Social entrepreneurs use a business model to address a social need. They set up "social ventures."
A social venture is basically a business, but with an additional bottom line beyond making a profit: making a difference or solving a social problem.
Nonprofits sometimes have "social ventures," or small businesses within the nonprofit that help support the nonprofit. Think of the store at the art museum, or the ice cream shop that serves to employ and train disabled workers.
But, social entrepreneurs establish businesses that may never become nonprofits, even though they serve a social cause.
Social entrepreneurship has become highly popular in recent years with a number of universities hosting social entrepreneur business competitions; and establishing courses of study in how to set up businesses that do good while making a profit. Prominent institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Duke, and Columbia even have centers for social entrepreneurship.
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