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Social Entrepreneurship
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 The most powerful force for change in the world is a new idea in the hands of a social entrepreneur. Their aim is to improve the quality of life in some of the most 'difficult' and 'excluded' communities and environments. They have frequently achieved ambitious goals and far-reaching change, in the most unpromising circumstances and with minimal resources - building 'something from nothing'. WHO THEY ARE While a business entrepreneur may thrive on competition and profit, a social entrepreneur has a different motivation. They identify unmet social or environmental needs and generate solutions. They are people who use their initiative to combine the heart of business with the heart of the community, achieving sustained improvements in the lives of ordinary people and the environment. They are skilled at re-directing, using and regenerating under-used, abandoned, redundant or derelict human and physical resources (skills, expertise, contacts, buildings, equipment and open spaces) WHAT THEY DO They do this by setting up social enterprises. Social enterprises are increasingly recognised as part of a crucial, third sector, distinguishing them from the public and private sectors. Social enterprises are mainly non-profit companies. They take surplus and re-invest it for the purpose in the business or in the community/ environment, rather than distributed as dividends to shareholder. Social Enterprises can encompass everything from charities, private companies, or cooperatives. The past two decades have seen an extraordinary explosion of entrepreneurship. Anybody with passion, vision and drive has the potential to become a successful social entrepreneur creating positive social change in communities and environments around the world. For more information about people becoming successful social entrepreneurs see our case studies. Below are links to real life case studies of everyday people who have become successful social entrepreneurs and made an extraordinary difference through their vision and achieving their ambitions. http://www.skollfoundation.org/grantees/2006.asp http://www.russellcommission.org/foundingpartners/index.html http://www.skollfoundation.org/grantees/socialsector/index.asp http://www.skollfoundation.org/aboutsocialentrepreneurship/stories.asp http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/page.aspx?SP=1892 http://www.schwabfound.org/cases.htm http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk http://www.percybiltoncharity.org.uk/history.htm |
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