Social Entrepreneurship has become an issue that has started to keep me up late at night. I decided to provide you with resources on social entrepreneurship and introduce some of you to the various leading thinkers and practioners in this field.

For a definition of social entrepreneurship, please read the following one located on the Skoll Foundation website, a premier foundation which support and advance social entrepreneurs:

“Entrepreneurs have always been the drivers of progress. In the business world, they act as engines of growth, harnessing opportunity and innovation to fuel economic advancement. Social entrepreneurs, like their business brethren, are similarly focused; they tap into vast reserves of ambition, creativity and resourcefulness in relentless pursuit of hard, measurable results. But social entrepreneurs seek to grow more than just profits. Motivated by altruism and a profound desire to promote the growth of equitable civil societies, social entrepreneurs pioneer innovative, effective, sustainable approaches to meet the needs of the marginalized, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised. Social entrepreneurs are the wellspring of a better future. “

(Directly taken from Skoll Foundation website: What is a Social Entrepreneur?)

I would also suggest reading a recent article by Sally Osberg and Roger Martin titled “Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition“. This is an excellent article which provides the various elements of a social entrepreneur and how social entrepreneurship differs from social services and activism.

In addition, Dr. Gregg Dees, Director for the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, is called by some to be to father of social entrepreneurship. Please review his document on the definition of social entrepreneurship, here.

As part of this section of the blog, you can find information on Microenterprise/microcredit, Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Responsible Investing, and Fair Trade. For research resources, please check the Research Resources page.

Other pages of resources:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Research Resources

Support Organizations