Rebuilding Detroit: Social Innovators Stake Their Claim
It’s early evening of an August scorcher and I’m seated under a much-appreciated tent at Detroit’s Earthworks Urban Farm. Located in the city’s east side, the 2.5-acre organic farm grows food to benefit its own soup kitchen and runs a variety of initiatives...
Sustaining a Social Enterprise Ecosystem
“Sustainability” is not just a buzzword, but a multi-purpose concept. It illustrates the resiliency of an organization. It is often the reason many nonprofits pursue social enterprise – to improve their mission delivery and enhance their sustainability...
Social enterprise at work: First cold climate food forest project in East Kootenays
Farming has never been a big industry in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia, which is known mostly for timber, mining and some ranching. But during the winter months when highway passes close due to snow and white-out conditions, fresh food in the grocery...
Mapping the social enterprise ecosystem: A primer
As the number of social enterprises grows exponentially, so does the number of organizations being launched to support them. Although there were a few early pioneers – REDF, ENP and NEsST, all founded in 1997 – most of the social enterprise support...
Esalen Institute: Social change cliff-side
It hit me as soon as we made the sharp turn off the gloriously serpentine Highway 1 at the signpost that read “Esalen Institute”. Like a cold, sharp gust of wind signifying the first day of winter, it caught me off-guard before knocking me off-balance. And then it...
India leading the world on CSR legislation
Social enterprises among the biggest potential beneficiaries India is inching ever closer to being the world’s first country to formally mandate companies of a certain size to spend two percent of their profits on CSR activities. The CSR provision is part of a...
Engineering an ecosystem to amplify social enterprise
Although we may have many varying definitions of social enterprise around the world, they all share a basic purpose: to operate a business that creates a blended-value outcome. They seek both financial success and social impact. It’s a business venture addressing a...
Social entrepreneurs: Heroes in their own right
You might say Heather Johnstone is your typical Vancouver North Shore anthropologist-turned-farmer-turned-social-entrepreneur. Only she doesn’t quite see herself that way. “I’m a farmer,” laughs Johnstone, who’s been managing the North Shore Neighourhood...
A new regime for Canadian not-for-profit organizations
What these changes may mean for you At the bottom of the list of most volunteer organizations, often operating on a shoestring, is concern about the legislation that deals with governance. After all, there have been virtually no changes in over fifty years. But,...
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
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