Spreading Roots of Social Entrepreneurship in Tallahassee

The Element Church was founded 14 years ago by Mark McNees and his friends with a specific social goal. At that time there was not enough money to support the cause and this shortage of money inspired them to go for a joint venture business with a coffee roaster in Boston which was very much conscious about the social causes. The organization started to bag and sell coffee and then spending the profit money for humanitarian causes. Later in 2009 the opportunity came when they were able to open a coffeehouse in Midtown and this was the beginning of RedEyes. This organization runs on the motto of ‘Drink Coffee Locally and Change Lives Globally’. To be very precise, the RedEye is an organization that does not work to earn only profits and has a strong social conscience and is part of a strongly emerging business model that has already been embraced by millennial (especially those who are interested in working socially responsible establishments). RedEye is the organization that is very much different from non-profit organizations that depend mostly on donations and government grants. It is run like a proper business and makes use of their profit for humanitarian causes around the globe.

This model of social entrepreneurship is becoming popular these days as the government grants have declined substantially and at the same time, philanthropic donations have decreased. The non-profit business organizations are constantly trying to make money from less capital and resources and then turning the entire business into a socially conscious one. Tallahassee is the place where there is a boom in the social entrepreneurship format of business but in a different way. There have been continuous attempts towards innovative fundraising. With the motto of developing meaningful and high-profit social entrepreneurship, Tallahassee Museum zip line has been successful in raising enough money to build better habitats. The creation of wholesale pharmacy (that creates enough revenue to support the social cause) is now strong enough to start its new distribution center. There are several other examples from Tallahassee where the DivvyUp socks company has taken a great project of donating a pair of socks to the homeless people against every pair of socks bought by their customers. So, the precise message is that the deep roots of meaningful social entrepreneurship are spreading strongly in Tallahassee.

The Collaboration Program by SAP and ISB to Jumpstart the Social Enterprises

SAP SE and ISB (the Indian School of Business) have recently announced their joint program to nurture the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship with due relevance to the national priorities. This program of SAP – ISB will concentrate on finding out five social enterprises (those are at the start-up level) and then provide them with facilities as mentorship, training as well as access to the required networks which will eventually help them to bring an acceleration in their growth rate.

SAP & ISB’s collaboration program is based on the strategy to drive the social enterprises through the process of alliance with the leading academic institutions in India. This particular initiative will enable SAP to expand its primary thought of leadership over the widest segment of social entrepreneurship ecosystem. SAP targets at bringing in the experts of the market, trends in technology, acquisition of customers and at the same time chalking out the perfect design of thinking methods for all other social enterprises who are enlisted under the said program.

This is going to be a mentor-driven program (which will last for the period of 4 months) and will work to provide the newcomers with necessary access to the primary business along with help from academic mentors and subject experts. The new comers (or start-ups) will be selected by a specified selection process across the country and will be conducted by the professional experts from SAP, ISB, and experts from the start-up ecosystem.

The prime target of the program is the creation of the program that can create investment friendly as well as growth-oriented social enterprises which will in turn take care of the social needs that had remained uncared for long time and at the same time the creation of employment opportunities that can bring significant change for the entire scenario.

Social Entrepreneurship Is on the Rise and Here are Some Businesses to Prove It

With the growing social entrepreneurship and more social entrepreneurs heeding to the call of more socially responsible start-ups and business operations, 2016 has become a Year of Social Entrepreneurship. Profit making is no longer the only concern among business circles and those planning their own businesses. Companies are adopting corporate social responsibility and aim to make a positive impact to the environment and the society. Social Entrepreneurs are surely making waves in the business world and making an impact in the society

This shift in business model is currently being practiced by various businesses and here are 7 of them:

Medical Service Tools by Safepoint Trust

Marc Koska has provided redesigned medical tools to poorly funded clinics in different places in the world. One excellent product of Safepoint Trust is the Auto-Disable syringe which is the cheap and one time use only syringes.

Spreading Literacy through Better World Books

It started as an ingenious way to earn extra income and turned into a major act of social entrepreneurship when Kreece Fuchs, Xavier Helgesen and Jeff Kurtzman decided to use it for the benefit of the society. It was in Notre Dame during 2002 when the three friends founded the Better World Books which collects unwanted or used books and sells them online thereby helping spread literacy through books across nations.

Buy One Donate One with TOMS

Every time a customer buys an item TOMS will give a similar product to someone who is in need. This is Blake Mycoskie’s business model for the company he started back in 2006 to answer the need for South American children’s need for shoes. Mycoskie expanded the idea and added more items. By 2015, he started TOMS Social Entrepreneurship Fund to encourage others to build new innovative business models that will benefit the society.

There are more social entrepreneurs creating better ways to conduct businesses around the world and helping societies. More will come as the years come and that is a good news for everyone.

Understanding Social Entrepreneurship from the Perspective Of ‘What It Is Not’

Social entrepreneurship is the growing business trend but there are people who have difficulty in understanding it. When you try to make people understand something new, you are sure to face several awful questions. The best way to make people understand or to rectify their wrong notions about the noble idea of social entrepreneurship is to let them know what it is not. This particular method will work like magic in helping people understand the basic idea of social entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurship is not social networking. Social entrepreneurs actually launch ventures which are financially sustainable and at the same time capable of changing the world for real.

Social entrepreneurship is far from being the entrepreneurship-lite. People in this sector face more problems in maintaining the balance between mission and profit.

It is obviously not CHARITY. Grants or donations are welcome in this field, but the sole importance is given to the sale of a product or service.

Social entrepreneurship is not about making ‘no-profit’. Profit making is obviously the target but is looked upon from different perspective as compared to commercial units.

Social entrepreneurship is not against profit making. Such entrepreneurs are eager to make money, but they intend to spend the profit for the welfare of the society.

Social entrepreneurship does not occupy the higher ground when compared to commercial entrepreneurship.

It is not a fad or the invention of the people who are entitled as Millennials.

It is not the social responsibility of the corporate sector.

It is not solely for the young people, old guys actually lead the way. The present day social entrepreneurs took their lessons from the seniors and thus it will be wrong to say that it is the trend of younger generation only.

Social entrepreneurship is not confined to the non–profit sector of business. It is NOT charity but stresses in earning possible profits and then spending a good portion of it for the welfare of the mass.

Social Entrepreneurship Eradicating Poverty and Cultivating Social Health

As we move through the 21st Century, the divide between rich and poor becomes increasingly apparent and still, poverty is prevalent in all of the underdeveloped countries whom Governments, Non for profit and Non-Government Offices (NGO’s) as well as Social Entrepreneurs continue to serve. The UN has developed a sustainable development plan whereby claiming that by 2030 poverty will be eradicated and significate steps toward improvements to health, clean water, lean and affordable energy and sanitation will be taken.

Social Entrepreneurship, What is it?

Social Entrepreneurship is the application of sustainable approaches that are better for all the sections of the societies, although heavily emphasis is put on marginalized people and societies that need more help.

It cuts across limitations of belonging to a certain sector with a focus on education, health and well-being, human rights, welfare reform, economic, environmental, agricultural, and the list goes on. In its real essence, Social Entrepreneurship is propping up an infrastructure where little exists and entrepreneurs dedicate their lives to the improvement of social advancement.

Just to contextualize how ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ can help global social improvements, Kopernik assisted 233,000 people in Indonesia and 20 other countries. They provided villagers in rural outreached locations access to clean water systems that propel and generate clean water into their homes. Additionally, solar lighting and low burning clean stoves have been provided. In turn, this initiative has helped villagers avoid risks such as kerosene fumes, burns, diarrhea and toxic water leading to untold health problems. The secret to their success was to network across their distribution network making products affordable and available to all.

Other stories of dentists and opticians as well as other medical personnel offer their services and devise ways of bringing low cost products to needy social problems. Without such foundations, organizations and heroic individuals, the goal to eradicate poverty and increase health and wellbeing can never be achieved.