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Social Entrepreneurship

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Rose Spiegel Rationale 5.7.13 Everyone describes social entrepreneurship differently. While many have been able to describe the traits and features of a social entrepreneur there doesn’t seem at all to be a consensus about the definition of what constitutes the field of social entrepreneurship. Susan Davis and David Bornstein in their book, Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know define social entrepreneurship as “a process by which citizens build or transform institutions to advance solutions to social problems such as poverty, illness, illiteracy, environmental destruction, human rights abuses and corruption (1). The NYU Reynolds Program defines it differently saying “Social entrepreneurship is a form of leadership that …show more content…

I believe that the potential of social entrepreneurship extends far beyond the creation of a new sector compromised of profit-seeking entities that achieve social and environmental good through their products and services. In fact, I believe that the principles of social entrepreneurship hold the greatest value for the pre-existing structures that are already in place. My personal interests in social entrepreneurship are in how the principles and practices of the field can be applied to nonprofits and the current private sector. Often social entrepreneurship is seen as a break away from traditional modes of social change, namely the work done by nonprofits. It’s supposed superiority stems from its focus on efficiency, innovation, and sustainability. Like many proponents of social entrepreneurship, I too, find the traditional models in the social sector to be insufficient for creating the type of changes that our society desperately needs. I found myself growing more and more skeptical of the ability of traditional non-profits to make social change. Finding funding often seemed to take precedent over alleviating poverty and I constantly felt that the change we were making was insufficient, superficial and unsustainable. When I came to NYU I was near ready to wash my hands of this “social change” business and pursue something else that might interest me, but my new path to study Media Culture and

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