America's
most caffeinated city (where a single downtown
intersection has no fewer than four Starbucks
outlets) recently witnessed the opening of yet
another haven for java junkies.
Unlike
for-profit ventures, social enterprises need
a business plan that addresses both financial
goals and social goals. Sutia Kim Alter describes
the process of creating such a plan. She
also offers specific guidelines for measuring
an enterprise's social impact.
A
new World Wide Web site features nonprofit business
ventures operated by groups that help the homeless.
It's a window into homeless economic development,
and illustrates how other nonprofits might use
the Web to publicize their work. It also displays
some of the difficulties of maintaining a Web
site for groups with good intentions but scarce
resources.
The
principles of "social entrepreneurism"
have had a transforming effect on New Economy
philanthropists. For the social service agencies
that embrace those principles, the effects may
be even more profound. The leaders of one such
agency, Community Vocational Enterprises in
San Francisco, report on the impact that this
new way of doing business has had on their own
organizational culture.
Jed
Letterman's Top Ten List of Famous Last Words
of Failed Social Entrepreneurs.
Grassroots
fundraising expert Joan Flanagan says that selling
products and services is one of the easiest
ways for nonprofits to earn income. She explains
how to move beyond donations and grants, and
begin generating revenue with sales and fees.
Should
a nonprofit corporation form a subsidiary when
it starts a business venture? Not necessarily.
Creating a subsidiary can protect the parent
corporation from liability and might attract
new revenue. But keeping the venture in-house
can save start-up costs and assure greater control.
Brad Caftel, of the National Economic Development
and Law Center, explains the pros and cons of
both approaches.
For anyone interested
in learning by nonprofit entrepreneurship, there's
no shortage of monographs and theories. But
where do you go to find good models of real-life
ventures? Idan Ivri has scoped out the territory
and discovered a number of useful case studies,
descriptive profiles, and instructive examples.
Starting
an earned-income venture takes more than a good
idea. It also takes careful planning.
Rolfe Larson shows how to assess venture ideas
and how to decide which ones are worth pursuing.
Unlike
for-profit business owners, social entrepreneurs
cannot measure the success of their efforts
in financial terms alone. As a result,
they encounter different obstacles-as well as
different opportunities-in marshaling the resources
needed to make their ventures viable.
J. Gregory Dees of the Stanford Business School
explains how to assess resource needs in a way
that is truly entrepreneurial, and how to devise
a resource-smart operating structure for nonprofit
ventures. He also gives ten tips for reducing
the amount of cash required during the startup
stages of an enterprise.
Capitalizing
on the recent surge of consumer interest in
e-commerce, a number of new Web sites are bringing
cause-related marketing to the internet. CharityMall,
iGive, Shop2Give, GreaterGood and similar "virtual
malls" attract shoppers by pledging to convey
a percentage of sales to selected charities.
What's in it for consumers, and what's in it
for the charities?
What
role should the board play in planning and implementing
an enterprise? Here's a list of issues
to consider and roadblocks to avoid.
