Vistas: Geri Stengel’s Blog: Social enterprise

Really? $120 billion in untapped investment money is available, according to Money for Good research.

If only social entrepreneurs could open the spigot?

Yep! Investors do want to do well by doing good. Worthwhile social enterprises abound. What's keeping the two apart?

That's the 120-billion-dollar question, raised by the research.

It's the question that will be discussed at the Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) in October.

How, indeed, do social entrepreneurs convince these potential investors to put their money in social enterprises, to consider social impact and the triple-bottom line?

It's a great question. And I have an answer that is based on my years of experience in marketing. That answer is, of course, marketing.  The concept of impact investing has to be marketed as good for your portfolio as well as the world. For more about that, check out my entry in the SOCAP blog contest.

The contest is designed to get the conversation started. The winner gets a free pass to the conference, which will be an energizing and inspiring gathering of impact investment strategists and entrepreneurs.

Yes, my answer is one of the entries. Yes, I'd like you to vote for it. Just look for my picture next to  the blog.

It's not an easy vote to cast; you have to register at the site and then validate your registration by responding to an email.

Check it out ... before Sept. 14 when the voting closes. Yes, I want you to vote for me but I also want you to be inspired by the energy, creativity and size of the social enterprise sector and its potential to change the world.

I can't think of better guidelines for social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and small business owners than that of Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, a very large, socially responsible business.

As quoted by AP, Benioff describes his philosophy as the V2MOM process. It stands for the vision, the values, the methods, the obstacles and the measures.

What is your definition of social entrepreneur? I've asked that question before but feel compelled to revisit in light of an article in the July 11 The New York Times.

Social innovation doesn’t just happen; it needs to be inspired, encouraged, and nurtured if it is to prosper and be effective. Such support can – and now does – come from many sources:

• government, Social Innovation Fund (SIF)
• cross sector, Social Innovation Exchange (SIE)
• grass roots, Echoing Green