social enterprise

In a tough funding environment nonprofits are looking for innovative sustainability options. One model being adopted by a growing number of nonprofits and community-based media centers is social enterprise – a business venture tied to the social mission of the organization and leveraging its core strengths.

What are some examples of successful nonprofit social enterprises in the technology and media space, how does one get started, and where can you find funding and other support for such efforts?

Paul Lamb, Man on a Mission Consulting, was part of a panel discussion on Building Sustainable, Scalable Business. Moderated by Betsy Densmore of Social Enterprise Institute, Paul was joined by Alan Gershenfeld of E-Line Ventures and Lauri Alpern of ROI Ventures.

The session presented how to create a business with high impact that pays the bills, grows in size and impact, but doesn’t require constant fundraising.

Youth Radio is an award winning nationally recognized leader in Youth Media content creation and distribution. They provide intensive, free, after school media training and broadcast journalism education to over 400 low-income and youth of color annually.

Youth Outlook,(YO!) the youth division of New America Media, produces and distributes youth media content locally and nationally. YO! is the umbrella organization that houses YO!TV, YO!Radio, and four magazines (Debuge, The Beat Within, SNAG, SPRAWL). YO! also podcasts and streams youth content directly from its website, www.youthoutlook.org.

Bay Area Video Coalition, or BAVC (pronounced bay-vac), is a nonprofit media arts center that was founded in 1976 by a coalition of media makers and activists who wanted to find alternative, civic-minded applications for a new technology - PortaPak video. BAVCs mission to bring increased cultural and economic participation to underserved communities through media, and believes in telling compelling stories is powerful for both media maker and audience.

Dr. Lucy Bernholz spoke at our Feb. 2008 board of directors meeting. Here's the intoduction of the meeting along with her speech.