What’s The Vision?
At the end of March, the Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada held the first ever major gathering of young social entrepreneurs from across Ontario, over an energetic weekend we called re:Vision 2010.
For two days, rising stars of the social sector’s next generation dug into the question of how they could redesign, rethink and ultimately revision their initiatives (whether social enterprises, nonprofits or companies) to meet the challenges of sustainability and deepened social impact. Their reflections, while focused on their own initiatives, are instructive for us on larger scales.
The social entrepreneurship movement is making clear gains. Social enterprise start-ups pop up regularly, and there’s been a noticeable injection of new vocabulary employed by both grantmakers and applicants – a good indicator of shifting priorities. From my own vantage point I’ve seen a drastic increase in the number of people – many of them under 30 - willing or aspiring to identify as social entrepreneurs. There is a great deal of interest, instruction and debate around the how of social enterprise: how to start, how to manage, how to fund, etc. As I see it, this is partly to meet growing demand for practical knowledge, partly the process of deciphering what works and doesn’t in the huge experiment that is social enterprise, and partly our response to bolster its credibility as a new way forward.
Is anybody talking about the why?
Why is social enterprise so promising? How will things look differently if we are wildly successful in bringing new business models, legal models, financial models and role models to fruition?
The anchor of successful movements, organizations and other agents of extraordinary change is a vision that is so crystal clear and convincing that it compels people to act in support. We’re missing that.
And there are consequences. I recently spoke with someone who was excited because, for him, social enterprise was proof that markets could solve all problems given enough creativity, and we would eventually do away with the need for a charitable sector. I’ve also been approached with several ideas that were only called social enterprises because they create jobs – in effect, attributing new labels to business as usual. That view is echoed by prominent voices in the business world, like the Kaufman Foundation. If these ideas bump up viscerally against your notions of social enterprise, start talking.
Focusing on models will ensure that motivated spoilers will find loopholes. An emphasis on methodologies will not ncessarily generate a groundswell of popular support and new successes. Only a vision that ignites new understandings of what is possible will.
Is social enterprise ultimately about refining the potency of efforts to catalyze change? Is it a way to "save" the nonprofit sector? Is it really leading to a wholesale transformation of our economy?
What are you working toward?
re:Vision 2010 was a challenge to our participants to think anew about their visions for change. Consider this an extension of that challenge. Our field is certainly not short on visionaries. They need to speak louder.
