Thinking Entrepreneurially...in a social way

I recently read that the Salvation Army had increased their Red Kettle donations by 10% in 2008, DESPITE the fact that the retailers suffered one of their worst years. How were they able to do this? By thinking and acting entrepreneurially.

The increased donations were the result of (a) increased partnership with Wal-Mart and the NHL, (2) using 'cashless kettle' that accepted credit card donations and (3) a text messaging service that allowed contributions via telephone bills. What neat ideas! These are three creative ways in which the Salvation Army thought 'outside of the box' in order to increase their revenue. 

It is my hope that the many non-profits as well as for-profits are able to maneuver their way through this difficult time economically by doing the same.

Do non-profits need social media?

If you are an entrepreneurial non-profit, or wish to be, some of the questions that you might be wondering is (a) what social media applications are appropriate? and (b) how should I integrate them?

Like for-profits, I suggest starting with a bit of market research. See what your 'competitor' non-profits are doing, or perhaps better stated, what other best practices are out there that you can learn from. If someone else is doing it, it makes much more sense to take what they have done and customize it to your specific needs/preferences. A website that was recently referred by the Church of the Customer blog is the "Association Social Media WiKi." Although the number of associations that have registered to date is not huge, you can definitely pick something that is relatively close to your industry and see what social media venues it is using and check them out. A great start.

"Social" Entrepreneurship

The concept of social entrepreneurship is becoming more common and accepted both in the media and academic worlds. Just what is social entrepreneurship? As summarized by Wikepedia, a social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change.

There are many different examples of social entrepreneurs, but perhaps the best known social entrepreneur currently is Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Graneen Bank who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Another one of my favorite examples of a social entrepreneur is Pura Vida Coffee. Pura Vida (which translates to Pure Life - a common phrase in Costa Rica) was started by two Harvard grads who had the "radical idea of putting the power of capitalism to work for the direct benefit of people in the developing countries where coffee is grown."

There are many different forms of social entrepreneurship. On one end, you have a nonprofit that needs to act entrepreneurial to simply survive. In the past 20 years, the number of nonprofit organizations has multiplied, making it more difficult to obtain donors and requiring more justification and quantification of the social benefits being provided. By integrating entrepreneurial principles, nonprofits can become more competitive and more efficient in providing their social benefits. Some nonprofits are even creating for-profit entities to help financially sustain them and reduce their reliance solely upon donations.

On the other end, there are for-profit firms that want to provide both financial and social returns. Perhaps Ben & Jerry's ice cream is a good example, where they have a product, economic and social mission. The extent to which financial and social returns are emphasized varies on a continuum.

What does social entrepreneurship have to do with you? Well, if you are trying to brainstorm a business idea, think about the social needs that exist. If you already have a for-profit business, you can still find creative ways to incorporate the social issues that are important to you.