The Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines social entrepreneurship as “the process of pursuing innovative solutions to social problems.” More specifically, social entrepreneurs adopt a mission to create and sustain social value. They pursue opportunities to serve this mission, while continuously adapting and learning. They draw upon appropriate thinking in both the business and nonprofit worlds and operate in all kinds of organizations: large and small; new and old; religious and secular; nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid. Business entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, but social entrepreneurs also take into account a positive return to society. Social entrepreneurship typically furthers broad social, cultural, and environmental goals and is commonly associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. Profit can at times also be a consideration for certain companies or other enterprises. Now, I will be the first to admit that social entrepreneurs have been around for centuries especially in the communities I lived in. But, I will admit that the term “social entrepreneurs” sounds very impressive. It gives this grandiose idea that we have coined such a great term to describe those who work tireless for the uplifting of others. But in all honesty, I have known social entrepreneurs all my life. Their names and faces were never recorded in Forbe’s Magazine, but they fought hunger by sharing food from their limited food pantries. They fought homelessness by taking  families into their already cramped homes. They believed that service was a way of life and that if you helped one family you were doing your part to make this world a better place. Well, today we are still in need of those faithful social entrepreneurs who believed that people were more important than the bottom line. Now by no means am I begrudging the bottom line, because the bottom line help sustain our families. But I do believe that to live a life for the bottom line only robs us of the opportunity to experience the real joy of service. So, today we are calling more social entrepreneurs to enlist in the battle against poverty, hunger, homelessness, abuse, global warming and whatever else we can place on that list. We are calling all social entrepreneurs who endeavor to make a difference in the lives of others even if it is in small and insignificant ways. Will you join me today and continue the long line of social entrepreneurs who did what they could where they were to make a difference in the lives of others.   Think About It? Do you know any Social Entrepreneurs who lived in your community as a child? What made that person or organization so special? How did that person impact your life? How can you make a difference in your part of the world? ...read more

ByHolly Hall The Giving Pledge, the effort by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett to increase giving by the nation’s wealthiest people, missed a key opportunity, fund raisers say. Instead of simply reaching out to billionaires, they should have promised to match donations of people with a lot less money.That’s one suggestion offered in anew reportby Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang, two scholars who study and teach fund raising at Indiana University.The report is based on ideas to increase charitable giving that were offered by influential nonprofit leaders and other executives.Besides suggesting that billionaires offer matching gifts, the report includes 31 other ideas for improving giving, which has been stuck at 2 percent of average household income after taxes for the past 40 years, according to “Giving USA.”Other ideas from the report:* Encourage charities to develop productive ways to handle complaints from donors, which would reduce negative word of mouth, build trust, and provide ideas to improve fund-raising operations. Charities could take a lesson from the business world, the authors write, where “complaining customers are the firm’s biggest asset.”* Place more fund raisers on nonprofit boards so they can educate fellow trustees about the best ways to raise money.* Persuade fund raisers to stop talking to donors about annual funds, capital campaigns, endowment drives, and other such insider approaches and instead urge them to focus on what their money will accomplish.As an example, the reported noted that Harvesters, a Kansas City, Mo., food bank stopped asking its donors for annual gifts or capital donations. It now uses appeals that ask people to help it feed children, families, and the elderly and to promote healthy eating habits. “The new approach is immensely more powerful,” the authors write.“No one supports a single nonprofit because they happen to have an annual fund or an endowment,” write Mr. Sargeant and Ms. Shang. “It is not the vehicle that matters to donors; it’s the difference they can make in society.” ...read more

Define your mission and identify who you intend to serve in order to determine whether the mission is consistent with a 501(c)(3) exempt purpose.  Helping people is not necessarily charitable. Determine your core activities and assess whether they are consistent with 501(c)(3).  Core activities must be in furtherance of the organization's exempt purposes.  A primary activity of providing services in competition with for-profits may or may not be consistent with such requirement. Identify what needs you are serving and evaluate whether your mission and activities are best run through a new nonprofit or perhaps through an existing nonprofit or a fiscal sponsorship arrangement.  A new nonprofit should not merely duplicate what is already out there or primarily serve the personal interests of its founder(s).  Do your homework and understand your place in the market and the need to be collaborative and competitive in furthering your mission and acquiring sufficient resources to do so. Assess whether your funding strategy (whether through individual donations, grants, service fees, sales, or other sources) gives you a good chance at sustainability.  While funding is almost never a sure thing, you should take reasonable steps (as if it was your own money) to assure charitable funds are not wasted for lack of consideration about sustainability. Assess whether you have sufficient other resources to create a strong foundation upon which the nonprofit can be organized and operated.  A nonprofit built on a weak base can later jeopardize everything built on top of it.  Critical building blocks include human resources to govern your organization (board of directors), run your charitable programs, take care of the administration and compliance work, and fundraise.   Educate yourself and your leadership team on the laws relevant to organizing and operating a nonprofit and 501(c)(3) public charity, including those related to board duties and responsibilities, areas of potential liability, filing requirements, conduct and activity restrictions, charitable solicitations, certain applicable taxes, substantiation and disclosure requirements, employment, intellectual property, and leasing. Draft a business plan.  All of the work in the previous steps should be incorporated into this draft (which should be a work-in-progress, changing as facts and circumstances change), and it should also detail, among other things, a thoughtful SWOT analysis, marketing plan, and a 3-year budget (which you'll need to submit to the IRS in applying for tax-exemption). Draft the governing documents (e.g., articles of incorporation,bylaws, conflict of interest policy) with care.  Governing documents serve as manuals on how to run the nonprofit and should be catered to your organization.  Template and form documents may contain provisions not applicable to your form of entity, may lack many required provisions, and may not address the many decision points available.  Such forms may provide some guidance but they are often a mistake to copy, in whole or in part, unless reviewed by a consultant. Consider where you plan to engage in charitable solicitations and check whether you must register to solicit donations in those states.  This a commonly overlooked requirement. Draft the exemption application(s) with care.  Your completed Form 1023 will be a public document signed under penalty of perjury.  It may be heavily scrutinized by the IRS during the application process and also may face future scrutiny by government authorities, the public, and media, even if the organization is granted tax-exempt status.  Also, remember to check on any state tax exemption requirements.  California, for example, requires even churches to apply for state tax-exempt status or be subject to minimum franchise taxes despite their nonprofit and federal tax-exempt status and regardless of whether they have any revenues ...read more