Social entrepreneurship is neither corporate philanthropy nor a sexy new name for non-profit. It is...
Martin Montero
I've heard this many many times, just received an email portraying a charitable giving program as "social entrepreneurship" and there been some confusion as to what the Austin Social Innovation Hub is about. Thus I'm sending this to clear the air.
A small, large or global business donating some of their profits to a their favorite cause and/or non profit is corporate philanthropy which is very different from social entrepreneurship. Unless that business investment 100% of it's profits back into it self to further it's mission as described by noble peace prize winner for pioneering the field of microfinance. that is called a social business. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_business and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW-4gJmXy5M
While 501 c3s can be a social entrepreneurial venture it is not a and interchangeable concept. regardless of how socially beneficial a 501 c 3 is if it's entirely donor and/or grant dependent and does not have income streams (profit) and specially if it does not incorporate and empower those it's trying to serve to be part of the solution by opening opportunity from them to prosper not dependent hand outs and other forms of welfare.
What is Social Entrepreneurship?
The Skoll Foundation’s CEO Sally Osberg and the University of Toronto’s Roger Martin assert that social entrepreneurs:
- Address a pressing need relative to “the exclusion, marginalization, or suffering of a segment of humanity that lacks the financial means or political clout to achieve any transformative benefit on its own.”
- Identify an opportunity by “developing a social value proposition, and bringing to bear inspiration, creativity, direct action, courage, and fortitude.”.
- Create a new paradigm which “releases trapped potential or alleviates the suffering of the targeted group, and through imitation and the creation of a stable ecosystem ensure a better future for the targeted group and society at large.”
A social entrepreneur identifies and solves social problems on a large scale. Just as business entrepreneurs create and transform whole industries, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss in order to improve systems, invent and disseminate new approaches and advance sustainable solutions that create social value.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/
Social innovation is a sustainable initiative, product or process which profoundly changes the basic routines, resource and authority flows or beliefs of any social system. Successful social innovations are therefore disruptive and have durability, impact and scale.
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/webgoddesscathy/a-framework-for-social-innovation-presentation
What do social entrepreneurs do?
In an article published in the 2007 Nexus magazine, GSBI Director James L. Koch outlines key principles necessary to
break down barriers and make markets work for everyone.
- Address issues of injustice and inequality
- Overcome “civil engineering deficits”
- Enable access to capital for the poor
- Address barriers to internet access
- Solve distribution problems to make markets inclusive
- Overcome market inefficiency and failures
- Localize technology to seve marginalized population
- Address skill shortages as barriers to service delivery
- Address “non-consumption” through social marketing
- Develop Bottom of the Pyramid innovation ecologies
- Foster a vibrant civil society
here are some great examples of what social entrepreneurship looks like.
http://www.scu.edu/sts/nexus/fall2007/breaking-down-barriers.cfm
ClearlySo maintains a thorough glossary of related http://www.clearlyso.com/glossary.jsf
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/rediscovering_social_innovation
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/social_entrepreneurship_revisited/
http://www.ashoka.org/social_entrepreneur
http://www.scu.edu/sts/activityareas/socialentrepreneurship.cfm