Social Entrepreneurship : The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development [Hardcover]

Peter C. Brinckerhoff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471362824 | ISBN-13: 978-0471362821 | Publication Date: March 31, 2000 | Edition: 1

Until very recently, popular belief held that business skills were not needed at charitable organizations. No longer. Far from interfering with an organization s ability to provide needed services, techniques such as marketing, cash flow analysis, property management, and good use of technology all contribute to a charitable organization s mission capability. Unlike a not-for-profit that thinks of itself as a charity, the successful not-for-profit is really a mission-based business. In an era of rapid change, increasing competition, and the need for more accountability to governments, foundations, insurers, and donors, knowing how to innovate, compete, and take reasonable risks on behalf of the mission is critical. It is, in short, the era of the social entrepreneur.

The skilled social entrepreneur has the ability to get the most mission out of the resources at hand including traditional business techniques. Finally, here is a book that will help you learn their techniques. In Social Entrepreneurship, you will learn how successful social entrepreneurs:
* Focus on community wants and needs
* Match those with core competencies to provide the quality services
* Assess risk and gauge opportunity
* Develop new project ideas and test their feasibility
* Write a business plan
* Project finances in the plan
* Tap into new sources of funding
* Develop the idea of social entrepreneurship throughout the organization
* Make sure that mission, not money, is the bottom line


Also included are the seven essential steps of the not-for-profit business development process, real-world case studies, sample business plans, and a self-assessment process to determine if your organization is ready for social entrepreneurism. In addition to entrepreneurs, middle managers, policy setters, volunteers, and a host of other important staff members will get value from the mission-beneficial information in this book. Most important, Social Entrepreneurship will help you to help your organization succeed and thrive and make your job more interesting and productive.

Praise for Social Entrepreneurship
The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development

"A great read . . . contains both the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications that those of us in nonprofit leadership badly need. I will share it with my management team and board." Joseph M. Hafey, President and CEO, Public Health Institute

"A sound, practical guide for developing social entrepreneurs. Brinckerhoff makes taking mission-related business risks on behalf of the people served less risky with the step-by-step application of business ideas and techniques. Warnings, real-world examples, and hands-on advice keep the reader on track to sensible risk taking." Connie Kirk, President and CEO, Tommy Nobis Center

"Peter C. Brinckerhoff s new and masterfully written book has a lot of practical information in it for any organization that wants to learn how to become and stay entrepreneurial. Brinckerhoff provides the right kind of information to any organization interested in succeeding in a highly competitive and service-oriented environment . . . [and] stresses the importance of an organization s encouraging innovation and risk only if it does not lose sight of its core values, its strengths, and its mission. That is excellent advice for any organization and for anyone who ventures into entrepreneurial waters." Andrew H. Souerwine, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Management and Organization The School of Business Administration, University of Connecticut

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Until very recently, popular belief held that business skills were not needed at charitable organizations. No longer. Far from interfering with an organization’s ability to provide needed services, techniques such as marketing, cash flow analysis, property management, and good use of technology all contribute to a charitable organization’s mission capability. Unlike a not-for-profit that thinks of itself as a charity, the successful not-for-profit is really a mission-based business. In an era of rapid change, increasing competition, and the need for more accountability to governments, foundations, insurers, and donors, knowing how to innovate, compete, and take reasonable risks on behalf of the mission is critical. It is, in short, the era of the social entrepreneur. Skilled social entrepreneurs have the ability to get the most mission out of the resources at hand—including traditional business techniques. Finally, here is a book that will help you learn their techniques. In Social Entrepreneurship, you will learn how successful social entrepreneurs:

• Focus on community wants and needs
• Match those with core competencies to provide the highest quality services
• Assess risk and gauge opportunity
• Develop new project ideas and test their feasibility
• Write a business plan
• Project finances in the plan
• Tap into new sources of funding
• Develop the idea of social entrepreneurship throughout the organization
• Make sure that mission, not money, is the bottom line

Also included are the seven essential steps of the not-for-profit business development process, real-world case studies, sample business plans, and a self-assessment process to determine if your organization is ready for social entrepreneurism. In addition to entrepreneurs, middle managers, policy setters, volunteers, and a host of other important staff members will get value from the mission-beneficial information in this book. Most important, Social Entrepreneurship will help you to help your organization succeed and thrive—and make your job more interesting and productive.

From the Back Cover

Until very recently, popular belief held that business skills were not needed at charitable organizations. No longer. Far from interfering with an organization?s ability to provide needed services, techniques such as marketing, cash flow analysis, property management, and good use of technology all contribute to a charitable organization?s mission capability. Unlike a not-for-profit that thinks of itself as a charity, the successful not-for-profit is really a mission-based business. In an era of rapid change, increasing competition, and the need for more accountability to governments, foundations, insurers, and donors, knowing how to innovate, compete, and take reasonable risks on behalf of the mission is critical. It is, in short, the era of the social entrepreneur.

The skilled social entrepreneur has the ability to get the most mission out of the resources at hand?including traditional business techniques. Finally, here is a book that will help you learn their techniques. In Social Entrepreneurship, you will learn how successful social entrepreneurs:

• Focus on community wants and needs
• Match those with core competencies to provide the quality services
• Assess risk and gauge opportunity
• Develop new project ideas and test their feasibility
• Write a business plan
• Project finances in the plan
• Tap into new sources of funding
• Develop the idea of social entrepreneurship throughout the organization
• Make sure that mission, not money, is the bottom line

Also included are the seven essential steps of the not-for-profit business development process, real-world case studies, sample business plans, and a self-assessment process to determine if your organization is ready for social entrepreneurism. In addition to entrepreneurs, middle managers, policy setters, volunteers, and a host of other important staff members will get value from the mission-beneficial information in this book. Most important, Social Entrepreneurship will help you to help your organization succeed and thrive?and make your job more interesting and productive.

Praise for Social Entrepreneurship
The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development

"A great read . . . contains both the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications that those of us in nonprofit leadership badly need. I will share it with my management team and board."?Joseph M. Hafey, President and CEO, Public Health Institute

"A sound, practical guide for developing social entrepreneurs. Brinckerhoff makes taking mission-related business risks on behalf of the people served less risky with the step-by-step application of business ideas and techniques. Warnings, real-world examples, and hands-on advice keep the reader on track to sensible risk taking."?Connie Kirk, President and CEO, Tommy Nobis Center

"Peter C. Brinckerhoff?s new and masterfully written book has a lot of practical information in it for any organization that wants to learn how to become and stay entrepreneurial. Brinckerhoff provides the right kind of information to any organization interested in succeeding in a highly competitive and service-oriented environment . . . [and] stresses the importance of an organization?s encouraging innovation and risk only if it does not lose sight of its core values, its strengths, and its mission. That is excellent advice for any organization and for anyone who ventures into entrepreneurial waters."?Andrew H. Souerwine, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Management and Organization The School of Business Administration, University of Connecticut

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471362824
• ISBN-13: 978-0471362821
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Brinckerhoff has spent his entire adult life working in, around, and for not-for-profits. He is dedicated to the concept that a not-for-profit organization is a mission-based business, in the business of doing its mission.

When Peter formed his firm, Corporate Alternatives, inc. in 1982 it was the first consulting and training company in the United States dedicated exclusively to the management concerns of 501(c) (3) organizations.

A former VISTA Volunteer, Peter knows how not-for-profits work from his experience as a volunteer, his work as a staff member and later as executive director of two regional not-for-profits, and from his service on numerous state, local, and national not-for-profit boards. He brings this understanding of the many perspectives in a not-for-profit organization to his work.

Peter is an award-winning author, with eight books and two workbooks in print, and over 60 articles published in the not-for-profit press. Three of his books, Mission-Based Management, Financial Empowerment and his newest, Generations, The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit, each won the prestigious Terry McAdam Award from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. The award is given for "The Best New Nonprofit Book" each year. He is the only author to win the award multiple times. Peter's books are used as texts in courses at the undergraduate and graduate nonprofit management programs in over 100 colleges and universities worldwide.

Peter is also a highly acclaimed speaker and lecturer, presenting his ideas on how to make not-for-profits more effective to dozens of audiences across the United States as well as overseas each year.

From 2003-2007, Peter was an Adjunct Professor of Nonprofit Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He taught the core graduate course in the Nonprofit Management program at Kellogg. In addition, Peter has guest lectured at the graduate level at Boston University, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, and Vanderbilt University.

Peter received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his Master's Degree in Public Health Administration from Tulane University. Raised in Connecticut, Peter and his family lived in Springfield, IL from 1977-2007. Peter and his wife now call Union Hall, VA home.

Peter can be contacted by email at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Nuts-and-Bolts Start-Up Guide, July 6, 2000

By 

Doug Kenshol - See all my reviews

This review is from: Social Entrepreneurship : The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development (Hardcover)

This book is a must for every not-for-profit executive director, financial officer, board member, or business manager who is thinking about starting or expanding a mission related enterprise.

I will recomend it to all of our clients. I manage the Urban Enterprise Fund, a revolving loan fund with a mission to provide capital and management assistance to companies (nonprofit or for-profit) that create jobs for the hard-to-employ.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for Future Planning, April 9, 2003

By 

Nicole Harpe "NicH" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Social Entrepreneurship : The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development (Hardcover)

We can't assume that we will be able to support our programs simply because we do good work. Each non-profit has to closely examine how it is funded and how it expects to be funded tommorow and the day after. Brinckerhoff gives a great outline here on how to think like an entrepreneur and start your organization thinking like a business instead of a charity. If you're looking for pro-active means of moving your non-profit forward, then this book is a must. It's practical, straightforward and honest. Best of all, Brinckerhoff is readily available to talk to you via email from his website. If you have any questions about what you've read, you can go straight to the author for clarification.
This is a must have book for non-profit managers.