Social Entrepreneurship

"Nonprofits have to recognize that they're businesses, not just causes. There's a way to combine the very best of the not-for-profit, philanthropic world with the very best of the for-profit, enterprising world. This hybrid is the wave of the future for both profit and nonprofit companies."
-- From "Genius At Work" - an interview with Bill Strickland, CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the Bidwell Training Center Inc.

The nonprofit environment has changed.

Community needs are growing in size and diversity.
More nonprofits are competing for government and philanthropic funds.
Traditional forms of funding are becoming smaller and less reliable.
New for-profit businesses are competing with nonprofits to serve community needs.
Funders and donors are demanding more accountability.

In the face of this new reality, an increasing number of forward-looking nonprofits are beginning to appreciate the increased revenue, focus and effectiveness that can come from adopting "for profit" business approaches. Increasingly, they are reinventing themselves as social entrepreneurs, combining "the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination."
-- From "The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship" by J. Gregory Dees.

Useful Publication
A healthy nonprofit organization often has highly diversified sources of funding, for example, from individual donors, foundations, corporations and governemts. Nonprofit leaders who are looking to diversify their funding base and decrease their reliance on donors often develop earned-income ventures where they generate profits which, in turn, are spent on improving the nonprofit's services to the community. Earned-income is a form of social entrepreneurship, an increasingly popular topic among nonprofits. If you are considering an earned-income venture or to improve an already established earned-income venture, then obtain the publication, Venture Forth!: The Essential Guide to Starting a Moneymaking Business in Your Nonprofit Organization.

Coping With Cutbacks: The Nonprofit Guide to Success When Times Are Tight will give you lots of ideas about what to do when your nonprofit doesn't have lots of money, has lost a major grant, etc.

Categories of information include (in order they're typically used)
About Social Entrepreneurship
Various Organizations

Also See These Closely Related Library Links
Feasibility Study -- "Should I Really Start a New Venture?

Basic Guidelines for Program Design and Marketing
Product/Service Management
Program Design and Marketing
E-Commerce -- Doing Business on the Internet/Web
Starting a Nonprofit Organization
Free, On-Line, Self-Paced Program to Completely Build/Strengthen Your Nonprofit
Starting a For-Profit Business (can help nonprofits starting an earned-income venture)

Free, On-line, Complete Training Programs That Include This Topic!
This topic is also included in the Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA learning module Marketing Your Programs. This complete, "nuts and bolts", free training program is geared to leaders, managers, consultants and volunteers who serve nonprofit organizations.

Tell friends and professional organizations about these free programs! Advertise them in your newsletters and web sites so that others can save training dollars, too!

About Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship "Toolkit"
This "toolkit" contains an extensive annotated listing of resources about social entrepreneurship, including articles, reports, events, books and workbooks, resources and organizations on the web, consultants and other resource providers.

The toolkit is part of our workshop, "Social Entrepreneurship: An Introductory Workshop for Nonprofit Leaders", offered by our firm. Contact Authenticity Consulting, LLC, partner, Andy Horsnell, for additional information.
Social Entrepreneurship "Toolkit"

Other Perspectives
The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship
Frequently Asked Questions About Nonprofit Entreprise
What is a Social Entrepreneur?
The Citizen Sector: Becoming as Entrepreneurial and Competitive as Business
Miningco on Social Entrepreneurship
Social Enterprise Meets Venture Capital

Various Organizations
Ashoka -- Innovators for the Public
Community Wealth
Roberts Enterprise Development Fund
Social Enterprise Alliance
Social Venture Network
The Initiative on Social Enterprise at Harvard Business School
Social Enterprise Coalition

On-Line Discussion Groups
The main on-line group about social enterprise is the npEnterprise Forum, started by our firm, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. For more information go to:
npEnterprise Forum

There are a large number of on-line discussion groups, newsletters (e-zines), etc. in the overall areas of management, business and organization development. Participants, subscribers, etc., can get answers to their questions and learn a lot just by posing the questions to the groups, sharing insights about their experiences, etc. Join some groups and sign up for some newsletters!
References to major egroups, newsletters, etc.
The Enterprise Development Website Discussion Groups and Listservs
Nonprofit Social Enterprise (also see vast "links" at this site!)

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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Copyright 1999, Authenticity Consulting, LLC
Library and its contents are not to be used to generate profits
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