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| Introduction | |||||||||||||||||||
| SE in Context | |||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | |||||||||||||||||||
| Models | |||||||||||||||||||
| Structures | |||||||||||||||||||
| Methodology | |||||||||||||||||||
| Case Studies | |||||||||||||||||||
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Social Enterprise Typology | |
About this Typology This typology breaks down the traditional boundaries between the nonprofit and private sectors and draws definition to this new institutional animal--part business-part social--the social enterprise. In doing so, the typology explores how institutions have combined a mix of social values and goals with commercial business practices and how they have come up with ownership models, income and capitalization strategies, and unique management and service systems designed to maximize social value. The illustrative typology classifies different models of social enterprise in order to navigate readers through the currently ill-defined, diverse and dynamic landscape of this emerging field. This typology is an outgrowth of a paper commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2003 entitled: "Social Enterprise: A Typology of the Field Contextualized in Latin America." For this reason many of the examples are from Latin America, however, social enterprise models are applicable worldwide. The typology is a work in progress, and will be updated with new models, examples, and case studies. We invite you to send us your comments and examples of your social enterprises that we can include here. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.: To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Attribution should be made by providing a link to http://www.virtueventures.com/setypology. The AuthorKim Alter has endeavored to bring business practices to nonprofit organizations and international development agencies, encouraging their sustainability through earned income, in more than 30 countries worldwide for over a dozen years. She is founder and Principal of Virtue Ventures LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in social enterprise. Kim is author of Managing the Double Bottom Line: A Business Planning Guide for Social Enterprises (Pact Publishers 2000) and contributing author of Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Income (Jossey-Bass 2004). Web and document designs are by Vincent Dawans from Virtue Ventures LLC. Kim and Vincent can be contacted via email at typology@virtueventures.com Latest Version and AvailabilityThe current version of this typology was last updated on November 27, 2007. The latest version is always available on the website. The typology is available in three different formats: All 3 formats are automatically generated from a single data file containing the underlying text. This technique guarantees that all three versions, although different in presentation and medium, have identical content, which greatly simplifies the update process.:
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The typology is organized in six main sections that can be read in any order based on the reader's interest and familiarity with the subject. The first section introduces the subject with a history in brief, an overview of the field's current state and outlook as well as various definitions of social enterprise. | |
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The Inter-American Development Bank must be recognized for commissioning the original version of this paper entitled: “Social Enterprise: A Typology of the Field Contextualized in Latin America,” (September 2003) to commemorate the 25 years of innovation through their Small Projects Fund and Social Entrepreneurship Program (SEP). Without the support provided by the Inter-American Development Bank this work simply would not have been possible. | |
Foreword to the original version, by Jed Emerson The ability to create, to break the mold, to engage in enterprise is perhaps one of the greatest attributes of humanity. Our capacity for shortsightedness, bias, and provincialism is perhaps our greatest weakness. This document gives evidence of the first, and foreshadows the coming of the second. | |
Copyright 2007 Virtue Ventures LLC. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.