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Tag Archives: social business
The 4 major challenges of social enterprises
Earlier this week, I attended an online webinar hosted by Stanford Social Innovation Review. The topic was “The Hybrid Ideal”. A panel of researchers presented their latest work about the rise of social enterprises, which they call hybrid organizations. Continue reading
Corporate Social Innovation: beyond CSR and Sustainability
On May 2nd, during a talk to hundreds of participants across Canada, Geoff Mulgan, CEO of NESTA, used the term Corporate Social Innovation to refer to social innovation in business. It is still too early to say if the term will “stick” but it is providing useful language to bring into the fold a neglected social innovation actor. Continue reading
Promoting social enterprise- appeal to the heart or the brain?
The following are a few short videos that depict two very different approaches to promoting social enterprises: first, Nobel Laureate Pr. Yunus discusses how he was able to convince Adidas to develop shoes for the poor. Then, Ian Learmonth, Director of Social Finance, Social Ventures Australia (SVA), discusses social finance and impact investing in social enterprises. Which approach do you think works better? Continue reading
The surge in interest in social enterprises: what’s driving social innovation?
Something is changing in the world of social entrepreneurs. Social innovation, new ideas to meet social needs, is gathering momentum among traditional businesses. Continue reading
BC innovates by creating a new legal framework for social enterprises in Canada
On March 5th 2012, the province on British Columbia in Canada, introduced changes to the Business Corporations Act to allow for a new hybrid type of company – the Community Contribution Company… Continue reading
10 reasons why non-profits should consider social enterprises
A social enterprise is an organization with a social or environmental mandate that sustain its good works through the sale of products or services. Most non-profits struggle to ensure their long-term financial sustainability. Social enterprises can help create new sources of revenues, but they can also do much more… Continue reading
How to find social innovation ideas
Unlike scientific innovations, social innovations are not discovered in a lab. They can emerge from a multitude of places. The challenge is usually not to create an idea for a social innovation but to recognize a good one. Continue reading
Social Business meets Big Business: Canada’s largest financial institution commits $20 million towards social innovation
In a previous blog post, I wrote that the idea that traditional ways of funding businesses could be applied to fund the non-profit sector was taking hold. Now we have the proof! The Royal Bank of Canada announced, this week, the creation of a $10 million new impact fund to help finance projects tackling social and environmental challenges. It also announced a $10 million investment by the RBC Foundation into socially responsible investment (SRI) funds. Continue reading
Mes cinq coups de coeur de 2011
Je romps avec mon habitude pour écrire dans la langue de Molière. L’année 2011 fut riche en stimulations. Voici les idées et activités qui m’ont le plus marqué sur le plan professionnel cette année. Continue reading
Funding good works: impact investing, social finance and the great divide between business and non-profits
Tweet The idea that traditional ways of funding businesses can be applied to fund the non-profit sector is taking hold. This week in Toronto, over 500 people- met at the Social Finance Forum to discuss ways to fund and scale-up … Continue reading