Giving Compass' Take:

• Nicole Motter discusses six different types of social enterprises, what the term means, and how these enterprises receive funding. 

• Which one of these types of social enterprise models fits the type of work you're most drawn to? How might the sector develop stronger partnerships that blend different kinds of enterprises?

•Read about the competitive advantage of social enterprises. 

“What exactly is a social enterprise?” It’s a question that comes up a lot, probably because there isn’t a consensus. Generally speaking, “social enterprise” means using business tools to address a social need. This concept may or may not overlap with “social innovation,” which means addressing a social need in a new, groundbreaking way. While it’s possible to use business tools without using them innovatively, and it’s possible to innovate without using business tools, the poster child for this sector works at the intersection of these two concepts.

Yet for most people, “social enterprise” winds up being the broad, default phrase used to cover both concepts. For better or worse, that expansiveness has snowballed the term’s popularity (the bigger the bucket, the more stuff you can throw in there) but has also led to trouble agreeing on a definition.

Here are 6 different types of social enterprises:

  1. Entrepreneurial Nonprofit
  2. Non-nonprofit
  3. Socially Responsible Business
  4. Give One, Get One/Donate Portion of Proceeds Model
  5. Awareness Brand
  6. Everything Else

Read the full article about the types of social enterprises by Nicole Motter at B the Change.