Center for Civic Partnerships

Social Entrepreneurship

Online Tools and Resources

Social Enterprise Alliance
www.se-alliance.org/resources.cfm
The Social Enterprise Alliance website has a resources page with information on publications, articles, other websites, etc.

Ashoka
www.ashoka.org/home/index.cfm
Ashoka's mission is to develop the profession of social entrepreneurship around the world. Their website contains an online journal and a number of resources on social entrepreneurship.

Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures
www.ventures.yale.edu/
The Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures provides educational and financial support for nonprofit enterprise. The Partnership offers business planning assistance, cash awards, and access to the investment community through its National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizations. Information and guidance on launching nonprofit ventures are available through an Online Resource Center. Nonprofit organizations receive networking and training opportunities at the Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony.

Roberts Enterprise Development Fund
www.redf.org/links_main.htm
This website contains a list of links to other social entrepreneurship resources.

Institute for Social Entrepreneurs
www.socialent.org/intro_to_se.htm
They have a number of resources on their website including an introduction to social entrepreneurship, articles and information on training.

Suggested Reading

Larson, Rolfe. Venture Forth! The Essential Guide to Starting a Moneymaking Business in Your Nonprofit Organization. This is the most complete step-by-step guide on the topic. Building on the experience of many organizations, this handbook gives readers a time-tested approach for finding, testing, and launching a successful nonprofit business venture. Whether an organization is large or small, the book's seven steps guide readers through the entire process--from idea to complete business plan.
www.wilder.org/pubs/#Fundraising

Brinckerhoff, Peter. Social Entrepreneurship: The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development. This cutting-edge book focuses readers on the key parts of becoming a social entrepreneur including risk taking, idea generation, and complete guides to feasibilty studies and business planning. Financing strategies, unrelated business income and corporate structures are also thoroughly covered.

Dees, J. Gregory, Emerson, Jed, and Economy, Peter. Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs. The rising spirit of social entrepreneurship has created all kinds of new opportunities for nonprofit organizations. But at the same time, many are discovering more than their share of challenges as well. This essential book will help anyone in the field gain the necessary skills to meet these challenges. Written by the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field, Enterprising Nonprofits offers concise and engaging explanations of the most successful business tools being used by nonprofits today. The authors clearly describe all the concepts so you’ll be able to embrace the methods of social enterprise for your organization. With this book, you’ll learn how to use practical business techniques to dramatically improve the performance of your nonprofit. www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471397350.html

Dees, Greg, Economy, Peter, and Emerson, Jed. Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of Your Enterprising Nonprofit. This book contains a complete set of tools for applying entrepreneurial strategies and techniques to your nonprofit organization. It is filled with examples, exercises, checklists, and action steps that bring the concepts, frameworks, and tools to life.

Oster, Sharon. M., Massarsky, Cynthia, W., and Beinhacker, Samantha, L. Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income: A Guide to Successful Enterprise Strategies, Yale School of Management-The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures. In collaboration with the Yale School of Management-The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures, this guide identifies best practices for generating a reliable income stream and ultimately reducing nonprofit organizations' dependence on traditional sources of funding. www.jbp.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-078797238X.html

Robinson, Andy. Selling Social Change (Without Selling Out): Earned Income Strategies for Nonprofits. Andy Robinson shows nonprofit professionals how to initiate and sustain successful earned income ventures that provide financial security and advance an organization's mission. Step by step, this resource shows how to organize a team, select a venture, draft a business plan, find start-up funding and successfully market goods and services. Robinson includes critical information on the tax implications of earned income and the pros and cons of corporate partnerships. The book also addresses when to consider outsourcing, collaborating with competitors, and raising additional funds to expand the business.