Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs [Hardcover]

J. Gregory Dees (Author), Jed Emerson (Author), Peter Economy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471397350 | ISBN-13: 978-0471397359 | Publication Date: March 29, 2001 | Edition: 1

A hands-on resource that shows nonprofits how to adopt entrepreneurial behaviors and techniques

The rising spirit of social entrepreneurship has created all kinds of new opportunities for nonprofit organizations. But at the same time, many are discovering more than their share of challenges as well. This essential book will help anyone in the field gain the necessary skills to meet these challenges. Written by the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field, Enterprising Nonprofits offers concise and engaging explanations of the most successful business tools being used by nonprofits today. The authors clearly describe all the concepts so you'll be able to embrace the methods of social enterprise for your organization. With this book, you'll learn how to use practical business techniques to dramatically improve the performance of your nonprofit.

Praise for Enterprising Nonprofits

"I can't imagine a better team to bring powerful insights and practical guidance to social entrepreneurs. Readers will be inspired by the examples, and then they will roll up their sleeves to apply the many useful management tools in this engaging book."-Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Author of Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow

"In one book, Enterprising Nonprofits does for social entrepreneurs what countless volumes have done for entrepreneurs in the business sector. A wonderful mixture of analysis, practical advice, and inspiration."-Paul Brest, President, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

All of the royalties from this book will be used by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to support continuing work on social entrepreneurship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...concise explanations..." (Oxfam Review of Journals)

From the Inside Flap

"If anything, social enterprises today are learning that the universe of possible opportunities for introducing entrepreneurial activity into their organizations is limited only by their imaginations."

The idea of social entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly popular. Many nonprofit leaders are initially drawn to this concept as they search for new ways to generate funds for their organizations. But once they delve deeper, they find that being entrepreneurial is about much more than funding. It involves operating your organization with a fresh mind-set and a set of management tools that can have powerful and positive effects on how you serve your mission. True social entrepreneurs are innovative and resourceful; they mix passion with businesslike discipline; they take risks but know how to manage them; they are mission-driven but market savvy; and they are intensely focused on creating sustainable social impact. Effective social entrepreneurship is hard work but absolutely crucial to the health of the communities in which we live. This book can make it easier for you to develop your entrepreneurial skills.

Written by leading experts in the field, Enterprising Nonprofits introduces you to key elements of social entrepreneurship and equips you to become more effective as a social entrepreneur. In each chapter, you will find concise explanations of core concepts, as well as practical tools for applying the concepts. You’ll also find exercises and action steps to guide you as you put the concepts and tools into practice. Throughout the book, you’ll learn from the experiences of successful social entrepreneurs ranging from Bill Strickland, head of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh, to Muhammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. You’ll also uncover the strategies of some of today’s most enterprising nonprofits and determine their relevance to your organization.

In addition to contributions from the three lead authors, you’ll benefit from advice offered by some of the best and brightest thinkers in the field, including:

• Bruce Hopkins, Polsinelli, Shalton & White
• Rob Johnston, Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management
• Jerry Kitzi, Social Venture Partners of Greater Kansas City
• Kristin Majeska, Common Good: Investments in Nonprofit Solutions
• Tom McLaughlin, BDO Seidman, LLP
• Jeanne Rooney, UMB Bank Nonprofit Financial & Advisory Services

Whether you are a nonprofit CEO, board member, staff member, or volunteer, Enterprising Nonprofits will open the door to new opportunities for you and your nonprofit organization. The more you use the skills described in this book, the better you’ll get at them, and the more effective your organization will become.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471397350
• ISBN-13: 978-0471397359
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
  • #50 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > New Business Enterprises

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for those in the Non-Profit Sector, June 29, 2001

By 

Tanya Springer (Pompano Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs (Hardcover)

As a businessperson with an MBA, I readily identified with and agreed with the advice and strategies presented in this book. For people with a passion to help improve things in a not-so-perfect world, this book is a gift. It provides real life examples and turns theories into step-by-step directions. Each chapter makes good use of subheads and bullet points and ends with a concise summary. The authors have real-life experience working as social entreprenuers and it shows. I highly recommend this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Quite Useful, February 7, 2007

By 

Caterina A. Conti - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs (Hardcover)

I found this book to be extraordinarily helpful in outlining how nonprofits can adopt better practices towards creating more sustainable social entrepreneurial models. While my background is in the profit world, it helped me to recognize how my existing knoweldge could be adapted to social entreprenuership. I highly recommend this book. It is well-written, comprehensive in its topics and it contains very useful tips and "how to" material.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal resource, May 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs (Hardcover)

This book is destined to become a classic. It is full of such useful information. Not only is the content fantastic but the format is an outstanding feature of the book. I predict many will read it and all of those will value it and refer to it often. Thanks for providing us with such a comprehensive and easy to use resource.