Derek Lomas doesn’t see business as evil; he sees it as a tool to fund and distribute interactive games for children in Latin America. Jesse Gossett doesn’t use hisengineering degree to build bigger buildings; he is using it to democratize investments in renewable energy. Rosey Sambilli doesn’t just buy music to relax or dance to; she is using it as a platform to fund hundreds of undiscovered artists in Africa.
The convening power of the Internet, rapid advances in technology, and the reduced costs of launching a social enterprise in today's wired world are driving the race to create business models brimming with purpose. In this environment, social entrepreneurs like these are developing new solutions to take advantage of these advances and recreate yesterday's broken business models.
One example of their approach is crowdfunding -- the collective cooperation by people who network and pool their money together. And the implications, from technology to community-powered renewable energy to political campaigns or to financing the next wave of social enterprises, are immense. Think about how the Obama campaign flipped the standard campaign fundraising model on its head through harnessing small repeatable donations from the crowd.
The convening power of the Internet, rapid advances in technology, and the reduced costs of launching a social enterprise in today's wired world are driving the race to create business models brimming with purpose. In this environment, social entrepreneurs like these are developing new solutions to take advantage of these advances and recreate yesterday's broken business models.
One example of their approach is crowdfunding -- the collective cooperation by people who network and pool their money together. And the implications, from technology to community-powered renewable energy to political campaigns or to financing the next wave of social enterprises, are immense. Think about how the Obama campaign flipped the standard campaign fundraising model on its head through harnessing small repeatable donations from the crowd.
It's an opportunity that has the potential to transform the business, political, and charitable landscapes. And it's already happening.
On this current trend there are some questions to consider:
1. What business model for social impact does your organization use?
2. Does an opportunity exist for crowdfunding to scale your impact?
3. Besides the examples noted above, can you think of other possibilities to harness crowdfunding for good?
4. What isn't sustainable about your business model? Why? Could "tapping the crowd" for funds enhance your sustainability?
On this current trend there are some questions to consider:
1. What business model for social impact does your organization use?
2. Does an opportunity exist for crowdfunding to scale your impact?
3. Besides the examples noted above, can you think of other possibilities to harness crowdfunding for good?
4. What isn't sustainable about your business model? Why? Could "tapping the crowd" for funds enhance your sustainability?
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