Thursday, December 30, 2010

“how business principles can be applied to solve social problems”

Happy Old Year everyone! I just wanted to share this article:

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/30/132444322/change-you-can-invest-in-social-entrepreneurship

David Wish advocates music education using popular genres in schools. The website has some resources for the kids that I had fun playing with:


Another site worth looking at http://www.seachangecap.org/portfolio.html
This website confirms what Beth Babcock spoke about making non-profits look more like for-profits.

Finally, Ashoka is an association of social entrepreneurs.
Here is an interesting post:

The first part of my answer is always that the process is organic and that the right approach for one person might be completely different for another. Let’s face it –we’re all different and our ideas are a reflection of that unique individuality. Nevertheless, I think there are a couple things that apply across the board that can contribute to a solid foundation for new idea. Here are five things to consider:
• Self-reflect - you are looking for that sweet spot where your passions, talents and abilities meet an existing need. The first step in mastering that is understanding yourself and taking the time to reflect.
• Step outside your comfort zone –escaping your normal routine and experiencing new things produces the perfect backdrop for idea generation – you are more likely to look at things differently, notice things you haven’t before and feel that ‘spark’ you’re looking for.
• Write everything down – this allows you to store and revisit everything you’ve come up with. It’s important not to be picky with what you record, though - this limits the possibilities.
• Constantly review your earlier ideas – this gives you a chance to organize, combine and prioritize all of your thinking. More than anything it gives you the opportunity to expand upon ideas with strong potential.
• Surround yourself with the right people – perhaps one of the most crucial aspects of this process is the sounding boards you line up. You want to surround yourself with people who are both encouraging and constructive – these shouldn’t be people shoot your idea down prematurely nor people who blindly endorse everything you propose.


This post was submitted by Arthur Woods. He is a Co-Founder of Compass Partners, a social business incubator with fellowship programs for college students dedicated to training social entrepreneurs across the country. Learn more about Compass Partners here.


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