The Luminary Social Entrepreneur

My professor, Peter Staples , explained Social Enterprises usually have two defining characteristics: they seek after some social benefit or outcome, and they employ sustainable methods (generate revenue). They differ from traditional run-of-the-mill non-profits in the latter – they produce their own revenue rather than surviving off of donations only. Joe Demim's experience illustrates this brightly. He decided to start Yellow Leaf Hammocks enterprise which helps people of the Mlabri tribe earn crucial life sustaining revenue through an online sales site and US stores, rather than solicit rich westerners for donations. The definitions given here are incomplete. That is the nature of this beast, a growing and forming field. But the hope is that they may provide a clear vision for the reader. Consider what Martin Montero , a StartingBloc Fellow, and Mathea Bradenburg have to say.  Partnering with locals to create solutions, rather than working with organizations tha...

Tomorrow, November 29, Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, the world's icon of Social Entrepreneurship, will speak his vision of the future of the inspiring field. Forbes released this post preparing for it. Last week David Bornstein of the Opinionator discussed the Rise of Social Entrepreneurship Earlier this week, a group called the Luminaries, of which I am associated, made live a document called A Prologue to a Story of a New World. This document will change the world. It will instigate social change across the world. It will give civic foundation to those who have none, and it will give liberty to those who seek it. Perhaps this document is social entrepreneurship at its finest. Many say that it is in the same broad category of Social Entrepreneurship. Some say it is something else entirely. For myself, I 'd like to think that its truths put forth, are really the mother of Social Entrepreneurship. But you decide; I do not know all things. A Prologue In this ...