Giving Forward is working together with Bizlink to provide employment opportunities to marginalized communities. Our aim is to create a movement to ‘Give it Forward' in the community, where consumer spending has a direct impact contribution to the livelihood of those we employ, and allows us to donate funds to our adopted charities and non-profit organizations in Singapore. What is a Social Enterprise?
Social Enterprises are first and foremost, businesses. Just like any business, they make their fair profits from trading. What distinguishes them from other businesses is their clear focus on the social mission, and the way they use their profits to deliver that mission. A social enterprise has a ‘triple bottom-line', such that it must be self-sufficient in funds through profits, but also focus on the social and environmental mission. A commonly used guideline is the 3 P's: People, Planet and Profit. Social Enterprises are distinguished by the way surpluses are reinvested in the business or the community. The emphasis is on the long-term benefits for employees, consumers and the community, rather than maximize the profits gained from trade for the benefit of the shareholders. What is a Social Entrepreneur?
- a person who uses creative business practice to start a social service organization.
- society's change agent: a pioneer of innovation that benefits humanity. Characteristics of a Social Enterprise
• Social purpose
• Engaging in trade
• No private profit distribution
• Assets held for community benefit
• Democratic
• Accountable Social enterprises tackle a wide range of social and environmental issues and operate in all parts of the economy. By using business solutions to achieve public good, the Government believes that social enterprises have a distinct and valuable role to play in helping create a strong sustainable and socially inclusive economy. Challenges faced by Social Enterprises in Singapore
• Managers and professionals who can meet both financial & social bottom lines
• Constraints faced by some marginalized groups
• Prejudice & discrimination against some marginalized groups "Social enterprises are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish.
They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry"
- Bill Drayton, CEO, chair and founder of Ashoka, a global non-profit organization devoted to
developing the profession of social entrepreneurship. “SE’s represent a worthy business model that provides marginalized communities with work opportunities,
improves their livelihood, empowers them, and integrates them into mainstream society. However, SE’s in
Singapore do face serious challenges - balancing social missions with financial sustainability goals, recruiting
managers and professionals who understand marginalized communities’ needs, and training these
marginalized communities. I fervently hope that these challenges can be overcome with greater public awareness
of and support for SE’s, with more for-profit companies stepping forward to lend SE’s a helping hand,
and with the eradication of prejudice against marginalized communities.”
- Professor Albert Teo
School of Business, National University of Singapore (NUS).
 www.se2.org
Site set up by MCYS to provide useful information about social enterprises in Singapore. www.seforum.sg/index.htm
The official site of the Singapore Social Entrepreneurship Forum. http://www.skollfoundation.org/aboutsocialentrepreneurship/whatis.asp
Skoll Foundation - Background on social entrepreneurship. | 
