Well -I didn't get my wish. Last year I wrote about my hope, (I hope you read this one, as it's one of my favorites,) that this year's National Small Business Week conference would include something about Social Responsibility and/or philanthropy in their agenda as important contributions to small business growth. This year there will be two presenters who come from the social venture and non-profit sectors: Seth Goldman of Honest Tea and Steve Case from the Case Foundation. Otherwise no mention in the schedule of the burgeoning trends of social ventures, cause marketing, and strategic philanthropy.
Small businesses have been hit hard by the recession and many of them are looking for more ways to survive and to be profitable. The conference is providing small businesses with wonderful learning opportunities and the support to help build their small businesses. Businesses may feel they have little to give when they are struggling to survive, so it makes sense for the conference to focus on topics about how to build small businesses.
In spite of the downturn, many small businesses have continued their support of their communities and have adopted more sustainable green practices and have engaged in small business cause marketing. see Why Giving is Good For Business and Patriotic . In addition, an ever increasing number of the hybrid social ventures, many of which we have written about, are popping up and have started up in this last year or two.
These businesses need business advice too, some of which could be general to all start ups and some of which need to be addressed the the specific hybrid form they take if they are supporting charities. As for marketing, while many large companies are dedicating their marketing dollars to go directly to cause marketing ,as they know that customers are seeking to support companies that give back.
This kind of knowledge and advice would be useful for small businesses to have so they too can take advantage of the cost savings as a result of their green practices, can reap the many benefits of giving back to the community, and can experience the rewards from partnering with a cause as part of their marketing strategy. Maybe all of this will make it on the agenda in 2012.
Now there are more and more businesses in their own right that have sprung up out of the need for funding a specific non-profit which Inc.Com recently defined as a "hybrid social venture business model." I used to walk by thrift shops like Goodwill and others like it that support their non-profit, without my giving much thought to the business model and how well it works. These types of businesses, like the Goodwill Stores which are part of the autonomous non-profit entity,Goodwill Industries, are as hybrid sounding an entity as possible, in my mind.
Inc.Com also used another classic example, Mozilla Firefox, which was created to help fund the Mozilla Foundation, as well as some more examples of recent hybrid startups of this type, Story Pirates and Parent Earth. These hybrids are truly that in that they take a variety of organizational structures, some legally more linked to the non-profit than others.
We have featured several of these "hybrids" here too, such as: the SF clothing store, A Miner Miracle, that supports the non-profit of the same name -and the gift card company, Charity Choice Gift Card, that supports the Special Kids Fund.
Inc.com rightly describes the many challenges that these hybrids face mainly separating the financial and tax structures.
What we have seen in these hybrid social ventures is that there are many other challenges, the biggest one being that the business must be in the business of making profits first. This means that they must meet the payroll, pay the vendors, meet their rent, manage their employees, market their service or product and many other aspects of starting and running good business. Hopefully what is left over from their revenues then goes to the charity.
There are rewards too, as the article pointed out: "You can have cake and save whales."The most important one being that the business has been started with a purpose and those working at the company have meaning built into the job description.
But that comes with a caveat, I think, You have to make the cake and sell it first.
TED is a non-profit and social venture that has captured a lot of excitement and interest around the world. Thousands of individuals, businesses, philanthropy, education and causes have benefited from TED's mission of spreading knowledge, information and ideas. Many social entrepreneurs have spoken at TED and companies like Socks For Happy People, which we have profiled here, promote the TED talks, as a source of inspiration. The TED Fellows program helps support innovators from all around the world in pursuing their projects with the goal of helping them achieve more impact in changing the world.
I was having lunch the other day with a friend who is a licensee for TEDxYouth. She was about to go to the pre-conference for licensees before the big TED conference 2011 in Long Beach, which starts Feb. 28th and runs through March 4th. We were brainstorming ideas about how to describe the value of TED, more specifically the value of "Spreading Ideas", and even more specifically the value to young people, who are being exposed to ideas everyday in schools already. We were throwing around a bunch of different words, like "inspire others", "change the world"- although very true, but somewhat stereotypical and overused.
So I decided to ponder this question some more and started to brainstorm a list of reasons why I think the ideas at TED conferences are truly worth spreading.
Their mission, that of "Ideas Worth Spreading" does so much more than spread just ideas, it spreads everything from-well-from A to Z.
Action. More and more people are crediting TED for their taking action and helping them to start a career, a business, a non-profit, or a movement. Check out the TED conversation: Has TED Talk ever influenced you? Brains. There is scientific evidence that learning something new develops new neural pathways in brains. Creativity. Many of the talks at TED are about the creative process and truly inspire others in their creative endeavors. Elizabeth Gilbert's talk is one of the most popular TED talks of all time, certainly one of mine, and has personally changed my relationship with my creative process.
Discovery. The world has so many wonders that not even all the TED conferences can bring them to light, but it is a great place to go find them. Energy. A really good idea generates energy that builds momentum around it and spreads like wildfire. Fun. Yes, let's have more fun, and see others have it too! Gosh I couldn't stop smiling when I watched the young Bollywood dancers at the TEDxYouth conference I attended. Genius or Greatness. ( it's a tie) There is something special about being in the presence of greatness. It really does rub off a little. Health. Bill Gates keeps coming back to speak at the TED conference about his idea of eradicating malaria- Ideas truly can help save lives of millions of people. Influence. A good idea can influence important people or masses of people to create change. Joy. Pure joy of feeling alive and part of the wondrous world. Knowledge. By definition, knowledge is the acquisition of facts and ideas. So by spreading ideas, TED also gives the opportunity to gain knowledge. Love.What's love got to do with it? Well philanthropy is the love of mankind and you can just feel the love for humanity and for what it can be at TED. Motivation. Motivation, the drive that keeps people going in spite of obstacles, after they get inspired. Newness. Bringing together ideas that are new and fresh that spark innovation. Opportunities. Opening up all the possibilities that any one person can do. Power. Ideas give people the power to take action. Look at the power of democracy. Questions. The more you learn the more you ask questions, and the more you learn. Results. Ideas are provocative in that they motivate people to achieve results. Society. Great societies have been built on great ideas. Just think about the United States and how it was founded based on some fundamental ideas and principles. Truth. Embedded in ideas are truths that are fundamental to life. Understanding . How the world works and what humanity is about. Well-being. Studies have shown that well-being around the world is based on such factors as freedom, learning, health, work, security. TED helps spread ideas about well being around the world and how to achieve it. Values. Many of topics at TED touch upon important values like peace, kindness, and helps spread them. X-explore. Ideas give the opportunity to explore the world and to learn about ourselves and others. Yes! Positive attitudes like enthusiasm and excitement for new ideas. As the world seems to become increasingly more cynical, its wonderful to see enthusiasm for such a broad range of ideas. ZZZ's You can sleep better at night knowing that there are people out there doing amazing and wondrous things to make the world a better place to live.
Thank you TED for making the world a better place to live by spreading ideas that are worth spreading-and so much more, even if you have heard it a thousand times.
No, the word miner is not a misspelling, but the last name of a social entrepreneur, Karen Miner, who has founded a non-profit and a philanthropic business that supports its namesake charity A Miner Miracle.
Tony, touristy Union Square in San Francisco is often a contrast in images of homeless people blending in with tourists and high end shoppers. Amidst the Saks Fifth Ave and Nieman Marcus quadrant stands A Miner Miracle SHOP, that features designer clothing such as Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor and others offered at enticingly discounted prices and which is also a home base for the non-profit bearing the same name.
I stumbled upon this shop when I was staying at hotel in the area for a business meeting. This gave me the great opportunity to meet the founder of the non-profit and supporting business, Kathy Miner. Kathy gave me an on the spot interview that gave me an insider's view of her mission to help low-income men and women re-enter the workforce by dressing them for success.
The non-profit came first. In a former life, Kathy had been in the fashion retail industry and walked away from it swearing " never again" as she looked to do something more meaningful in her life. Using her expertise in clothing and image consulting for professionals, Kathy launched the non-profit, A Miner Miracle in 1995 that would give that same kind of service to a more disadvantaged population. She first began the operation in a rent free storefront with roll down security gates on the edge of the Tenderloin district, where many of these clients lived. In order to fund her mission she operated a modest clothing store on the site, manned by volunteers and recipients of the program. Overhead was low, all profits could go towards supporting the charity.
With the dot.com boom, that area was developed into the trendy SOMA, with stores like Bloomingdale's, upscale hotels and restaurants, museums and hip condominiums. Jokingly to me Karen said, "never say never", she went back to her beginnings in the fashion industry with the challenge of scaling up and opening a clothing boutique in the most popular shopping area of San Francisco.
While visibility in the new location is greater, so are the operating costs. Kathy did not hide the fact that this model of social venture has challenges. Although she negotiates directly with the design houses, which helps Kathy keep the prices low, the rent is low and she now has to employ her sales people. The further challenge comes when the profits need to be plowed back into maintaining the quality inventory.
The store site still continues to serve the dual purpose being a thriving business that has a philanthropic mission and as a home base for the nonprofit, where the services have expanded beyond men and women to include young adults and in transition youth. It also serves as the headquarters for fund raising for the charity through special events and as a channel of creating public awareness.
Kathy's picture of herself as she received the“Oprah Angel Network” award proudly hangs on the wall in the store above the cash register. While seeing the photo with her and Oprah is inspiring, seeing on the website, the heartwarming photos of the clients before and after their image makeovers, can only prove how a "miner/minor" miracle is a major one for everyone involved.
Tie in a holiday about love with a really great idea for philanthropy and you will win more than just one heart.
Usually Valentines Day comes upon us suddenly and we run out to grab a a box of chocolate or some flowers last minute-at least at my house. It's less than two weeks away til Valentine's Day, but this year, it is not too soon to think about giving one's valentine the message that one cares about them as well as about helping a worthy cause. All orders for hand crafted, organic and fair trade chocolate, from a socially conscious business, Full Circle Exchange, are customized with a personal label on the box of the name of the recipient must be in by Feb.4th. (now extended to Feb 7th) for Valentine Day deliveries.
But these chocolates show that not only that you care about them but about a worthy cause as all profits go to CARE, to help women and girls around the world to lift themselves out of poverty.
Full Circle Exchange is a socially conscious company that sells fairly traded, organic coffee, tea, and chocolate with a mission - to "Promote Justice and Cultivate Good"™. They have a full line of Care tea, coffee, and chocolate that supports the non-profit CARE in their programs for women as well as other products where percentage of profits are donated to worthy social justice causes
The esteemed Los Angeles-based Chrysalis Enterprises has a fascinating "chicken or the egg" origin story. In this case, the philanthropy, not the business, came first. On this blog I have profiled a variety of small businesses that have embraced giving in various forms, but here we have a vital, successful philanthropic organization that only later spawned a business wing.
The infamous downtown Skid Row here in LA, my own proud hometown, represents one of the most challenging hotbeds of homelessness and crime in America, but that's where Chrysalis was born in 1984, founded by John Dillon, then only twenty-two years old. The organization began as a modest food and clothing distribution center serving the denizens of Skid Row, but soon blossomed into an agency designed to help homeless men and women secure jobs, tackle substance abuse and re-enter society. Offering a wide range of job readiness training - resume writing, job search strategy, computer training, counseling and case management - Chrysalis has helped thousands of clients escape poverty. Today the organization runs its original downtown offices, plus satellite operations in Santa Monica and the San Fernando Valley.
In recent years, however, it has spawned a business division, Chrysalis Enterprises, consisting of three sub-divisions. Chrysalis Staffing is a full-service agency assisting with temp and work-for-hire job placements. Chrysalis Works is a cleaning and street maintenance organization that contracts with the city and regularly maintains many of the city's most-trafficked streets. Finally, Chrysalis Recycling collects recyclables from businesses, offices and schools.
Predictably, demand increased with the onset of the recession, but Chrysalis rose to the occasion. 400 clients a day received assistance at their three centers. In 2009 alone, 1,500 men and women were placed in new jobs, making, on average, significantly higher than the state's minimum wage.
Best, Chrysalis Enterprises, as you might guess, organically feeds off and yet nourishes the larger umbrella organization. The three businesses provide job opportunities for those whom the parent organization assists, and then their profits, in turn, cover 60% of the annual multimillion-dollar operating budget for Chrysalis. This award-winning model is a durable and innovative one, underscoring the effective way in which a philanthropy and its business can support one another in a symbiosis.
I just watched the Lehrer News Hour segment on PBS about Pura Vida Coffee. The News Hour now features a series about social entrepreneurship. Yesterday’s story was about a coffee company in Seattle that donates its profits to coffee growers in countries like Nicaragua and Costa Rica. www.pbs.org/newshour
Pura Vida Coffee. http://www.puravidacoffee.com/, sells organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee to 325 college campuses, and thousands of churches and scout troops sell the coffee as fundraisers. Pura Vida uses its funds to provide education to the farmers, clean water and latrines to the communities, helps bus children to school and supports a variety of other projects. There is a great video about these projects on their website.
Their slogan is “Do Good”. Their mission is to "sell coffee to create good" . Their coffee can also be purchased online.
