Life Cycle Financing Options

By Rolfe Larson on March 7, 2012

When you’re looking for financing, it may seem that anything will do.  However, depending on the life cycle stage of your venture, some forms of financing are better than others.  You want the right kind of capital for the needs of your business at that point in time.

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Public Administration and the Impact Economy

By Rolfe Larson on February 13, 2012

The following blog was written by guest blogger Cyndi Laurenti: The economic struggle the U.S. is facing today isn’t simply a matter of a few bad business decisions; for too long business practices have marginalized and preyed on their market base. The quest for corporate profits has caused similar degradation of social systems and the […]

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State of Social Enterprise: 2012

By Rolfe Larson on January 19, 2012

Following President Obama’s State of the Union speech last week, we thought this would be a good time to evaluate the state of the social enterprise sector.  So here is the npEnterprise Forum’s official, revised* State of the SE Sector 2012 address. Emerging Private Sector SEs Private sector SEs are now gaining momentum and recognition.  Truth […]

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Directory of Social Enterprise Directories

By Rolfe Larson on November 10, 2011

One sign that the social enterprise field is maturing is the emergence of guides and directories.  And one sign that the field has a ways to go is a lack of consistency in how to define social enterprise (if they define it at all) or what information they present about each listing.  But now there […]

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New! Social Enterprise Shopping Guide

By Rolfe Larson on October 26, 2011

Have you ever gone online to order something and then wondered if you could buy it from a social enterprise?  We often have, which is why the npEnterprise Forum created the Social Enterprise Shopping Guide. Support the SE sector while shopping online! Here’s the web address for the Guide:  http://bit.ly/qsDUzN

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What Is NOT a Social Enterprise

By Rolfe Larson on October 17, 2011

Steve Jobs once said: “I am as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”  So also it should be for the social enterprise sector.  There are plenty of great things that are not SEs.  To gain credibility and traction in the marketplace, the SE field cannot be all things […]

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ShoreBank Demise Dissected: “Too Good To Fail”

By Rolfe Larson on September 27, 2011

In August 2010, ShoreBank, the nation’s first, largest, and leading community bank, was shut down by regulators. It was a major blow to the social enterprise sector. For almost forty years, ShoreBank made more than $4 billion in mission investments and financed more than 59,000 units of affordable housing.  It spearheaded the national movement of […]

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Social Enterprise Summit, Chicago, 10/30-11/2

By Rolfe Larson on September 22, 2011

If you haven’t heard about it yet, check out the Social Enterprise Summit, put on by Social Enterprise Alliance. For those interested in social enterprise, there’s no better way to learn, network and get inspired by the incredible people who organize and put on these conferences.  I’ve been to ten of them, and gained something […]

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New! Sales Strategy for Rhode Island Social Enterprises

By Rolfe Larson on September 12, 2011

For years, some of us have mused about some kind of national system to drive sales to social enterprises.  The basic idea is that there are government agencies and socially-minded companies who might be willing to purchase large quantities of goods and services from social enterprises, provided someone would identify qualified suppliers and make it […]

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New! Social Enterprise Dining Map

By Rolfe Larson on August 17, 2011

Have you ever wondered: where’s the nearest SE restaurant? Or is there an SE cafe in a city you’re planning to visit? We often do, which is why the npEnterprise Forum created the first-ever Social Enterprise Dining Map. This map lists more than 50 social enterprise cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, and ice cream stores in the US and […]

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