Community Investment Resources

To select a category, please click on the links below:

Accounting
Books & Media Resources
Business Plan Tools
Funding and Financial Support
General Social Enterprise Resources
Legal Resources
Marketing and Advertising
Miscellaneous Startup and Venture Capital Specific Pitching Resources
Nonprofit Tools
Pitching Resources
Social Enterprise Pitching Resources
Strategic Planning and Consulting
Training

PB Wiki - link to ZeroDivide 360 Training

Accounting

Armanino McKenna - Nonprofit/Social Enterprise accounting expertise
Robert Pascual -  Financial Management Consultant

Back to top

Books & Media Resources

Dowser - eZine highlighting stories of social change 
Social Enterprise Blogs - Leading blogs discussing social enterprise issues, people, and resources 
Social Enterprise Books - Amazon listing of major books and handbooks for social enterprise and nonprofit innovation 
Social Enterprise Twitter Streams - Top 100 Twitter streams in the social enterprise arena

Back to top

Business Plan Tools

REDF - Venture Feasability worksheets and Business plan template
NeSST - Guidebook, worksheets, and case studies for business planning
Business Plan Pro - Software which guides you from assesssment through business plan writing
Fieldstone Alliance - Book which includes assessment through business plan writing
Root Cause - Business planning guidebook, for purchase or free download
Seedco - Comprehensive business plan writing toolkit, including financial worksheeets
SCORE - More generic small business planning tool

Back to top

Funding* and Financial Support

Ashoka -  Fellowship program & financial support for social enterprise
Ben & Jerry's Foundation - Innovative social change & environmental impact funder
Calvert Foundation -  SE Funder & Investor (global)
Changemakers - Open competitions for $5,000 seed funding 
Draper Richards Foundation  - Startup funding for Entreprneurs (new organizations)
Echoing Green  -  program & financial support for social enterprise
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation -  Investment funding for youth serving enterprises
Global Giving - Online Funding matchmaking service
Good Capital - SE Investor (global)
Investors' Circle - SE Investment Aggregator
Kauffman Foundation - SE Funder
Living Cities  - Loans for Urban SE projects
New Profit, Inc. - Nonprofit Venture Philanthropy Fund
Nonprofit Finance Fund - Financial consulting and fund support for Nonprofits
Northern California Community Loan Fund - Loans and Financial Consulting to Nonprofits
Omidyar Network - SE Funder (global)
Patient Capital Collaborative - SE Investor working with Investor's Circle
Partners for the Common Good - Loans for Nonprofits and Community Organizations
REDF - SE Funder and information resource
RISE - Searchable database of for profit SE investors
Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Initiative - supporting open/user-driven projects worldwide
SeaChange Capital Partners - SE Investor for nonprofits
Skoll Foundation - SE Funder (global)
ShoreBank - SE & Community Development Loans
Social Edge Funding Wiki - SE Funding Global Database
Social Innovation Fund - US Government funding for social innovation funders and programs
Underdog Investors - SE Investment Fund
U.S. Bancorp Foundation - U.S. Economic opportunity initiatives
W.K. Kellogg Foundation - Mission-driven investments in SE

*Note: Many communities have community development banks or loan funds that support nonprofits at favorable rates.

Back to top

Legal Resources* 

Laws for Change - Legal Information and advice, including legal startup kit, for social change
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles - Pro bono attorney matching, LA area
Legal Aid Society of San Diego - Pro bono support for San Diego 
Lex Mundi - Largest association of independent law firms
Pro bono assistance for members of the Social Enterprise Alliance Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County - Provide legal support and pro bono for nonprofits in LA county 
Public Council - Largest pro bono public counsel in the world 
Public Law Center - Pro bono support for Orange County (based in Santa Ana)
San Francisco Bar, Volunteer Legal Services (CORP) Program - Pro bono attorney matching, training seminars in San Francisco 

*Note: most local Bar Associations have pro bono legal programs and some localities have nonprofit legal assistance centers.

Back to top 

Marketing & Advertising

American Marketing Association - Membership organization, network, recognition, information resource
Cable TV Advertising Bureau - Membership organization for Cable TV advertising, information resource
Cause Marketing Forum - Socially oriented marketing resource
ClickZ - Interactive Marketing resource & news site
Cable TV Association of Marketers - Membership organization, news
Emarketer - Online marketing research, information resource
Google Adwords - for Nonprofits
Internet Advertising Bureau - Membership organization, news & training, policy
National Association of Broadcasters - Membership organization for TV, information resource, policy
Radio Advertising Bureau - Membership organization for radio stations, policy
Small Business Association - Small business marketing basics and planning resources
Taproot - Service grants for marketing and branding consulting

Back to top 

 

Pitching Resources

General Pitching

Elevator Pitch - One Minute video pitches from startup entrepreneurs that are rated via a voting system

The Art of the Fast Pitch - Your Business Plan in One Minute Flat 

Back to top

Miscellaneous Startup and Venture Capital Specific Pitching Resources

How to pitch to a VC. A 15 minute video with great advice on pitching a new venture along with great general presentation advice

Sample video pitches from the Demo conference. View a whole range ofwinning pitches from the premier annual tech startup pitch event. Clickon Demo08 to view the “DemoGods” winning pitches:

How to demo your startup. Some good advice from demo guru Jason Calacanis on TechCrunch:

How to do a Fundraising Pitch. A collection of resources and guidelines for making VC targeted pitches: 

Guy Kawasaki’s Blog: “My New Year’s Resolution: I will Fix My Pitch”. Focused on VC pitching, but some useful ideas and tactics

How NOT to write a Business Plan. Focused on VC pitches, but some useful ideas on just getting the important stuff out front.

Back to top 

Nonprofit Tools

Aspiration/Social Source Commons A place to share lists of software tools to use, gain knowledge and support, discover new tools and meet people with similar needs.

Back to top

Social Enterprise Pitching Resources

ZeroDivide Community Venture Pitches: Social Capital Markets Pitch Session, October 2008
(scroll to bottom left) 

The Art of the Nonprofit Elevator Pitch: Charity Veterans Making Their Pitch

Critiquing & Pitching for Growth Capital: Getting Into Your Business Plan, Social Enterprise Summit, March 2008

10 Pitching Tips from the Pros: Jill Finlayson provides a short primer and some good links on pitching your social venture

Summary of  presentation 

The Social Entrepreneur’s 5 Minute Pitch, Social Edge

Back to top

Resources (General)

Ashoka - Global social enterprise projects/fellowships
Cause Marketing Forum - Advertising & marketing tools and strategies
Center for Advancement of Social Enterprise - Research and case studies on social enterprise and enterprise scaling
Center for Global Social Enterprise - Information, training, and student inters (in Stockton, CA)
Changemakers - Social Enterprise forum and project examples
Innovations Journal (MIT) - Journal
National Center for Social Entrepreneurs - Information resource
Net Impact - Information resource
Omidyar Network - Social Enterprise Funder (global)
REDF - Social Enterprise Funder and information resource
Skoll Foundation - Social Enterprise Funder (global)
Social Edge - Online discussion forum
Social Enterprise Alliance - Support network & information resource
Social Innovation Conversations - Informational podcasts
Social Venture Network - Information resource, Forum, Support Network
Stanford Graduate School of Social Innovation - Information resource
The Academies for Social Entrepreneurship - training and mentoring programs for sustainable, mission-based businesses
The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs - Information resource 
Venturneer - Small business advice, nonprofit training and social enterprise education

Back to top

Strategic Planning and Consulting*

Bridgespan - Nonprofit Management Consulting (paid)
Community Wealth Ventures - Management consulting to nonprofits on social enterprise (paid)
Net Impact - Global network of local MBA chapters & students that can be tapped for specific projects
Root Cause SE Business planning consultancy and research firm (paid)
Social Enterprise Alliance - SE Consultant listing (for paid members of SEA)
Social Enterprise Group - Strategic business planning, workshops and training for SEs
Taproot - Pro bono branding & HR help
Virtue Ventures - Strategic business planning, workshops and training for SEs

*Note: Many local business schools and universities have MBA support programs for nonprofits

Back to top

Training

FastTrac - Comprehensive small business development training program, sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation
Rolf Larson Associates - Entry level training programs for nonprofits and social enterprises
Social Enterprise Alliance - Ongoing webinars and F2F trainings for social enterprises at all levels 
Social Enterprise Group - Strategic business planning, workshops and training for SEs (paid). Beginning to advanced SEs
Social Enterprise Ventures - 9 month & 1-2 Day intensive training programs for Nonprofits wanting to start a venture (paid)

Back to top

Bonus Idea

Make your business plan presentation or pitch available through the Web via Slideshare (Powerpoint presentation) or YouTube

Back to top