Social Entrepreneurship

Nearly three decades later, social entrepreneurship is a term that continues to gain in popularity. As a growing number of people embrace new approaches to solving social problems, social entrepreneurship is gaining momentum as an option that can fundamentally change our communities.

When we shifted our investment focus to building sustainable enterprises with our nonprofit partners, we sought to develop a model that encourages greater collaboration. Coupled with sharing best practices, resources, increased networking, and communication between the community partners and staff, we embarked on a journey to help organizations build their enterprises.

We know these changes demand significant effort - organizationally, culturally and individually. We are encouraged by the growing collaboration between nonprofit, government and business sectors. The creation of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, within the White House, is a positive step in the right direction.

The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation will coordinate efforts to enlist all Americans – individuals, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, corporations and foundations – as partners in solving our country’s greatest challenges. Its first director, Sonal Shah, has set a goal of engaging in discussions on what innovations are currently taking place and to analyze their effectiveness. To learn more about Ms. Shah's recent trip to the Bay Area, please read Tessie Guillermo's blog on Data, The Feds and Cool Geeks.

In the spirit of collaboration and sharing best practices, we recently hosted a dialogue with one of the pioneers and practitioners of SROI (social return on investment) and founder of Blended Value, Jed Emerson. He was joined by Sara Olsen, founding partner of Social Venture Technology Group. Ms. Olsen has led the firm to become a world leader specializing in the development of frameworks for measuring the value of intangibles, and communicating this value in terms practical for entrepreneurs, managers and investors. View Jed Emerson's definition of SROI or listen to Sara Olsen's presentation.

As interest in social enterprise spreads globally, the conversations and contributions of experts enrich the field in working to address some of the world's most pressing problems. Watch the video of a panel of experts as they discuss the future of social enterprise.