Every year I have several students who are not interested in entrepreneurship to build their own wealth, but because they want to use the skills and knowledge they learn to start new non-profits related to social causes they care about. This type of entrepreneurship is called social entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurial Generation (born after 1980) has less faith that social problems can be fixed by government, and would rather find private sector solutions. It is part of the libertarian (with a small “l”, not a capital “L”) streak that is a strong part of this generation’s values.
A new study from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor finds that this is true for the youth in the UK, as well.
The largest, annual survey of social entrepreneurial activity in the United Kingdom shows that young people are more likely to be social entrepreneurs than any other age grouping. 3.9% of those in the 18 – 24 year-old category would pursue a socially minded enterprise, compared to only 2.75 of those over 55s. Similarly, education is a strong predictor of social entrepreneurial activity, and those in full time education are the most likely group to be SEA active (5%).
My anecdotal evidence from our program would have this number even a little higher, maybe as high as 10%.
Their vision for social entrepreneurship is to create a different kind of non-profit than we’ve seen in past generations. Rather than rely on fundraising and grants from foundations, these young social entrepreneurs are seeking ways to blend free market capitalism with their favorite social causes. They seek to blend together providing service to the community with businesses that create value to the marketplace. They use the profits from their ventures to fund their causes.
I even see more traditional non-profits heading in this direction. A good example is Thistle Farms, located here in Middle Tennessee.
Named for the only wildflower that grows along the roads that Nashville prostitutes frequent, Thistle Farms is the cottage business of Magdalene – a two-year residential community for women with a criminal history of addiction and prostitution. Magdalene was created to provide a sanctuary in Nashville for women in need of a safe, discipline and compassionate community.
The women of Magdalene have chosen to create products that bring healing to their bodies and souls as well as to others. Thistle Farms creates all-natural and organic handmade healing products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body.
Some social entrepreneurs are even bypassing the traditional non-profit route and creating a for-profit business that funnel the majority of their profits toward a cause. Pura Vida Coffee is a good example of this model.
We believe in a different approach to business. One driven by good rather than greed. One that sees capitalism as an agent for compassion. Pura Vida is 100% charitably owned and all of our resources go to help at-risk children and families in coffee-growing countries build more hopeful futures. The work of Pura Vida is rooted in a desire to empower the poor in coffee-growing regions of the world. We welcome all people to serve with us in partnership.
It is encouraging to see that the Entrepreneurial Generation believes so strongly in entrepreneurial free market capitalism that they are entrusting not only their own economic future to it, but the betterment of our society and culture, as well.
I believe all entrepreneurship is a form of social entrepreneurship. Every choice you make as a businessperson has social consequences. The ability to choose (at least to a some degree) when and where you are going to try to make a difference is one of the rewards (and responsibilities?) of launching a business. If you don’t take advantage of it, it seems to me, you’re not reaping the full reward for your endeavors.
Certainly every choice an entrepreneur makes has social consequences; but a social entrepreneur, at least as we define it at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in the UK, is someone who is operating in an entrepreneurial manner primarily for social benefit. They are mission and values-led, not profit led. And their entrepreneurship can be as much about a mindset, an attitude and an approach as about income generation and sustainability.