Social Enterprise definition

Social Entrepreneurship is the application of innovative ideas to solve social problems. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to create change.

“An increasing number of forward-looking nonprofits are beginning to appreciate the increased revenue, focus and effectiveness that can come from adopting "for profit" business approaches. Increasingly, they are reinventing themselves as social entrepreneurs, combining "the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination."
-- From "The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship" by J. Gregory Dees.

Social entrepreneurs have created a variety of ventures across the world to combat social problems. Locally, these ventures might include such projects as streamlining training for elderly care providers, researching economic development plans for rural communities, or creating curriculum and staff development programs for communities of color.