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Social Good Instigators is a podcast featuring social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. While social entrepreneurship is not a new concept (the term was first introduced in the early 1970’s) it has been receiving more attention of late. The goal of each interview is to share advice from social entrepreneurs for social entrepreneurs. Our hope is that listeners will learn ways to ensure their endeavor succeeds and thrives.

This podcast was originally launched in July 2015 as The Nonprofit Leader’s Network Podcast. There were 44 episodes broadcast as part of that initiative that covered topics ranging from board development to program development to fundraising. There have been over 33,800 downloads so far!

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

You might be wondering to yourself what I mean by social entrepreneurship. While there are multiple definitions available (with some of those conflicting), I’m a little partial to the one the European Commission uses:

A social enterprise is an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders. It operates by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and innovative fashion and uses its profits primarily to achieve social objectives. It is managed in an open and responsible manner and, in particular, involves employees, consumers and stakeholders affected by its commercial activities. http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/social-economy/enterprises_en

Social enterprises can be for- or non-profit. I’m particularly interested in organizations that are meeting social service/employment needs and/or are funding their endeavors in unique ways.

Be a Guest on the Show!

Do you know a social entrepreneur who would have some good tips and wisdom to share? Please have them email Kirsten@BullockConsulting.net and share what they’re up to. By using the subject line “I’d like to be a guest on the podcast” you’ll make sure your email gets read.

About Your Host: Kirsten Bullock

Kirsten is a Ph.D. student in Entrepreneurship at the University of Louisville (starting August 2017). She has 20+ years serving the nonprofit sector, first as a staff member and later as a consultant and entrepreneur. She’s launched (and sold) two brands including The Nonprofit Academy and the Nonprofit Leaders Network.

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  2. NLN5: The First Year of a Nonprofit with Josh Brooks

NLN5: The First Year of a Nonprofit with Josh Brooks

Aug 25, 2015

This is the Nonprofit Leaders Network Podcast: Episode 5. Today we’re talking with Josh Brooks, Executive Director of Ensuring Charity Foundation. Here are a few highlights:

THE BOARD LEADS THE WAY IN GIVING: The first group of people that we went to was the board. Julie, my wife, and I established an endowment. Dave and Debbie also established an endowment and then Wayne and his wife, Lanie, established an endowment. So the board put their money where their mouth is. I also had a couple of close associates who were wanting to be philanthropic and I described this vision to them and they were interested as well.

WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH:

Something I read recommended ten touches a year. So we make a phone call to each of our endowment founders quarterly, send happy holiday cards, Christmas cards, and 4th of July cards which no one else does. So, that kind of gets a little bit extra attention. We'll probably send Veterans Day cards out because a large part of our group so far is military folks.

We are doing a semi-annual newsletter and then we've got the end-of-the-year campaign which includes the thank you phone call, a thank you letter, an annual report on how the foundation is performing, and then, of course, toward the end of the holiday season, the annual solicitation. Last thing, we also do an annual gift. You know, paper weight or a key chain or something like that. So, if you're an endowment founder, you'll hear from the Enduring Charity Foundation at least ten times a year.

SET AND TRACK GOALS: The great success for the first year is that we achieved and then went beyond our initial goals. The way that I describe the first year to people is it happened in thirds. The first third was establishing the organization, getting the bank accounts and ensuring that we were following regulations and laws. The second third was getting our tax exempt status. The last third was setting up seven endowments totaling $25,000 which will generate a thousand dollars or so of support to those designated charities year in and year out forever. So, it was a pretty darn good first year.

Find more information on the podcast at www.SocialGoodInstigators.com.