As the social enterprise sector transitions from a period of growth to maturity thanks to a number of supportive organizations that help social entrepreneurs with funding, business planning, and development, there comes the question of what will help social ventures create a bigger impact. That is what over 300 individuals gathered to speculate one evening at the Centre for Social Innovation in Canada.
The event was similar to a job fair. Participating organizations included Ashoka Canada, B Lab, and the School for Social Entrepreneurs Ontario who introduced their programs. The main highlight evolved around one question: How can we support social ventures in a way that would be most impactful?
Four leading thinkers and doers of the field led discussions with a pitch of their own idea over which participants voted on. The most popular suggestion from Tim Draimin of Social Innovation Generation was a nationwide mentorship program that would connect experienced baby boomers with capable young social entrepreneurs.
Participants also formed small groups to brainstorm and present their best idea, which were all-embracing. One mentioned the need to eliminate student debt as it hinders risk-taking among youths. Another proposed using social venture labels to promote social organizations, something being addressed by the Social Enterprise Mark and B Lab’s B Corporation.
A response that generated convinced applause was to add social innovation and social enterprise literacy in K-12 education. In the present day, as social entrepreneurs build their projects, they would need a new generation of social entrepreneurs to carry on their work. Increasing literacy among young students would help open a new door for them to make a difference, allow them to learn from social entrepreneurs today, and widen the impact for social change.
“The first step is for young people to be practicing change. We’ve got to help every school and every youth community make the change so it becomes natural for kids to start things. Once young people see themselves as changemakers, the world will be on a very different path – a path that is limitlessly hopeful,” said Ashoka CEO and founder Bill Drayton in a recent interview.
Drayton adds that for every young social entrepreneur with an idea, there are 20 more who want to work to make it happen. That means for every 5 entrepreneurs in a school, there could be over 100 students wanting to participate. The key to making this work is empowerment and awareness for children and adults alike. When that is achieved, more people will step up and really make a difference.