This Week in Social Entrepreneurship

In our “This Week in Social Entrepreneurship” series, each Friday we will feature the top stories in Social Entrepreneurship for the week that we find to be noteworthy, novel, and thought-provoking. What are your favorite stories this week in Social Entrepreneurship? Let’s start a discussion!

Applications for the BOS ‘12 Institute for the StartingBloc Fellowship have now officially opened. Each year, the Fellowship begins with a 5 day Social Innovation Institute that transforms fellows into change leaders through training sessions and a social innovation case challenge. The Fellowship provides participants a lifelong relationship with the StartingBloc community. The BOS ‘12 Institute will take place over Memorial Day weekend. Apply before January 15, 2012 to be considered.
If you have any interest in sustainable agriculture or eating local fresh and organic produce, Ashoka Changemakers has a really informative article you should check out about the proposed new Farm Bill that is due to be rewritten. There are a lot of opportunities here to change and innovate because the Farm Bill controls the priorities for many nutrition and environmental programs. After reading the article, where do you think there is room for improvement? Contact your local federal representative and let him or her know!
Adam Archer, co-founder of GamesThatGive recently talked to TechCrunch about starting a social good company and also provided some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. GamesThatGive builds social games that people can play to earn money for charity. This is possible through sponsorships with major brands. Since the launch, the site has raised a little over $1 million for charity and was then sold to Vitrue early in 2011. Adam stresses finding co-founders that you respect, networking aggressively with other entrepreneurs, collecting data constantly and being passionate, among many other tips he offers during the interview that you can read about and watch on TechCrunch.
If you are currently undertaking a business plan for your social business, you may want to consider applying for the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI). This incubator helps social entrepreneurs develop business plans that will help their businesses become financially sustainable. You should absolutely apply for this program if your business solves the problem of lack of access to clean and low-cost energy or produces low-cost health devices or delivery systems because the GSBI will be reserving spots in its scholarship program for businesses that address these issues. The deadline for the first round, the Value Proposition, is due January 16, 2012. Check out this post on Social Edge for more information about the program and detailed instructions for the each of the three exercises that need to be completed before the selection process begins.
Are you interested in starting your own business producing renewable energy but you need to learn more about the process, costs and technologies? Consider participating in the Global Renewable Energy Education Network (GREEN). Through the GREEN Program, students get to travel to a country at the forefront of green energy technology and learn all about five types of renewable energy—wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal. I recently was lucky enough to participate in this program through my school and I can say that it was easily one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I got to visit a wind farm and learn about the costs and processes that go into starting a wind farm. I was able to take a look inside a geothermal plant at the base of a volcano. I learned about and visited a rice producer that burns rice husks to produce its own electricity. The best part is that once you are a GREEN alumnus, you are forever connected to a network of alumni that can help you on your journey to starting your own green business. Read more about this program and some FAQs in this recent MIT article featuring GREEN.
Want to learn more about B Corp legislation and how to help it spread throughout the United States? Check out this SSIR article on Benefit Corporations and what we need to do to help spread the change. Seven states have passed the public benefit corporation legislation so far and you can help keep the change coming. What can you do? Find out what corporations are already B Corporations and start shopping with them. If you own a business already, consider becoming a B Corp and asking your vendors to consider becoming B Corps. If your state hasn’t passed the legislation yet, speak with your governor and legislatures and let them know why they should support it.

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Social entrepreneurs, has all this great SocEnt news inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.