The success of a social enterprise is determined by a range of factors in a social and organizational contexts intertwined in such a manner that they rely on each other to drive social enterprise success. Certainly, this is the most crucial factor in the success of a social enterprise. These factors include leadership, strategy, and the nature of social enterprise internal and external enterprise among other factors. This social entrepreneurship plan addresses the role that leadership creativity plays in the process of linking social value impact with marketing and fundraising. The second section offers a multifaceted strategy that should be adopted by social entrepreneurs while seeking to develop enduring relationships with donors and many other types of funding sources. Towards the end is a design of internal processes that are necessary to enhance connectivity and relationships with varied types of donors.
Role of Leadership Creativity in Linking Social Value Impact with Marketing and Fundraising
Leadership creativity is a pertinent requirement for all social enterprises. The ultimate goal of social enterprises as demonstrated by Bornstein & Davis (2010) is to create social value. Social value in the project “Sustainable Waters” would be improved sanitation and prevention of diseases. However, it requires significant financial investment to realize this social value impact. Marketing and fundraising being important determinants in achieving social value, the leadership of “Sustainable Waters” should be creative enough to ensure that prospective sources of funds understand the social value impact so as to effectively source the required funds through marketing and fundraising. The following are cardinal attributes of leadership creativity and their role in linking social value impact with marketing and creativity:
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First, creative leadership needs to have a robust understanding of the value of the “Sustainable Waters” as a social enterprise and the benefits likely to arise from this social enterprise. This would aid in efficiently communicating to the prospective funding sources about the efficacy of the enterprise. It also makes an enterprise less vulnerable to financial challenges identified by Rutherford & von Glahn (2014).
Leadership creativity is also responsible of identifying and undertaking an effective strategy which increases the certainty of the success of the enterprise. For instance, “Sustainable Waters” can benefit from a combination of small and large group advantages which not only benefits not-profit enterprises but for-profit enterprises as well ( Beckmann & Zeyen, 2014).
Multifaceted Strategy to Building Long-term Relationships with Many Types of Funding Sources
To develop long-term relationship with many sources of donations to the social enterprise, the following should be considered:
Effective and on-going communication- Communication helps to exchange opinions, ideas and information about the progress of the enterprise as it progresses through its various stages. In so doing, donors and other sources of funds are kept informed of the impact of their financial input on the enterprise progress. They also feel appreciated as significant contributors to the enterprise who can share in both its strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, continuous communication with various financiers has an emotional impact to them, thus captivating the spirit of commitment and dedication to the uplifting of the enterprise to the maximum best.
Monitoring, Evaluation and constructive feedback- Once the enterprise has been initiated, there is need to carry out evaluation and assessment of its social value impact as the ultimate goal (Bornstein & Davis, 2010). Both formative and summative evaluation stages of the enterprise are important in effectively managing its financial aspects. It is therefore, vital that if a long-term relationship with donors and other sources of funds has to be initiated and sustained, monitoring and evaluation be carried out on a regular basis and constructive feedback be provided to enable them determine the value impact of their input. Bornstein & Davis, (2010) also acknowledges that monitoring and evaluation plays a vital role in facilitating the achievement of social enterprise goals and objectives.
Internal Processes that Enhance Connectivity and Relationships with Different Donor Types
In order to connect and relate effectively with different types of donors and other sources of finances to the social enterprise, there is need to pay utmost attention to some of the crucial internal processes so that to streamline the process of connectivity. These processes are briefly stated below:
Technological enhancement- Technology as an industry has affected almost all sectors of modern economy ( Beniger, 2009). Social enterprise as an instrument of social change is not left behind with the modifications in the society that technology has brought. Most donors can easily be reached through various technological instruments and means such as email communication and Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) means of communication.
Promotion of diversity, networking and collaboration - Donors apparently come from diverse racial and ethnic groups. It is essentially a matter of cultivating a supportive organizational culture that embraces diversity that makes it possible to accommodate diversity of the donors so that they can feel part of the social enterprise. There should also be an atmosphere of networking and collaboration to enhance easy exchange of information regarding the enterprise.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the role of leadership creativity in linking social value impact with marketing and fundraising is crucial in the sense that it facilitates the achievement of communication and strategic aspects which are crucial to the achievement of the goals of the enterprise. In a multifaceted strategy geared towards creating long-term relationship with many types of funding sources, important considerations include effective and ongoing communication, and monitoring, evaluation and constructive feedback. Some of the crucial internal processes that can be used to enhance connectivity with various donor types include technological advancements, and promotion of diversity, networking and collaboration.
References
Beckmann, M., & Zeyen, A. (2014). Franchising as a strategy for combining small and large group advantages (logics) in social entrepreneurship: A Hayekian perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly , 43 (3), 502-522.
Beniger, J. (2009). The control revolution: Technological and economic origins of the information society . Harvard university press.
Bornstein, D., & Davis, S. (2010). Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know® . Oxford University Press.
Rutherford, R., and von Glahn, D., (2014). "A Fault in Funding: An Initiative Undertaken by the World Bank Reveals a Troubling Gap in the Financing of Social Enterprises," from Standard Social Innovation Review. Retrieved August 28, 2018 from https://ssir.org/articles/entry/a_fault_in_funding
