Nonprofit Start-Ups

I've been thinking about Brazil lately. My roommate is there on a Canadian government organized trade mission. This story appeared in The Daily Gleaner profiling his work and the trip.

The support and efforts taken by government to build opportunities for the private sector is awesome. These trade missions are a good example.

Over the last two and a half years starting and building 21inc, I've started wondering if we should do the equivalent in the "social profit" sector. In New Brunswick, for example, could Enterprise Agencies have someone dedicating part of their time to supporting business model development for nonprofits? I would jump at that.

Some places are already doing this. Ontario has invested millions in MaRS. The Center for Social Innovation is an excellent example (supported through both earned revenue and a generous investor).

As we increase our understanding of the importance of the social sector (and I include social enterprise and social entrepreneurs in here) to economic development, well-being, and community sustainability, we on the east coast should give this some serious thought.