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Scott Henderson is managing director of CauseShift, writes about social impact for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and is founder of NewEmpireBuilders.com, a media collaborative covering the startups, non-profits and companies making the world better.
Startups have become the darling children of the world, it seems. Aspiring Mark Zuckerbergs, Caterina Fakes and Jack Dorseys are eager to launch the next big thing.
This rising entrepreneurial tide is having an impact on all sectors. The latest generation to enter the work force arrives at a time of high unemployment. Its members see large problems that need to be fixed, and often, they have little faith in incumbent institutions’ ability to solve them. In an attempt to change the world, these aspiring entrepreneurs are choosing to launch new ventures, for profit and non-profit, that embrace transparency, agility and innovation.
No single company, non-profit or individual can solve the problems facing humanity, however. It will take leadership from all directions, converging on the social impact sector. To that end, social entrepreneurs are pioneering a new wave of charities and socially minded companies.
What differentiates social entrepreneurs from other entrepreneurs? They have a focus on solving social problems and a greater willingness to reinvest profits into the communities they serve.
Some choose the traditional non-profit structure; others elect established, for-profit models; still others are embracing corporate structures, such as benefit corporations and low-profit limited liability companies (L3C). No matter the structure, these startup founders seek to deliver value to the marketplace while simultaneously solving community problems.
Non-Profit Startup Accelerators
Realizing the potential, venture capital firms, angel investors and civic leaders have created programs to help these startups take root in the marketplace. In exchange for equity stakes, for-profit accelerators and incubators provide robust resources and access to experts. Y Combinator, TechStars and a growing population of other companies have paved the way. Fortunately, social impact startups (for-profit and non-profit) are feeling the love, too, thanks to springboard organizations like Skoll Foundation, Scwab Foundation, Echoing Green and Ashoka.
Here are three more programs worth considering if you want to accelerate the growth of your social-impact startup.
- Unreasonable Institute – Boulder, Colorado: Unreasonable’s marketplace is open; you can help determine or even be one of the projects selected for this summer’s program. Do you like the mountains and being connected to a global roster of mentors? Check this program out.
- Civic Accelerator – Atlanta, Georgia: Just announced this year, the Points of Light Insitute’s Civic Incubator program is expanding to launch one of the first accelerators focused on social entrepreneurs. Learn more as it rolls out the program in the coming weeks and months.
- MassChallenge – Boston, Massachusetts: In its third year, MassChallenge is open to all startups and has no strings attached. Compete for $1 million in cash prizes, interact with over 600 mentors and experts over four months, and enjoy free office space overlooking Boston Harbor. Four of last year’s top cash prize winners were social-impact startups. Apply for this year’s program starting March 1.
What do you think about the social entrepreneur trend? How are you planning to take advantage of it?
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, lightkeeper
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First identify the cause of the problems. Good starting point. I am hoping that the use of social movement also takes place offline in the form of real people, providing real action that is then emulated by people throughout communities. Online is a powerful tool for building the numbers… offline is where it has to happen as well! Good plan.
As a Boston social entrepreneur, I’m happy to see that MassChallenge is being recognized for the work that they are doing to support and accelerate startups.
Regarding my involvement in the social good space, I recently launched GivingSomeThing.com, a site that enables donors to easily send real goods directly to nonprofits. The site is fee free for both nonprofits and donors, and it let’s people choose exactly how their money impacts an organization. As a result, donors benefit from lean, transparent, and tangible giving.
I’m looking forward to seeing the social entrepreneurial world continue to grow and evolve both locally and nationally.
Scott,
Great rundown on where the social entrepreneur’s can obtain guidance on how to take their work forward. Socially Responsible companies have worked hard to gain recognition in their respective fields using a triple bottom line. Today’s industry leaders realize the impact on society that their work has. Profit is no longer the only metric that maters because the dedication of these new entrepreneurs provides positive change that comes to communities worldwide.
Great, we’re trying to start one in Kittanning Pa, 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. Would like to following in the footsteps of some these great places.
Thanks Scott, great piece. We’re gearing up to launch the Public Media Accelerator (http://www.publicmediax.org) with a mission to “change media for good”, with $2.5m from Knight Foundation to start. Happy to talk to you more about it sometime. We are very interested in testing the models for for-profit incentives aligned with mission-driven entrepreneurs aiming for Internet scale. Tracking some of these threads on our tumblr http://publicmediax.tumblr.com and also worth bookmarking this Quora thread: http://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-social-entrepreneurship-incubators-or-accelerator-programs
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Thanks for the article – what are the alternatives for the UK apart from Unltd and a few others?
Hey Ruben – as a heads up, anyone can apply to MassChallenge from anywhere in the world, in any industry. Hope this helps!
Thanks Jeremy – sorry, realised that the system didn t inform me of any replies! I ll check out your website :)
See also, the soon to launch Impact Engine : theimpactengine.com