Social Entrepreneurship Metrics

A while ago, I was wondering about metrics for social entrepreneurship.

A team at Harvard has some hard numbers from social entrepreneurship investments.

Cool Car

I've always wanted a Prius. Now, I want the Chevy Volt.

From the Treehugger web site:

"There are two things that make the Volt’s E-flex drivetrain noteworthy. First, it is a series hybrid, which means power is fed directly to the motor, not the battery. It can be plugged into a household electric socket and charged fully within about six hours. Completely charged it can drive roughly 40 miles on electricity alone. According to GM, more than 75 percent of Americans live within 20 miles of where they work, meaning the Volt would get them to the office and back on 100% electricity with no direct emissions."

Note from Social Entrepreneurship Media Network

I recently received an interesting email from American Public Media that I thought would be of interest to other social entrepreneurs wanting to get the word out about their good works:

American Public Media's public radio business show Marketplace (www.marketplace.org) reports on entrepreneurs and the issues they face. American Public Media is also doing a new kind of journalism that involves reaching out to communities of people with knowledge, expertise and experience on a topic.

To support Marketplace's entrepreneurship coverage, APM is building a Public Insight Network of entrepreneurs from around the country (and the world) to inform reporting. And you're getting this email right now because Marketplace wants to explore social entrepreneurship in particular.

Tell APM your experience, become a source for public radio, and help shape national media coverage of entrepreneurship.

Tell APM what it takes to be a social entrepreneur, here: http://americanpublicmedia.org/pin/socialentrepreneurship/

Give a more general description of your business, here: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/entrepreneurshipquery/

Sign up for the Public Insight Network without filling out either survey, here: http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/publicinsightjournalism/contact_signup.php?dom_name=entrepreneur

(Being in the Network means receiving an email about once a month asking for your insight on stories APM is working on.... respond if the questions connect with your experience, delete the email if they don't....no spam....being a confidential news source....and you can unsubscribe any time.)

If you have any questions, contact Joellen Easton at American Public Media: jeaston AT americanpublicmedia DOT org, or 213-621-3481.

Social Ventures in Business Week

Here's an article from Business Week discussing social entrepreneurs and the double bottom line.

I like the mix of high tech and low tech businesses. The growth from 500 to 3,000 social ventures in the last decade is encouraging. (Budding social entrepreneurs: also note the increase in community investment assets to $20B.)

While reading the article, I wondered how many social ventures existed before the concept was popular and how social ventures in the particular study above were identified. Also, I was a bit unclear as to the meaning of "community investing assets."

Regardless, I am excited by the exposure of social ventures in the media.

Working the Social Venture Network

While doing some research today, I came across xigi.net, a site that provides information on the space of social investing (CSR and social VC). There is a lot of information on the site even though it's still in beta; it's definitely worth a look.

I think one of the cooler ideas is the xigimaps, which provides visualizations of social ventures and their networks.