idealist.org

Supporting Social Entrepreneurs

By Celeste Hamilton.


From Srta.Palabrerio via Flickr's Creative Commons I fully disclose that I'm not a social entrepreneur in any sense of the word—unless my business making friendship bracelets for charity when I was 12 counts—but I admit that I have a crush on all things social enterprise-related. So I was excited to learn about UnLtdWorld, a site specifically for idealistic inventors. (Thanks, Elifarley Cruz, for a leaving a comment on our Imagine, Connect, Act blog!)

I know what you're probably thinking. With so many social networking sites out there, who needs another one? But UnLtdWorld is more than your average online community – it's a platform whose ultimate aim is connect people, tools, and resources. (Sound familiar?) It's all about support. Let's say you have an idea for an alternative theater project that empowers the disabled. You can create or join a group that revolves around the arts, get advice and opinions from others, share ideas, find others in your community who can help out, and more. Soon, after a lot of hard work, your theater has now become a reality. That's the hope at least.

Besides UnLtdWorld, there are a lot of resources out there for innovative minds looking to make a difference. Blogger Martin Montero recently put together a great list that aims to help "...the average joe, the rookie non-MBA social entrepreneur, the working poor, the high school student, the weekend entrepreneur..." move from their good intentions to action. It covers all bases, from how to use Twitter lists to crowd funding best practices.

There are so many amazing projects that are improving communities around the world—from a radio station run out of a psychiatric hospital in Argentina to windmills built from scraps in Malawi—and there are so many more waiting to happen. So if you've got a good idea, or have another resource, let us know!