This is not just an issue of a fault in funding, but a fault in expectation. With the rise of “impact investing” there is an expectation that all social enterprises, or a majority of them, can become financially self-sustaining on the basis of their social enterprise activity alone.
Social enterprise is also a way for non-profit organizations to develop a regular revenue stream, which helps to balance out variances in funding cycles. It provides regular support but does not completely replace the need for other forms of support such as grants or donations. This element of social enterprise seems to get lost in the discussion.
COMMENTS
BY Antony Berretti
ON March 16, 2014 10:59 AM
Did not even realise that such a fund existed, so that is part of the problem…
It seems only a very small minority of actors know of funding.
BY Scott Lawson
ON March 19, 2014 01:21 AM
This is not just a BOP dilemma…
BY Mieke Zwart
ON March 26, 2014 11:40 AM
Love to learn more on this program. We work as a social enterprise in the field of job & business creation
BY Barbara Felitti
ON July 21, 2014 09:52 AM
This is not just an issue of a fault in funding, but a fault in expectation. With the rise of “impact investing” there is an expectation that all social enterprises, or a majority of them, can become financially self-sustaining on the basis of their social enterprise activity alone.
Social enterprise is also a way for non-profit organizations to develop a regular revenue stream, which helps to balance out variances in funding cycles. It provides regular support but does not completely replace the need for other forms of support such as grants or donations. This element of social enterprise seems to get lost in the discussion.