“We need to explode the myth of social enterprise being a wholly sustainable business model,” says CEO of School for Social Entrepreneurs at 20th anniversary party
London, UK – for immediate release:
School for Social Entrepreneurs, which now supports more than 1,000 leaders of social change each year through its global network of 11 schools, this week celebrated its 20th anniversary in style. Espresso martinis flowed as break-dancers helped 250 guests party the night away.
But among the fun and buzz at Studio Spaces, in East London, SSE’s CEO Alastair Wilson had a serious message for the social entrepreneurs, corporates, foundations and social-enterprise support-organisations gathered together.
He said in his speech: “Over the past 20 years, awareness of social enterprise has increased dramatically, and all of you sitting here are testament to that. But we need to explode the myth of social enterprise being a wholly sustainable business. It is unrealistic to expect social enterprises, often working in the poorest communities, to operate on an entirely commercial footing without pricing in the cost of their social impact.
“This does not mean we do not want to trade, and have the dignity of earning our own income, but it does mean ongoing support is needed to indemnify the costs of working in broken markets. I hope that advances in big data, over the next 20 years, will help us determine what that settlement needs to look like.
“Meanwhile, SSE throughout its UK and international network of 11 schools will continue to recognise people from all communities as social leaders, and support them to take action. We will continue to bring corporate organisations and social entrepreneurs together, working for mutual benefit, and we will continue to develop networking connections and access for the social entrepreneurs we work with. By being realistic, and by accepting that social enterprise needs a helping hand in order to be competitive, all of us in this room can work together to ensure stronger, more resilient communities.”
** If you would like a guest column from Alastair exploring his comments in more depth, and/or more information on the 20th birthday event, including high-res photos, please contact:
Sophie Hobson, communications manager, SSE – 0207 089 9120 / sophie.hobson@sse.org.uk
** About SSE
School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) empowers people to create change in their communities and improve the lives of others. It supports social entrepreneurs: people who tackle social problems by starting, scaling and sustaining organisations. SSE helps more than 1,000 leaders of social change every year through courses, connections and support. Michael Young founded SSE in 1997 in London. Today, its network of 11 schools impacts communities across the UK, Canada and India. www.the-sse.org