Social-Org Research · Research Prompt for B Corps, Social Enterprises, NGOs, and Youth Culture Brands

One prompt, two depth modes — toggle with depth: quick | deep.

• quick: ~30 minutes, ~3 A4 pages. Covers only the 4 ⚡ dimensions (company body, brand & history, business model, content & methodology).
• deep: ~3-4 hours, ~15-20 A4-page PDF. Covers all 10 dimensions with VBC-verified clickable-link PDF output.

Why this skill differs from market-research: targets organizations whose business mixes revenue with mission — sponsored content, donor relationships, volunteer labor, paid partnerships with global NGOs, government grants, and "co-creator" rather than "sponsor" brand relationships.

When to Use

Core Framework: 10 Research Dimensions

Run deep for all 10. quick runs only the 4 ⚡ dimensions.

⚡ Dimension 1: Company Body

• Legal entities (full registered name, unified social credit code, founding date, registered capital / paid-in, registered address, legal representative)
• Organizational structure (affiliates, subsidiaries, parallel projects from same team)
• Team size (LinkedIn headcount / Crunchbase / B Lab scoring)
• Sources: Tianyancha / Aiqicha / Qixin / National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System

⚡ Dimension 2: Brand & History

• Slogan / mission / vision
• Key timeline (founding / turning points / certifications / landmark partnerships)
• Founder story (one-paragraph trajectory + core DNA)
• B Corp / co-benefit / social enterprise certifications (if any, attach B Impact Assessment score)

⚡ Dimension 3: Business Model

• Revenue categories (media / content sponsorship / training / consulting / co-branded products / event sponsorship)
• Customer structure (brand partners / NGO partners / government / international orgs)
• Business model classification: B2B / B2C / B2B2C / co-creation / impact investment
• Financial status: disclosed funding / revenue / profit (rarely available — annotate)

⚡ Dimension 4: Content Production & Methodology

• Content formats (text / video / documentary / podcast / live events / curatorial)
• Core methodology (e.g., "Appreciative Inquiry" + #For Good# framework — case study patterns)
• Narrative emphasis (what categorization is used to organize topics; what rhetoric attracts target audience)
• Cumulative reach / user base / distribution metrics

Dimension 5: Activity System

• Activity types (flagship IP / recurring events / cross-sector collaborations / co-creation competitions)
• Per-edition scale (date / venue / attendees / co-creator count / distribution)
• Execution model — internal team / volunteers / co-creators / 3rd-party vendors role split
• Per-edition execution flow (theme design → outreach → co-creation → on-site → retrospective)

Dimension 6: People Incentives & Benefits

Examine 5 identity types separately:

Dimension 7: Co-creation Network

• Joint hosts (international NGO / government / large foundation / major IP)
• Strategic co-creators (brands bringing core products / channels to solve the theme)
• Content co-creators (individual changemakers / small orgs bringing their own exhibits)
• Venues / residencies (physical space + government backing)
• Platform partners (traffic distribution / joint hashtag initiatives)

Dimension 8: Team & Culture

• Founding team backgrounds (education / career / media-journalism ratio)
• Cultural keywords (slogan / tone / visual aesthetic)
• Advisors / industry backing (Forbes / Davos / industry awards)
• Internal volunteer culture (e.g., staff also volunteer at other NGO camps)

Dimension 9: Funding & Legal

• Funding history (VC / impact investment / patient capital)
• Foundation grants (Narada / Leping / Ford / UN)
• Government programs (cultural development special funds / entrepreneurship subsidies)
• Registered vs paid-in capital
• Tax incentive eligibility (charitable donation pre-tax deduction / non-profit tax exemption)

Dimension 10: Information Gaps (honestly annotated)

• What data is officially undisclosed
• What data is inferred (e.g., "estimated salary range" must be flagged)
• What data is single-point snapshot (e.g., registered capital from one filing ≠ current scale)

Reusable User Prompt Template

Copy-paste this to Helen and fill in [target] and depth:

Research [target company / brand name], depth: [quick | deep]

Please cover the following dimensions (deep = all 10; quick = first 4 ⚡):
1. Company body (registered capital / team size)
2. Brand & history
3. Business model (revenue / customers / model)
4. Content production & methodology
5. Activity system (types / scale / execution model / role split)
6. People incentives & benefits (full-time / interns / volunteers / CAMPer / participants)
7. Co-creation network (joint hosts / strategic / content / venue / platform)
8. Team & culture
9. Funding & legal
10. Information gaps (honestly annotated)

Output requirements:
- Markdown + PDF, both deliverables
- PDF must use weasyprint + pikepdf two-stage (md-pdf-report skill's scripts/md2pdf_with_links.py)
- Every claim attached to [source](url) link
- VBC four steps: ① pdfinfo pages OK ② pikepdf /Annots ≥ MD link count × 0.5 ③ re-open PDF check all URIs HTTP(S) ④ pdftotext sample page Chinese rendering OK
- Standalone empty lines / tables / hierarchical headings
- "Unverified" and "Inferred" must be explicitly labeled

Information Source Priority (highest to lowest credibility)

Key Pitfalls (real lessons from the field)

1. Registered capital ≠ actual scale

• A ¥1M registered / ¥9K paid-in company can still be a 50-person operation
• Always cross-check LinkedIn headcount + B Lab score + office size

2. "Non-profit / public-interest" label ≠ not making money

• B Corp / social enterprise / co-benefit = company that solves social problems with commercial means
• Asking "how do they make money?" is the right question, not an insult

3. Volunteers in China are statutorily unpaid

• Volunteer Service Regulations (志愿服务条例) mandates "voluntary, unpaid, public-spirited, organized"
• Cannot charge fees under the name of volunteer service
• But can provide: meals / T-shirts / merch / experience / certificates / training / priority access
• Analyze via "5 non-cash hooks": identity marker / scarce experience / skill building / network access / résumé credit

4. "Co-creator" vs "sponsor" are two different relationships

• Co-creator: brings plan + resources + product to solve the issue (e.g., JD brings products to match the theme)
• Sponsor: pays for naming rights (traditional event sponsorship)
• The moat for top social-org players is the former, not the latter

5. "X people impacted" claims are vague

• "Inspired 150,000+ Chinese young people" (B Lab)
• "200,000+ subscribers" (WeChat OA)
• "Cumulative reach 200M" (LinkedIn)
• Always tag with date + source — these are point-in-time snapshots, not cumulative

6. Founder story ≠ organization reality

• Founder's personal narrative is brand asset, not operating reality
• Distinguish founder's story from the team's day-to-day execution

7. "Impacted X people" / "co-created with Y orgs" is marketing speak

• Third-party observation (academic / media) is more credible than self-report
• Cross-reference with peer-reviewed or independent coverage

8. Social-org players are "content companies," not "event companies"

• Core KPI is content reach, not ticket revenue
• Events are a content vehicle, not the end goal
• When asking "what does this organization live on," ask about content capability, not event revenue

Skill Coordination

Maintenance Notes

• After each real research project, append newly-discovered Pitfalls to the section above
• When new high-quality information sources appear (e.g., new industry databases), add to the priority table
• When a dimension is unsearchable for a particular org (e.g., "no funding ever"), document it in the "Information gaps" handling template