Blurring the Lines Between Not and For-Profit
According to its founding chairman, Charles King, Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) is an organization which is "...about the business of changing the entire paradigm by which not-for-profits operate and generate the capital they need to carry out their mission -- a new paradigm based on sustainability and social entrepreneurship."
I've been reading SEA's e-newsletter, "The Enterprising Voice," for the past several years. One telling feature is its regular QuickPoll, which provides a snapshot of what the field's leaders are thinking on topics related to social entreprenuerism. Here are the question and survey results for one interesting example: "Though they serve a social purpose, earned income ventures blur the line between nonprofits and for-profits. Is this good or bad for nonprofits in the long run?"
The majority of survey respondents (53%) believe the blurring of sector boundaries is good. Another 11% think it’s bad, and 13% believe it’s both. (The remainder think the jury’s still out.)
Comments were plentiful, of course, with many touting the benefits that accrue to nonprofits from adopting the mindset and practices of successful for-profit businesses, including customer focus, discipline, and accountability. Several pointed to parallel benefits for the for-profit sector, noting that blurred boundaries improve the visibility and prospect of social value creation by commercial businesses.
Critics focused primarily on the threat to mission, particularly unprofitable programs, and the need to retain the integrity of the nonprofit sector as a distinct counterbalance to the profit motive.
Notably, social enterprise thought leader, Jed Emerson, objected to the QuikPoll question itself. Jed argues that by reinforcing a silo mentality – the idea that nonprofits and for-profits have separate and competing purposes – we impede both sectors’ awareness and pursuit of “blended value”.
I'm with Jed on this one. How about you?
Posted at 6:29 AM, Feb 13, 2007 in Cross-Sectoral Strategies | Permalink | Comment