Out Of Small Comes Big

A few weeks ago, I was in Miami to speak (along with my friends at Community Wealth Ventures) at a social enterprise conference hosted by the Center on Nonprofit Effectiveness. Although the weather was unseasonably cloudy (as luck would have it only for the two days that I was there!) the mood among the 100+ nonprofit executives in the room was surprisingly sunny.

Sure, there was the seemingly universal angst among sector insiders about impending funding cuts combined with the ever-increasingly demand for services ... difficult jobs looking even more imposing in the months and years ahead. But I also detected a ray of hope that got brighter as I presented a no-holds-barred overview of the perils and promise of social enterprise and sustainable entrepreneurship in the social sector. Many for the first time learned about the global movement and how it is injecting more innovation into mission-based social programs while providing more diversified, unrestricted funding streams to nonprofits. Some had already dipped their toe in the water and were encouraged enough to learn more. But throughout the group was a gritty resilience and determination to adapt to the many changes currently buffeting the social sector and to "raise the bar" of performance and professionalism by borrowing from the most relevant practices of the private sector.

I don't know if my impression of the receptivity to social entrepreneurship in Miami is a leading indicator of a shift among nonprofits more broadly or just a sunny time on an otherwise cloudy day. But I do know that out of small things, big things can come. And I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see future "stars" in social innovation coming out of South Florida. I just hope I get invited back when the real sun is shining as brightly as the audience.