Social Impact Blog
Showing posts in Social Impact & Community NeedsBlog Posts
Institute rethinking what leads schools, students to improvement School Performance Institute launched as the learning and improvement arm of the nonprofit United Schools Network. Its core purpose is to study and spread school design and improvement best practices to high poverty schools. It combines what it has learned from more than 120 school visits across […]
Two SocialVentures board members look back—and ahead
The social enterprise sector in Central Ohio has expanded from 18 businesses to almost 100 since the launch of SocialVentures in 2014, accounting for nearly 2,400 jobs and $49 million in payroll. The sector has become the largest local job creator for individuals traditionally excluded from employment: ex-offenders, recovering addicts, survivors of trafficking, chronically homeless, […]
Photo by Susan Post Over the last three years, all but one woman has successfully completed Eleventh Candle Co.’s training program. Amber Runyon, founder, credits these impressive results to the company’s small class sizes, as she traditionally employs four to six human trafficking survivors at a time. By creating a safe space and close knit […]
When Lisa Hinkelman tells the story of Ruling Our Experiences (ROX)—its start, its (and her) growing pains, and its growing relevance today—it sounds remarkably like a metaphor for the social enterprise universe in which her now eight-year-old nonprofit operates. When Hinkelman formally founded ROX in 2011, she recalls that not only was there no one in the […]
Social enterprise launches 24/7 video health-care conferencing for at-risk rural populations
When we talked with founder Merry Korn last year, she was planning a beta launch of a new rural healthcare business, Pearl TLC (Tele Life Care), a remote monitoring service providing 24/7 access to healthcare via video conferencing with nurse case managers and support care coordinators. It’s seen as a way to provide access to care to […]
When John Rush began contemplating a move from Chicago to Columbus nearly a decade ago to launch what would become CleanTurn, he knew he wanted to do something different. Something bigger and more flexible than a traditional nonprofit. Something that enabled the organization to partner with multiple nonprofits and the public without depending on grants […]
When we last talked with Matt Goldstein in 2017, Besa was just launching its new corporate product, Besa Promise. Targeted to corporations, Besa Promise helps companies track and coordinate their philanthropic programs with their community volunteer programs. Adding a corporate product has been transformational in allowing Besa to evolve its services and to use the […]
Furniture Bank’s two social enterprises provide needed support for nonprofit’s bottom line In 2016, Furniture Bank of Central Ohio launched its first social enterprise, Furniture with a Heart, a furniture thrift store, followed by its second venture in 2017, Downsize with a Heart, a service-based enterprise helping individuals declutter, pack and move into smaller homes. Now that […]
AT A GLANCE What: Hot Chicken TakeoverWho: Ashley Leach, Director of Finance and AdministrationBusiness: Casual Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant Based: ColumbusFounded: 2014Website: www.hotchickentakeover.com Ashley Leach joined Hot Chicken Takeover in 2015 and has been central to its success and growth. From just five employees as a pop-up in Olde Towne East, the restaurant has grown […]
Like so many social enterprises, Roosevelt Coffee Roasters works hard to build the long-term sales pipeline that will empower the organization to create significant social change. But long before the organization can break through the barriers of social injustice, the quest to break even and make good on the loans borrowed to start up the […]