Growth in Social Enterprise Continues During Recession

The growth of social enterprise continues in spite of, or maybe because of, the recession.

Donna Fenn highlights The Unreasonable Institute, a new incubator formed in Colorado for social entrepreneurs, at her blog:

This year, the incubator's first, the founders vetted 33 candidates from 284 applications from 45 countries. Their criteria: "the ventures need to address the root cause of an environmental or social problem or need," says Hartung. "And they can't be donation or grant driven. They have to have a revenue mechanism that covers costs. We're also looking for those that can scale outside of their country of origin and eventually meet the needs of a million people." Tall order! According to Hartung, some of the candidates are for-profit, some are not-for-profit, and a few are hybrids. And their founders run the gamut from a former child soldier to an MIT engineer.

And there is a gathering of social entrepreneurs scheduled next month in San Francisco.  The Social Enterprise Alliance, the largest membership organization for social entrepreneurs in North America, is holding the 11th Social Enterprise Summit in San Francisco April 28-30.  This year it will be conducted jointly with the 3rd Social Enterprise World Forum.  The international three-day event will highlight social enterprise models and strategies from around the world.   They are expecting over 600 attendees.

When it comes to addressing social challenges, there is a grassroots movement based on the belief that markets work better than more large government programs.