Social Firms UK

The contributors to this American chronicle are staff from various departments throughout the university.  Articles include the following topics:

• how a Seattle nonprofit became an international role model for nonprofit entrepreneurs;
• how one social entrepreneur risked everything to employ people who are disabled;
• how a former drug addict and criminal is helping recovering drug users turn their lives around;
• how a state centre for the blind became a $56 million social enterprise;
• how a tiny non-profit has survived without government funding for 50 years,    and many more.

REDF, formerly known as the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, based in San Francisco (USA) has produced this paper from over 10 years of REDF's experiences mixing business practices with social mission. This paper considers some central issues when considering whether to choose a not-for-profit or a for-profit structure. Our thanks and acknowledgements go to REDF for sharing this report with us - please take a look at www.redf.org for more information about their work. Also see REDF's report "Social Impact Report 2005: What A Difference A Job Makes - The Long Term Impact of Social Enterprise Employment."

This is a recording of Jed Emerson's presentation at the 5th Gathering of the Social Enterprise Alliance. Jed Emerson, twice selected by 'The Non-profit Times' as one of its '50 most influential people in the non-profit sector' (USA) does what he does best - challenge the audience to think about the transformation of the sector in new and different ways. Jed is a Senior Fellow with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. He is also Lecturer in Business at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. His work involves an array of issues related to the development of investment strategies that leverage the greatest value from both philanthropic and market-rate capital in pursuit of a Blended Return on Investment (which includes financial, environmental and socialreturns/metrics). This recording accompanies the slides,as well as the publication, 'The Blended Value Map'.

"The Linz Appeal" outlines why there should be more Social Firms for disabled and disadvantaged people across Europe. The document makes a series of recommendations to the European Union for how the growth of Social Firms can be encouraged, in line with their employment and social exclusion agendas. The publication was launched at the 20th CEFEC Conference in Linz, Austria in October 2007. CEFEC (The Confederation of European Social Firms, Employment Initiatives and Social Co-operatives) and its members across many EU countries have gathered a wealth of experience over the last twenty years on Social Firm development. The issue of how to create paid employment for disabled and disadvantaged people, especially those with mental health issues, remains a challenge for all EU countries. Social Firms which operate on the open market have shown a successful way of integration and inclusion.