HST: The good, the bad and the ugly
If you’re a social enterprise operating in Canada, whether as an individual sole proprietor, partnership or an incorporated company, you need to be thinking about HST. What is HST? HST is a sales tax that you collect on behalf of the government. It is NOT income...
Valuing outcomes: Does it really matter?
So many organizations are still challenged to measure outcomes. Despite much interest, activity and outputs-based evaluation remains the norm. Knowing this, does encouraging the next step, i.e. valuing outcomes in financial terms, really seem like the right thing...
Collaborating across the boundaries of organizations
Part 4 of Mike's 5-part leadership series Collaboration has surely become one of the all-time great buzzwords. Seemingly everyone aspires to be collaborative. Unfortunately, for every successful collaboration, there are dozens of "partnerships" and "alliances" that...
Realizing value through social impact bonds
5 hurdles to overcome when assigning value to outcomes While the concept of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) jumped the Atlantic from Britain in 2011, it is taking its time to develop in Canada. Unlike American and Australian counterparts that are already testing the...
Four keys to social enterprise leadership
Part 3 of Mike's 5-part leadership series I like giving information interviews. (There. I’ve said it. If the phone now rings off the hook, it’s my own fault.) At least three times each week, a brave entrepreneur (for the record, I believe they’re all brave) sends...
Keeping your social enterprise social and profitable
3 factors ensure your enterprise stays social As a social enterprise, your primary goal is to maintain a triple bottom line. People. Planet. Profit. It can be a tough gig. Each business has its own unique opportunities and challenges, but there are three factors to...
Four factors to consider when evaluating outcomes
Understanding social change from outcomes to impact. In recent years there has been a shift in the field of program evaluation from activities-based to outcomes-based evaluation practice. While an activities-based evaluation focuses on measuring the outputs of a...
Social enterprise leadership: Engaging others
The Association of Integrated Marketers invited me recently to present on the topic of "Community Marketing." In a room full of marketers, "marketing" needed little preface. "Community," on the other hand, is a word for which we each have our own definition. It is...
Understanding social value: The importance of including stakeholders
Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an emerging methodology that seeks to measure the value of social impact. SROI presents the social impact of different initiatives into financial value terms, and presents this value in relation to the investments that lead to...
In the Business of Change written by SEE Change publisher & editor Elisa Birnbaum highlights social entrepreneurs around the world. Get your print or audiobook where you normally buy or download books Learn More
Our recent 3-part podcast series is sponsored by Junxion Strategy
