Social Impact Blog

In 2017, the doors to Third Way Café opened in the Greater Hilltop area at 3058 W. Broad St., its owner blissfully unaware of the booming social enterprise it would soon become.  “It’s a coffee shop with a different outlook on things,” Owner Tim Rush explains. The café, which was named to represent a “third […]

SocialVentures is proud to announce the 2020 Annual Report: The State of Social Enterprise in Central Ohio. Every year, we showcase the amazing social enterprises that have gone above and beyond to serve their community. This year, we celebrate the resiliency and dispatch of social enterprises and small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. For most, […]

Tyler Bonner never thought he’d be making face shields when he first founded Zero Waste Event Productions in 2011. After working with Rural Action, where Bonner spent two years cleaning illegal dump sites and working with local events to reduce waste sent to the landfill, he eventually took over operations. It was then that the […]

SocialVentures is excited to announce our Series Sponsor for the 2020 RePositioned to Prosper: PtP ReImagined virtual event.  For the last five years, we hosted our annual Positioned to Prosper event in person, celebrating the incredible work of our 104+ social enterprises. This year, we’ve decided to pivot, due to the now uncertain foreseeable future […]

This time last year, we gathered together at the Columbus Museum of Art for Positioned to Prosper 2019 to celebrate the 98+ social enterprises that encompass the SocialVentures family. This year, we’re doing things a little differently.  Just as many of you have had to adjust to new challenges and obstacles, SocialVentures has also had […]

Donor-advised funding, also known as DAFs, is the process by which the money and assets that is intended to go to a non-profit someday, has no payout requirements, and can virtually sit in a “fund” for decades. The controversial method of charitable giving, also known as “zombie philanthropy,” is also one of the most booming, […]

Perhaps you could call Meghan and Josh Boone’s social enterprise startup a co-labor of love. The couple opened Cova Cowork at Gravity in Franklinton in late 2019, fueled by their experiences visiting and working in shared spaces, and finding a need for that same kind of environment to foster remote work-life balance in Central Ohio. The […]

In 2012, David Ranallo learned that the food space needed his help. After working with direct-to-consumer programs in several industries and learning about the power of decentralization, he discovered that the same could be applied in the food and farming sector.  “With the meat processors, the big farms, there are very few middle-class farms; everything’s […]

French for “to improve,” Bonifier was developed to do just that. Founder Ryan Scott came up with the idea for a web-based app— a virtual sidekick called Pip—two years ago to improve the pediatric-patient experience. Scott’s goal is for Pip to help alleviate the fear, anxiety and loneliness experienced by sick children. “1.7 million kids receive inpatient treatment (every […]

SocialVentures’ Impact Boxes can be purchased by visiting www.socialventurescbus.com/impactboxes. The boxes start at $50 and include free shipping.  Check out any Facebook or Twitter feed in this new work-from-home era, and you’ll see all kinds of new groups dedicated to helping and supporting local small businesses. Everyone seems to be worried—but most want to turn that […]