Group items tagged

Venturesource is a free open-content community resource center to help social entrepreneurs plan, start, manage, and grow successful social enterprises.

"Seattle Good Business Network is a new membership association of locally-owned, Seattle-area businesses that are committed to the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. Its purpose is to educate member businesses on the value of operating sustainably, support them in improving or adopting sustainable practices, and connect them with the information and resources to create a healthy and prosperous local economy based on shared environmental and community values. We Imagine A Seattle Where: * Business profits are circulating within our regional economy, supporting other local businesses. * The very concept of "waste" is passé, where only renewable sources of energy and water are used, and carbon emissions are dramatically reduced. * Residents choose to buy local and green first, and businesses are active partners in their communities. * Everyone understands that the person behind the register is a neighbor. An economy based on these values-local ownership, environmental awareness, and community engagement-is a vibrant, resilient economy more immune to external upheaval and changes in global energy prices. Businesses that operate with these values are profitable, thriving businesses. With the right information and active support, local business owners have the power to transform their operations in ways that benefit their business, employees, customers, and our larger local economy. The Seattle Good Business Network aims to be a catalyst for this transformation. Membership Members of the Seattle Good Business Network are locally-owned businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, grocers, and bars; retailers of all kinds; personal care and home services; professional services of all kinds; and local producers. The Network will help its members: 1. Connect with other local businesses. We will establish a local business network to provide interactive ways for you to share valuable information about becoming more sustainable, includi

"Sida is developing new forms of collaboration with industry via the programme Business for Development (B4D). The objective is together with companies, contribute to reduce poverty and environmental impact, create more and better jobs and encourage growth. "

"American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) is a powerful coalition of business networks committed to building a vibrant, just, and sustainable economy. The Council is dedicated to moving beyond the politics and practices of the past to identify the innovative solutions that will transform our economy and society. We are committed to ensuring that America's businesses and social enterprises will be a major driving force behind this transformation. ASBC promotes policy change by educating and informing the business community, policy makers, and the media about the business case for change, and by engaging the leaders of businesses and enterprises in building broad support for the policies America needs. We work on a range of policy areas, including: financial reform, health care, chemicals policy, climate change and business taxes. We believe the policies that will lead us to a sustainable and just the right commitments, investments, and reforms today will ensure a strong economy for tomorrow."

NextBillion.net is a website and blog bringing together the community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers and academics who want to explore the connection between development and enterprise. It is a discussion forum, networking space and knowledge base for individuals and organizations interested in the "next billion". Our goal is to highlight the development and implementation of business strategies that open opportunities and improve the lives of the world's approximately 4 billion low-income producers and consumers.

The Academies for Social Entrepreneurship creates training and mentoring programs for sustainable, mission-based businesses. Our core program is Social Enterprise Academies. The Academies for Social Entrepreneurship plays the role of convener and catalyst, connecting the organizations and people needed to create, grow and celebrate social enterprises. SOCIAL ENTERPISE ACADEMIES ABOUT THE ACADEMY A Social Enterprise Academy creates an eco-system of support that nurtures entrepreneurship and innovation in non-profit organizations. Its goals are to: * Enable non-profit organizations to develop the skill sets and resources that will enable them to attract growth capital and increase revenue from earned, rather than donated income. * Build overall organizational capacity. Academies enable non-profits to improve organizational performance by applying business practices and analytical thinking to their everyday operations. * Create community-based change in the broader local non-profit marketplace by promoting convergence between the best practices of business and philanthropy. IMPACT OF THE ACADEMY To date, our unique combination of training, mentoring & "fast pitch" plan competition has: * Expanded capacity in 126 non-profit organizations; * Utilized the mentoring talents of more than 100 business men and women ; * Produced millions of dollars in new investment and earned income streams. 90% of those participating in one of our business plan competitions say that it had a significant positive impact and 65% have launched or expanded ventures which generate new income for their agencies within a year. Academies are currently planned or under way in OrangeCounty and Los Angeles and San Diego counties (California) and in Las Vegas.

Our mission is to ignite a national movement of young social entrepreneurs who align people, planet and profit. We are a community hub for young social entrepreneurs, and a grower of their social enterprises. Now two years in the making, YSEC was founded by a group of 20-somethings whose experiences as community organizers made it crystal clear that something needed to change. We saw young people in the social sector squeezed by huge expectations but sparse resources: no professional guidance, business education, access to funding, lack of credibility, and the list goes on. YSEC is our response. It is a front-door to the social sector - a hub for connections, education and support of young people in social enterprise.

"Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization with a mission is to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. Spanning six continents, Net Impact membership makes up one of the most influential networks of MBAs, graduate students, and professionals in existence today. Net Impact members are current and emerging leaders in CSR, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability who are actively improving the world."

The Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network connects microenterprise practitioners from around the world to develop practical guidance and tools, build capacity, and help set standards to advance our common vision: a sustainable income in every household.

"The Sustainable Business Alliance (SBA) is a membership organization for businesses committed to environmentally and socially responsible practices. SBA's triple bottom line: * Promoting awareness of just and sustainable practices * Educating our members and the community on business sustainability * Networking to grow each others' businesses and the green economy"

"Through our renowned Institute for Social Innovation, continuing education programs and networking opportunities, StartingBloc brings the latest innovations in corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship to emerging leaders."

"Welcome to IdeaEncore Network, an online marketplace for the sharing of ready-to-use tools, presentations, course outlines, templates, and project plans within and between nonprofit organizations. The system is designed to provide incentives for sharing and a range of intellectual property protections for shared materials. "

"Dedicated to ending the use of environmentally-destructive disposable plastic water bottles, the Bottle Brigade will both educate students about the reasons that these bottles are destructive and also work to find alternatives for people to purchase. To promote education, the Bottle Brigade will design a workshop and present this at local area elementary schools, providing students with important environmental knowledge and a customizable reusable water bottle. In addition, the Bottle Brigade will work with local high schools to end the sale of disposable bottles on campus, campaign towards shoppers about the dangers and alternatives, and sell reusable water bottles as a safe, green, alternative."

"A research and education center based at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) promotes the entrepreneurial pursuit of social impact through the thoughtful adaptation of business expertise."

While social entrepreneurs have emerged in every sector and nearly every market, they often lack the high-level business, management, and strategy skills that have propelled the private sector to its remarkable growth. We aim to leverage our expertise in management education and training to develop and deliver the world's best executive training for social entrepreneurs. Our pioneer ISEP program, launched in 2005 and running annually in both our Fontainebleau and Singapore campus, has established itself as the most valuable for program for leading social entrepreneurs and the entry ticket into a valuable life-long network of support and knowledge sharing. More fundamentally, we aim to organize our faculty and bring our academic expertise to bear upon the unique challenges faced by social entrepreneurs. Our research agenda aims to foster a two way dialogue: advanced management thinking is applied to the challenges of social entrepreneurs while the innovative approach of social entrepreneurs is leveraged back into business research and corporate practice. The social entrepreneurship initiative is housed under both INSEAD's Social Innovation Centre and the Rudolf and Valeria Maag International Centre for Entrepreneurship. The Social Innovation Centre is a premier hub for research and learning on the connection between business and society. The Maag Centre is the catalyst at INSEAD for innovations in entrepreneurship research, teaching and outreach.

"NewSchools Venture Fund is a venture philanthropy firm working to transform public education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs so that all children - especially those in underserved communities - have the opportunity to succeed."

"Pura Vida Coffee sells 100% organic, fair trade and shade grown coffee and a full line of sustainable beverages to individual and institutional customers throughout the US. We believe that companies can be both 'tough-minded and tender-hearted', integrating the discipline and rigor of a for-profit with the heart and soul of a mission-driven non-profit organization. We believe that there is a 'new sector' forming and want to be in on the ground floor! The mission of Pura Vida is to Create Good™ by using business to empower producers, motivate consumers, inspire business leaders, and, ultimately, serve the poor. By utilizing every facet of our company-capital structure, governance, employee recruitment, product sourcing, marketing and sales-to achieve social outcomes, we can demonstrate that the worlds of business and charity can not only co-exist, but can thrive on one another. Pura Vida Children The Change We Seek™ The mission of Pura Vida is to bring compassion and capitalism together in order to "Create Good™" for children living in coffee communities around the world. * Pura Vida seeks to provide all of its coffee farmers enjoy a fair wage and can support a family. To accomplish that goal, we only buy and sell 100% Fair Trade coffee, which ensures that our workers are treated fairly and that their land is preserved naturally. * We also make sure that we are active in the communities where our coffee is grown. Pura Vida operates programs for at-risk children through the sale of products and the financial support of customers and partners. We work in partnership with local non-profit agencies to provide educational opportunity and nurture physical health, confidence, character, and strength of spirit. * All of our coffee is organic and shade-grown, which means that every bean we harvest is as pure as it can possibly be. Growing our coffee in the shade preserves the nutrients and minerals found in coffee beans, and our organic status affirms

About Fair Trade Sports Fair Trade Sports, Inc is the first sports equipment company in the US to launch a full line of eco-certified Fair Trade sports balls, ensuring fair wages and healthy working conditions for our adult workers. We have sports balls for soccer, football, basketball, rugby, volleyball, and more. We became a Founding B Corporation to join forces with other purpose-driven companies in our pursuit of a new, better corporate standard. We are committed to donating all profits after taxes to children's charities, both domestic and international. Sound familiar? It's a similar idea to the one behind the Newman's Own brand you see in the grocery store. Fair Trade Sports The Change We Seek™ We seek to ensure fair wages and healthy working conditions for adult (not child) workers and generate significant dollars for children's charities in the process. * How exactly do your dollars help when you buy a ball from Fair Trade Sports? A significant milestone for Fair Trade is that the producers of a product should earn enough in order to provide for themselves and their families. If adults can pay for shelter, food, clothing, medical needs, emergencies, and expenses for education, then children no longer have to contribute to family income. We at Fair Trade Sports sell only balls that have passed the standards of the Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO). The payments we make for these balls includes a 20% premium, which is used for improving the lives of the workers, their families and their communities. Together, workers and management form a "Talon Workers Welfare Society" and decide how to dispurse the Fair Trade Sports half of the 20% premium to benefit the group (the other half goes directly to the workers themselves). Programs include community clinics and healthcare insurance - a first in this industry - as well as micro-credit loans and more. * Until we reach profitability, we are donating $1000 annually to charities which benefit at-ris

"YSEC is our response. It is a front-door to the social sector - a hub for connections, education and support of young people in social enterprise. It is also a challenge to all of us to become more entrepreneurial about meeting needs, more skilled as organizational managers, and more innovative in our approaches."