If you're looking for a way to give back to your community, there's a new startup out there for you: Beam, a crowdfunding platform that connects homeless people with job opportunities, Mashable reports.
The idea behind Beam is to use business as a "force for good," according to the Social Enterprise Institute.
"The modern social enterprise movement can be traced back to the mid-20th century, when a number of organizations were founded with the explicit purpose of using business to achieve social or environmental change," the institute notes.
"Some common examples of social enterprises include fair trade businesses, eco-friendly businesses, and businesses that support a marginalized community."
So what's a social enterprise? According to the Social Enterprise Institute, it can be " structured as a for-profit or non-profit, and they reinvest their profits back into the social or environmental goals of the business."
Here are six examples of social enterprises you can get into: SittiSitti is a conscious lifestyle brand committed to the self-reliance of refugee and displaced communities through long-term employment opportunities and skill development training, empowered by an inclusive global economy.
Anchal is a non-profit that operates like a business.
NestNest is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) supporting the responsible growth and...
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Caroline Diehl is a serial social entrepreneur in the impact media space. She is Executive Chair and Founder of the UK’s only charitable and co-operatively owned national broadcast television channel Together TV, the leading broadcaster for social change runs a national TV channel in the UK and digital platform which helps people find inspiration to do good in their lives and communities.