I'm used to hearing terms like "system change" and "social entrepreneur," a couple of the buzz-phrases thrown around frequently in the social sector. But I haven't seen system and entrepreneur juxtaposed. What's the deal? The more complex and entrenched we realize our social challenges are, the more we know how unique the skill set that's needed to solve them so maybe we need a "new breed" of social entrepreneur.

And as Jeff Walker suggests -

... the term "entrepreneur" is not used narrowly; it represents a shared mind-set for all of those working on social change — including donors, who are often viewed as disconnected from the work on the ground. The more we all look at social impact as multifaceted and focus our skills and networks accordingly, the better chance we have of driving true systemic change ....

That means each of us can be a system entrepreneur, working hand in hand with allies in the community. Giving Compass has a bunch of good resources and reading on social entrepreneurship. And some of the newest ideas for 2017 might spark your enthusiasm further.

If you want to find a social entrepreneur to support or get more involved with, you can find them via Ashoka or Echoing Green or DRK.

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Original contribution by Paul Shoemaker, Founding President of Social Venture Partners.