I encourage folks who would like to learn more about the triple bottom line and socially responsible philanthropy to visit www.socialedge.org and take part in the many discussions.
I have one concern though. In business, people innovate new products and services to fill opportunities in the market. An intrepreneur sees and opportunity, then begins to put all of his efforts (and much of his resources) into developing the idea into a business. This can take years. Many never succeed. I welcome foundations who want to provide seed money for new innovations. However, I wish I could find more social investors who would invest in existing projects that may have more maturity, and may be closer to a breakthrough. If we keep investing in start-ups, who helps build startups into successful enterprises. It may be that a common principle behind social enterprise is that the enterprise earns income that covers its growth. That's what a business ultimately has to do. However, part of the triple bottom line is community. An enterprise that is providing a benefit to the community is succeeding if that's its mission. Where do we find investors who will provide capital for this type of enterprise? This is a focus of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and the conferences we host every May and November in Chicago. The next conference will be on May 25 and 26 and I'd love to see people with technology and innovation backgrounds do workshops that lead to a connection of community, investor and volunteers in constanly improving programs that mentor kids from poverty to careers. You can learn about the conference at http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com Dan Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection Original Message: ----------------- From: Ian Fisk [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 10:03:54 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [DDN] William James Foundation: Socially Responsible Business PlanCompetition Folks, I know this is slightly off-topic, but the worlds of the digital divide and socially responsible/sustainable business do overlap quite a bit. I'm helping to manage the William James Foundation 3rd Annual Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition. We're looking to support new entrepreneurs who are focused on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. If you've got a new, for-profit business plan and someone on your team is either a current student or has graduated (from undergraduate or graduate school) within the past five years, we encourage you to enter the competition. Executive summaries (3-5 pages) are due on February 17th. technology-focused businesses. For more details, see www.williamjamesfoundation.org/2006competition. Thanks! Ian Fisk Executive Director The William James Foundation [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
