonprofit, but was reluctant to give up control to an independent board as the law might require (Burning Man, n.d.). Instead, he and five other partners formed a for-profit, limited liability company (LLC), called Black Rock City, LLC. Those six individuals, including Harvey, were the owners. However, by 2011, the partners became concerned that the LLC structure might become problematic in the future. For one thing, it would permit the owners to pass along their interests to heirs, who might not share the values of Burning Man. They also thought Questions Related to Case 2.3 1. In addition to retaining more control, what other advantages of the limited liability company (LLC) form may have been attractive it might not be an appropriate form to support global expansion and undertake philanthropic initiatives, such as supporting the arts (Creedon, 2014). The partners decided to form a new nonprofit organization, the Burning Man Project (BMP), which would become the sole owner of the existing LLC (Burning Man, 2014). The individual partners received compensation for their past work, but they gave their shares in the LLC to the new nonprofit, remaining involved as members of the nonprofit board (Walske, 2018). In 2016, various donors gave funds to acquire a permanent site for BMP, but the organization's reve- nues continued to be primarily from the sale of tickets to the annual event, totaling almost $38 million that year (Walske, 2018). What has become known as "Burner culture" has spread beyond Black Rock City, with independent but similar events now held in various countries (Walske, 2018). Over the years, the annual event in Nevada has also evolved. Despite its philosophical emphasis on egalitarianism and anti-commercialization, Burning Man ticket prices in 2019 ranged as high as $1,400, and the event had come to be popular with celebri- ties and Silicon Valley billionaires, some of whom were setting up luxury camps and bringing their own chefs and bodyguards (Warren, 2019). One site offered a "culinary and beverage program which focuses on raw and cooked organic food," "yoga retreats," "medita- tion and energy healing sessions," and "artists and DJs to align your heart pace with the beats of our sets" (Boucher, 2019). In 2019, Marian Goodell, BMP's chief execu- tive, announced new rules and reduced ticket prices. intended to achieve a more diverse community and return Burning Man to its original values. Noting the trend toward upscale campsites and commercializa- tion of the event, she wrote, "Seriously, people, this really isn't Burning Man" (Holson, 2019). to Larry Harvey and the other founders of Burning Man in 1997? (Continued)