Oct 29 2012
Social Enterprise vs. Non-Profit
Leah Singer recently explored the question if nonprofits should fear social enterprises in her blog . As we discussed in class, there are distinct differences between the two. Nonprofits work solely through donations and aim to solve problems temporarily in the short run while social enterprises are still somewhat profit based therefore running more like a business with the intention of creating long lasting social change. A quote from The bop Project blog sums it up quite nicely, “Nonprofits usually focus on a NEED. A [social] business must focus on DEMAND”. While social enterprises may seem to be more beneficial to society because of the permanent changes they create, there are still issues that need to be dealt with in a different manner. For the people who cannot demand anything, due to lack of income, nonprofits are still important to help them meet their needs. So back to the question at hand: are social enterprises something nonprofits should fear? I personally don’t think so. There needs to be a good mix of both nonprofit and social enterprises, not just one or the other.
Image from: http://victorsinclair.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/non-profit-social-enterprise.jpg