Social enterprise questions?

[loopylane]

What is the purpose of a social enterprise?
Who does a social enterprise benefit?
How does a social enterprise make money?

[Fusion cultures]

Social enterprises can function for many different purposes, and each one will be set up to pursue the social objectives of the people involved and their target community.

Who does it benefit - the intended or target community as mentioned above, but also the wider society and economy in moving more money toward achieving socially and environmentally sustainable goals, as well as of course the employees who all gain jobs as a result of a social enterprise being created.

How does it make money - government grants and private donations are the usual starting point, but of course they can always compete in the free market the same as all other enterprises. Membership fees are also a way of doing this, and many member fee charging organisations often wish to describe themselves as social enterprises.

Note that if a social enterprise makes a profit through trade, this is often referred to as a surplus instead, as it is likely to be spent on achieving the original social objective, rather than a financial objective like paying dividends to shareholders.