Social Entrepreneurship

Catalog description

The course examines the innovative principles, techniques, and issues surrounding the use of business and for-profit practices within nonprofit and public organizations. While social enterprise and entrepreneurship have emerged as driving forces that have been redefining the nonprofit sector globally, debate exists regarding: what distinguishes a social enterprise from traditional nonprofit organizations or business firms; what constitutes social innovation, and how best to benchmark and measure its impact; and whether social enterprise approaches are a way to discourage public funding of community programs. We will examine the diverse types of organizations that fall under the umbrella of social enterprises to better understand the impact of pursing both social and profit simultaneously. Finally, we will bring a critical perspective to our understanding of this form of nonprofit financing.