Top 5 Resources for Young Social Entrepreneurs
December 22, 2011 at 5:29 pm kathykormanfrey 17 comments
The buzz of social entrepreneurship is on. It inhabits dormitory halls and high schoolers’ texts. It’s well beyond a trend. Social entrepreneurship is a movement.
Well-known leader of the pack Ashoka has the following thought-provoking statement on its website:
Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.
- Ashoka and Skoll are two well-known foundations supporting social ventures – see more in the 130 list below.
- Kickstarter.com – the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. This represents the growing “crowdfunding” trend. Here are others. See “Legal” below.
- If you’re starting a non profit, be sure to check out Nonprofit Finance Fund and the Foundation Center which is “the” place to research grants.
- 130 Ways to fund your social venture
See discussion questions at the bottom for additional Entrepreneur in the Classroom resources.
- In 2010 TedxYSE was held by Youth Venture and the Staples Foundation to give the world’s most inspiring young changemakers a platform to share their powerful stories. See their videos here.
- Future 100 – The Future 100 Awards recognize the success of UK-based young entrepreneurs aged 18-35 who demonstrate entrepreneurial flair and innovation in progressing a responsible business venture.
- Four Young Social Good Entrepreneurs to Watch (Mashable)
- The Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE) Competition – approaching its 6th annual year – is held by Ashoka and STAPLES . It was created to recognize exceptional, innovative young people advancing positive change in their communities around the world.
- Business plan competitions are another great way to get a kick start (and raise prize money). Here is a success story of a team who won $15,000 for their venture through a business plan competition.
- Here is an article on changes in forms of legal incorporation to accomodate social ventures. Are you going to be one of the innovators ahead of the pack ? Be sure to get a great lawyer who is familiar with the forms. There are additional filing requirements, so get smart. With innovation, often come additional responsibilities.
- Related to “money” – above – crowdfunding at certain levels in the US is a violation of the Securities Act of 1933. For instance, if you are profitable, or try to give people a share of that profit, it puts you in the same league as a publicly-traded company that sells securities. Follow #crowdfunding on Twitter and keep up with the experts, like Woodie Neiss.
Discussion Questions
1. Developing the social venture idea. In Module 2 of the Entrepreneur in the Classroom free curriculum there is a Mind Mapping exercise in which the student takes and area of interest and develops it into a business idea through brainstorming. Use the Mind Mapping exercise for a social venture that has “double M” (mission and money).
2. Characteristics of the social entrepreneur. Allow the students to review the entrepreneurial profiles discussed in #3, above, and pick a favorite. Does the social entrepreneur resemble the traits they would expect of a typical small business person described in Module 1 of the Entrepreneur in the Classroom free curriculum? Yes, no, maybe? Discuss.
3. Watch and discuss the below video on Tom’s Shoes:
More information
Know a Young Entrepreneur? Nominate them here.
The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization promoting the importance of small business and free enterprise to the nation’s youth. More information is available at www.NFIB.com/YEF. The Foundation is associated with the National Federation of Independent Business; NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.
Entrepreneur In The Classroom. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom (EITC) supplemental curriculum exposes students to entrepreneurship and the necessary steps to take an idea and turn it into a business. The free curriculum can be integrated into classes teaching a variety of subjects including music, art, fashion, business and many more. You must be registered to view the full Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum.
Related links:
Follow NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation on Twitter
Follow NFIB on Twitter
Follow blog author Kathy Korman Frey on Twitter
Entry filed under: Business exercises, Money, Resources, Young Entrepreneur. Tags: #socent, ashoka, foundation center, Future 100, kickstarter, Mashable, nonprofit finance fund, skoll, social entrepreneur, social venture, TedxYSE, Toms Shoes.
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1. Kathy Korman Frey | December 27, 2011 at 11:49 am
Related to this topic, check out this great tweet from @YWCAUSA:
What we’re reading: Holiday Volunteering: 5 Amazing Teens Give Back on @HuffingtonPost http://t.co/jWK1qR8R Inspiring!
2. Kathy Korman Frey | December 27, 2011 at 11:53 am
And for non teens, check this out:
From: @pcdnetwork
Call for Nominations, Purpose Prize, for Social Innovators in the Second Half of Life, US #socent http://t.co/GHKUqkq1
3. Julian Flynn | January 9, 2012 at 3:24 am
Young entrepreneurs could also take advantage of the crowdsourcing trend http://bit.ly/ebDLgc
4. Kathy Korman Frey (@ChiefHotMomma) | January 7, 2013 at 9:05 pm
Yes. The bill was passed (in reference to #5, above). My 100% go to person is below, because, they literally wrote the legislation:
Crowdfund Investing
@woodien
The entrepreneurs who wrote the Crowdfund Investing framework for the JOBS Act. Follow our path from idea to law to reality!
Miami Beach, FL · http://www.CrowdfundCapitalAdvisors.com
5. peter | January 30, 2012 at 8:18 am
this is 1st class stuff. we run a business ww.imaginewhatsnext.com and provide entrepreneur training and entrepreneur development. i will definately be sharing this article with our members – directing them to this site!
6. kathykormanfrey | May 29, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Thanks Peter, we appreciate it!
7. An Entrepreneur-Kids Holiday Season Discussion Guide « | November 24, 2012 at 7:37 pm
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