National Online Database of Social Enterprises Launched
Community Wealth Ventures posts first searchable database of U.S. nonprofit organizations with business ventures
Community Wealth Ventures has launched an online database of social enterprises - business ventures run by nonprofit organizations - to help nonprofit leaders, foundation executives, and consumers measure and benefit from the growing use of this practice. The searchable database, available at www.communitywealth.com <http://www.communitywealth.com>, is the first in the country to track the burgeoning number of entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations that have responded to their fiscal challenges by creating new wealth in the marketplace.
"It's a tremendous step forward in identifying social enterprises," says Suzanne Aisenberg, a Program Officer with The Atlantic Philanthropies. "This database is an important addition to the resources available to the nonprofit and foundation communities - a central place where the growth of social enterprise can be tracked and measured is greatly needed."
Many of the country's most innovative nonprofit leaders are transforming their organizations by creating new, unrestricted sources of funding. By establishing business ventures, cause-related marketing partnerships, and licensing agreements, entrepreneurial nonprofits are generating new, unrestricted revenue to support their services, create jobs, and expand their offerings.
"As a nonprofit executive involved in social enterprise, this database is a very important resource," notes Lori Kaplan, Executive Director of Latin American Youth Center. "This database helps us to identify how other organizations have been successful with social enterprise and learn from their experience."
While a handful of organizations are well known for generating revenue - ranging from Girl Scout cookie sales to Goodwill thrift stores - this database includes hundreds of other nonprofits that are supplementing charitable donations with earned revenues.
Bill Shore, chairman of Community Wealth Ventures, a social enterprise subsidiary of Share Our Strength, notes "Revenue-generating social enterprises can empower citizens and organizations across the country and support programs that work. This searchable database will help advance this vital and evolving field. We encourage nonprofits engaged in social enterprise or corporate partnerships to add their experiences to this database so that the nonprofit community is sure to understand the scope of this movement."
Community Wealth Ventures, a subsidiary of Share Our Strength, is a consulting firm that works to generate new resources for the social sector using business ventures and corporate partnerships. Community Wealth Ventures provides consulting services for a broad range of clients in the nonprofit, corporate, and foundation communities. Visit www.communitywealth.com <http://www.communitywealth.com> to read more about the firm and this project. [Posted January 24, 2003 by Joshua Tripp]