Chapter 6: Social Impact from Non-Profits to Social Entrepreneurship
Description
As you will read, social entrepreneurship is growing in Canada as companies expand their focus on not just making a positive impact. Of course, positive social impact can come from the not-for-profit organizations, which require fundraising in order to be effective, but can also be more traditional corporations looking to make a positive impact while still making a profit. In this module we will explore the difference between these types organizations.
Learning Goals
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Define social entrepreneurship and differentiate it from other forms of social impact
- Generate funding sources for non-profit organizations
- Determine appropriate funding sources for an organization looking to make a positive impact
What is Social Entrepreneurship?
Let’s start with social entrepreneurship. Based on your previous understanding, make an inference as to what you think social entrepreneurship means.
In the article, you will learn more about social entrepreneurship, how such organization functions and their role in sustainable development. When you are finished, check your understanding on the quiz below.
Knowledge Check: Social Entrepreneurship
Watch
With the difference between non-profits and social entrepreneurs now clear, watch the following video “How Successful’ Non-Profits Raise More Money” to learn more about the various sources of funding for non-profit organizations.
As you learned from the video there are many different types of funding, the best type of funding depends on the type of organization you are running.
If you’re thinking that individual donations might be the biggest fundraising source… if you have a compelling story, a strong brand and a mission that is very clear and easy to understand then your cause might be a good fit for getting a large amount of individual donations
Knowledge Check
Key Terms
- Social Entrepreneurship: “Social entrepreneurship is really about developing business opportunities that have positive impact. It’s using your business as a force for good, looking at the company’s role in this world and the ways the business can influence positive change,” (Reid, n.d.).
- Grant: A sum of money that is given by the government or other organization to perform a specific activity or fulfill an expectation (White, 1975).
- Investor: An individual (or organization) which gives money to a business with the expectation of a financial return (Legum, 2006).
- Venture Capitalist: A specific type of investor who typically gives (a large amount of) money at the beginning of a high potential startup and helps guide the business to provide a high profit (Gorman & Sahlman, 1989).
- ESG: A common abbreviation for environmental, social, and governance principle which is a framework typically used by investors to ensure the practice of responsible investment by evaluating the sustainability and social impact of a business (Li et al., 2021).
- Profit: A profit describes the surplus of money that comes in as revenue after deducting all related costs such as cost of production. interest on all capital accounts, and wages have been paid (Littleton, 1928).
