Our Favorite Mandela Quote, The Social Enterprise Movement & Their Harmonious Connection

Written By Jason Carr

July 18 - Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela!

Nelson Mandela said, “Sometimes, it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”

Here’s what I think:

We are one of those generations
We are social entrepreneurs and impact leaders
We are concerned worldly citizens
We start businesses that address society’s most pressing social problems
We can and will be great

Our generation knows that poverty, resource depletion, prejudice, lack of education, healthcare and other important issues must be addressed on a wide scale. The social enterprise movement is one piece of the puzzle called progress.

According to The Good Trade, “A social enterprise is a cause-driven business whose primary reason for being is to improve social objectives and serve the common good.” And, Forbes describes a social enterprise as “an enterprise where at least 50% of the profits are invested back into a charitable cause.”

It turns out that Millennials (a.k.a Generation Y/Generation Now) are a driving force in social enterprise – they firmly believe that purpose and profit should be linked. They (we) sometimes get a bad rap but most of us care about the footprint we leave behind.

And, the question of the day. What does this have to do with accounting and back office services? Why are we blogging about this?

Well, if you didn’t know, our team at Blue Fox serves not only nonprofits, but also social enterprises focused on mission-driven work.

Last week our CEO, Chantal Sheehan said, “I would love to be able to look back on a life where I accomplished important things for people doing really good work.”  That’s right our boss-lady is legit! Social impact minded? I think so!

Are you personally a catalyst for social good? If you’re not, do you want to be?

What can you do to support the social impact movement, and as Mandela encourages, “Let your greatness blossom”?

Here are a few resources that may inspire your next step.

  • Work for a social enterprise – 10 of the best by LifeHack

  • Invest in one – 3 tips by Startup Grind

  • Start your own - 5 questions to ask from Forbes

  • Buy from them - 5 reasons why by InventShift

An article I just read today, by Social Good Stuff began, “Social Enterprise – is it a trend, a revolution, or something in between?” What do you think?

Author: Chelsea Clementi, MBA, Director of Marketing & Business Development, Blue Fox

Resources:

Jason Carr
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