AT WORK
Social entrepreneurs want a better world, not bigger salary

By Andrea Kay
Ganett News Service

It's not unusual for people to want to do some good in the world. But I've never seen so many people who want to make their living by doing good.

"I don't just want a job. I want to make the world a better place," a Houston woman exploring a career change said the other day.

She is typical of thousands of workers today who are looking for more: more satisfaction, more ways to have an impact and a feeling of contributing to something that's not just the bottom line.

Their reaction is, in part, due to the residual effects of Sept. 11 and the life-can-be-short reality awakened in so many people. Others are just fed up with corporate America.

"I'm sick of hostile and cut-throat environments," the Houston woman complained.

Another worker explained: "I'm tired of working my butt off and not being appreciated, for what? So the guys at the top can get richer?"

People are also a lot more aware of social problems and have more power to address them, says David Bornstein, author of "How To Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas" (Oxford University Press).

That's why, he says, there's an emerging phenomenon of social entrepreneurs.

A social entrepreneur is a person who has a "powerful idea to cause a positive social change, and the creativity, skills, determination and drive to transform that idea into reality."

They have the savvy, opportunism, optimism and resourcefulness of business entrepreneurs, "but they devote themselves to pursuing social change or 'social profit' rather than financial profit."

They are ordinary people — teachers, doctors, engineers, journalists — "with new ideas for solving problems, who build new kinds of organizations to implement those ideas, who will not take 'no' for an answer," Bornstein says.

These social entrepreneurs work in various fields — education, health, environment, disability, policy. Bornstein profiles them in his book — how they began and proceeded to show how "seemingly ordinary people and ordinary efforts over time can produce extraordinary results."

How do you become a social entrepreneur? Like a business entrepreneur, begin with what you know best, and focus on an idea or issue that resonates deeply in your life, he says. Social entrepreneurs usually work in a particular profession for several years to gain knowledge, skills and contacts to branch out on their own.

Then they enter the "launch" phase, where they start to build their own organization, tapping their personal networks, testing their ideas and enlisting advice from well-connected and experienced allies on how to raise money, develop a strategy and build a team of supporters and advisers.

Organizations that support social entrepreneurs include Ashoka; Echoing Green, a School for Social Entrepreneurs; the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship; and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs.

If you want to explore finding a job or a volunteer role in an organization that matches your interests, these organizations are one place to begin. Bornstein also suggests checking out such groups as: the Chronicle of Philanthropy for a list of community foundations by state; the GuideStar for a list of 850,000 citizen organizations; Idealist.org; and Nonprofit Career Network.

If you believe you can make a difference, being a social entrepreneur is a good place to put your skills to work and transform your ideas and determination into a lot more than just a job.

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of several books.