Social Enterprise 
and Profit-Making for Nonprofits

Are you interested in new ways to earn money that you can use to:

This is called: Profit-making for nonprofits, Social enterprise, Earned income strategies.

1. Click to download the Social Enterprise Development Process for Nonprofit Agencies! (MS Word)

2. Forging Strategic Partnerships with For-profits article by Jerr Boschee from Social Enterprise Reporter

3. NEW:  Social Enterprise Manual now available online!

Profit Making for Nonprofits and Social Enterprise Tool Kit
by Jim Masters, Center for Community Futures  
Click here for WORD version
Click here for PDF version

Table of Contents:

A. WHAT AND WHY of Profitmaking and Social Enterprise
1. What Is Profit Making?
2. Why Profitmaking?
3. How Did it All Start?
4. Where Are We Now?
    Defining Social Entrepreneurship

3. Hire Jim to Help You

1. Get Ready for Profit Making. Many Boards and some staff need a substantial amount of background information and discussion before they are even willing to consider starting a profit-making venture. They want to know:

1. Is it legal? What are the legal issues?
2. What are the tax implications?
3. What about charges of unfair competition?
4. What are the benefits and costs to our agency, our staff, our program participants?
5. What are all the other issues we need to think about before we do this?
6. How do we manage the relationship between the venture and the agency, i.e. what business structure should we use and how do they work?
7. What kinds of ventures are the best fit for our mission and capabilities? What should we stay away from?
8. What are we already doing that we could sell for a profit?
9. What should go into our decision about whether or not to pursue a specific type of venture? What are our venture selection criteria?
10. And other questions....

    Most of these issues can be addressed through three approaches. (A) background information selected for them to read, (B) then do a one-half-day or a one-day workshop, and (C) then do a few dozen phone calls e-mails and FAXes on specific questions. The purpose of this activity is to get your Board through all their questions to a "yes" or "no" decision on whether or not they want your agency to pursue this strategy. The other typical product is to decide on the two or three types of ventures that you want to explore. Jim will do this for your agency for $2,500 plus travel costs. 

2. Conduct A Feasibility Study. Jim has a Masters Degree is Business and knowledge about certain types of ventures, including:

For other types of ventures, Jim will help you find the right person.

A typical Feasibility Study is about $5,000, and you and your staff help to gather the information needed to determine the feasibility for your venture idea. Jim provides the business plan framework, most of the industry data, leakage analysis, cost estimates, and guides the development of your study.

Contact Jim via e-mail or phone 510-339-3801.

4. NOW AVAILABLE!  Handouts from the November, 2002 Social Enterprise Conference. A wealth of excellent information. Click here to order for $75

5. Social Enterprise Resources We Recommend:

6. Sources of Information on Social Enterprise

Click to get this file in Word

 Social Entrepreneurship and Venture Philanthropy

 Created by: Infobase.org www.infobase.org;
                  East Bay Resource Center; and
                  OCCUR (Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal)
                  E-mail  occur@citycom.com

The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, a philanthropic venture of the Roberts Foundation is a prime source for information and resources on social entrepreneurship. Located in San Francisco's Presidio, the foundation maintains a portfolio of social entrepreneurs. http://www.redf.org/index2.htm

WHAT IS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE? From Social Enterprisemagazine.org
We define it as mission oriented revenue or job creating projects undertaken by individual social entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, or non-profits in association with for profits. For more information and definitions go to the http://www.socialenterprisemagazine.org

The Social Enterprise Alliance is a membership organization devoted exclusively to building sustainable nonprofits through earned income strategies.  http://www.se-alliance.org

Community Wealth Building helps nonprofit organizations become more self-sustaining by generating revenue through business ventures and corporate partnerships. http://www.communitywealth.org/resources_links.htm

Process for creating a Social Enterprise, and a How-to Workbook (free downloads) Center for Community Futures   http://www.cencomfut.com

Case Studies and Reports on Social Entrepreneurship
From Counterpart International, Inc. http://www.counterpart.org/programs/edevpt/CaseStudiesSocEnt.pdf

Venture Philanthropy; Landscape and Expectations- From the Morino Institute http://vppartners.org/learning/reports/report2000/full_rpt.pdf

Entrepreneurial Community Development: Exploring Earned Income Activities and Strategic Alliances for Community-Development Nonprofits. From Neighborhood Works, A Community Development Corporation http://www.nw.org/netowrk/lessonsLearned/pdf/entrepreneurialCommDev.pdf

"New Frontiers in Philanthropy," from Diane Gingold & Associates (DG&A)
http://www.strategic-philanthropy.com/pdfs/New_Frontiers_Philanthropy.pdf

Principles and Practices of Venture Philanthropy: Do They Fit Your Human Service Organization? From the Vesper Society http://www.vesper.org/publications/Venture21/workshops.html

Inside Venture Philanthropy by Peter Frumkin from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. http://www.edexcellence.net/philanthropy/inside_venture_philanthropy.html

Frequently asked questions about Social Enterprise from the Rockafeller Philanthropy Advisors
http://www.rockpa.org/CDROM/SE_Content/Docs/SE_FAQs.htm

Glossary of SVP Terms from Houston Social Venture Partners
http://www.svphouston.org/documents/glossary.htm

The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs provides education, training and consulting services for social entrepreneurs in the United States and abroad.
http://www.socialent.org

An overview of social entrepreneurship from the Nonprofit Portal of Greater Milwaukee  http://epic.cuir.uwm.edu/NONPROFIT/SEFAQ.htm

Facts and Figures on Revenue Generation in the Nonprofit Sector
http://ventures.yale.edu/factsfigures.asp

THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE SOURCEBOOK from the Northland Institute
http://www.northlandinst.org/sourcebook.cfm

Working Knowledge for Business Leaders is a program of Harvard University. Their section on nonprofits includes "Align Your Brand With a Social Cause" http://hbswk.hbs.edu/topic.jhtml?t=nonprofit  

Forging Strategic Partnerships with For-Profits.  http://sereporter.com/article.php?a=166 article by Jerr Boschee on the SER site.