Why?

I think it is appropriate to start a blog by explaining why it exists. This reason may evolve over time, but it has to start somewhere and should head in a particular direction. My purpose is to discuss Social Entrepreneurship in totality. This blog start with a selfish goal, to develop myself as an expert on the subject. What is not selfish is the hope that anyone reading my blog will find valuable information as they achieve their own goals.

I am not a social entrepreneur, but I would like to be. To be more precise, I will be. I need to refine my vision into a practical and sustainable idea, gather supporters who are willing to work with me, and raise the funding required. I also have a lot to learn. In this blog, I will capture my efforts at learning and refining. I will point you to resources and research that I find to be useful. I will share my own thoughts and creations in the hopes that they help you.

A social entrepreneur (SE) is a leader who starts and leads a charitable cause. Once I have started some effort at charity, I can call myself an SE. This blog would then blossom into a discussion of how to keep the effort alive, exciting, and growing. Ultimately, an SE is one who has a vision for improving his or her world, sets a measurable goal, and collects resources to achieve that goal.

There are already many worthwhile charities that will enable you to employ your money, time and talents to achieve ends that you believe in. Therefore, one may ask why we need another SE coming in to rob other charities of resources. It seems like an egotistical effort more than anything else in that light. However, I take a different perspective. First, fresh ideas may give a needed boost to the solution. Second, some large charities (but not all) are inefficient and bureaucratic, and do not adapt well to changing conditions, nor do they employ new ideas as rapidly as a startup would. Third, a new face on the scene will attract additional donors of time and resources simply because it is new. Finally, the goal is to change a social condition, not to be "the biggest/best" charity out there; therefore, it is not always bad to move resources from one charity to another.

If you are reading this, please add a comment. Any comment at all. Even just a smiley/frowning face, or just a punctuation mark. It is always nice to know that the words were seen, and additional insights or criticism is welcome.