Money vs mission

  • October 24, 2012
Money vs mission

A social enterprise company set up by Gates Cambridge Alumni has just published its first e-book giving advice to others seeking to build social enterprises that make money.

A social enterprise company aimed at making it easier for people with good ideas who are not well connected to get the ear of decision-makers has just published its first e-book giving advice to others seeking to build social enterprises that make money.

OneLeap [oneleap.com] was founded by Gates Cambridge alumni Hamish Forsyth and Robyn Scott and involves users, whatever their background, to send a 400-word message to anyone else on OneLeap – if they pay a fee. The fee, which shows the sender is serious and filters timewasters, goes to the recipient’s chosen charity. The message is guaranteed a response in 10 days or the fee is refunded.

It has just published its first e-book, How to Build a Social Enterprise that Makes Money, which brings together personal tips and stories from 14 of OneLeap’s successful social entrepreneur members.

The free e-book has garnered media interest and Hamish recently wrote an article for The Guardian giving tips on dealing with the dualism required of a social entrepreneur — to do good and make money.

Hamish [2007] says: “OneLeap published How to Build A Social Enterprise that Makes Money because financial sustainability in social enterprise needs attention. It’s a lot less sexy than the social outcomes, but no less important. A financially sustainable social enterprise not only serves more needs, more reliably, but it frees up scarce grant funding for unpopular but vital causes that will struggle to get traction in the market. The social entrepreneurs in the book deserve celebrating, and their advice is both inspiring and practical.”

Picture credit: suphakit73 and www.freedigitalphotos.net

Latest News

New thinking for education leaders

A Gates Cambridge Scholar has co-authored a new book which is being described by leading educationalists as transforming the way schools think about change. The Pruning Principle offers a new approach to educational leadership, drawing inspiration from horticulture to address the chronic issues of overwork and inefficiency in schools. The authors, Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr Simon […]

A passion for biotech innovation in Africa

Taryn Adams has long been interested in bridging the gap between science and business in order to ensure science has practical, useful applications. Coming from South Africa, she says the innovation that results from linking science and business, particularly in biotech, is still in its early stages, but she feels there is room to make […]

Caught on camera: how we see the world through digital images

Emmanuel Iduma will be one of the first people to do the University of Cambridge’s new PhD in Digital Humanities and he brings a wealth of experience in multimedia to the subject. Emmanuel [2024] is not only an acclaimed writer, but has been fascinated by the role of photography for many years – how photographs […]

Tributes paid to Arif Naveed – ‘a brilliant scholar and an even better human being’

It is with great sadness that the Trust has learned of the death of Gates Cambridge Scholar Arif Naveed [2014]. Arif did his PhD in Education at the University of Cambridge and won the Bill Gates Sr Award in 2018. This is an award nominated by other scholars and their nominations show the impact Arif […]