“Changes are products of intensive efforts.”
Muhammad Yunus
Social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental, the Triple bottom line, well-being—this may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Generally speaking, “social enterprise” means using business tools to address a social need. This concept may or may not overlap with “social innovation,” which means addressing a social need in a new, groundbreaking way.
Social enterprises can be structured as a business, a partnership for-profit or non-profit, and may take the form (depending on in which country the entity exists and the legal forms available) of a co-operative, mutual organization, a disregarded entity, a social business, a benefit corporation, a community interest company, a company limited by guarantee or a charity organization. They can also take more conventional structures.
Although profits are not the primary motivation behind a social enterprise, revenue still plays an essential role in the sustainability of the venture. In fact, sustainable revenue differentiates a social enterprise from a traditional charity that relies on outside funding in the form of donations or grants to achieve its social mission. A successful social enterprise is one that balances the tension between upholding the social mission of their organization and maximizing the productivity of their business venture to ensure sustainability.