Holiday Gift Guide for Social Entrepreneurs 2007

For new parents, one of the nicest gifts you can give is free babysitting, so they can have a chance to enjoy a dinner or even a weekend away from the routine.

Thanks Terry. As a parent of two, I couldn't agree more. Who couldn't use a little one-on-one time with a significant other, or just an extra few minutes in the day? One of my colleagues at work suggested time would be the best gift she could receive this year, and went as far as suggesting that someone might "book a three hour meeting with me and then cancel it and give me the time back too!" Isn't that great? That's the "time" equivalent of unexpectedly finding a $20 bill in your jacket pocket - a nice and most welcome surprise. Could you imagine suddenly having three hours to do whatever you needed to do? Truly a wonderful gift.

Cheers, Jill

The best gift I always cherish is to relate with people and organisations who are serious about their job.Like for eg:Socialedge as an organisation and its regular contributors.

I see if we can pool such names and organisations and be given as gift - this gift I would cherish to have and pass on.

This initiative of Jill Finlayson is worth a million.

-Surya Prakash.

Thanks for your kind words Surya. The value of the network of social entrepreneurs can not be overstated. We are always looking for new ways to connect people with each other.

Social Edge just launched the Global Social Benefit Incubator competition and this is a great way to build some of these connections. As a social entrepreneur, you can post your business plan and receive mentoring and feedback from academics and peers. Just applying can provide very valuable feedback, and if you are selected as one of the 15-20 to receive a full scholarship worth US$20K, you will attend the two week GSBI program, often called the boot camp or mini MBA for social entrepreneurs. Check it out at www.socialedge.org/features/gsbi

Matt Flannery, who founded Kiva, the online global microlending venture, attended the GSBI in 2006, and he commented that the GSBI was the first time he really felt like he was part of a community of social entrepreneurs, "The GSBI was especially helpful to me since up until that point, I had been isolated and working in a vacuum. This was the first time I was surrounded by people who supported my project. Through the GSBI I made trusted connections with people across the world. I now work with one of the GSBI participants I met there and have partnered with another."

Amazing, eh? Matt also blogs on Social Edge (www.socialedge.org/blogs/kiva-chronicles) and to help him network, we made a little widget that you can add to your own webpage to keep up with his blog - you can grab it off my facebook page if you are interested. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=663530667

Cheers, Jill

Ok - given the topic I think this plug is relevant. If you are interested in human trafficking in slavery, social enterprise, or just plain want to give a beautiful gift that has extra meaning, then take a look at our social enterprise, The Emancipation Network. We offer wide variety of gifts made by survivors of slavery and your purchase not only helps the survivors gain economic independence, but also helps us build survivor or anti-slavery social enterprises around the world. More about us at www.MadeBySurvivors.com - direct link to the store is http://store.madebysurvivors.com/

Thanks for the excellent addition to the wishlist, John. The gifts made my survivors are beautiful and I especially liked the Ukrainian Christmas Ornaments (handpainted eggs - http://store.madebysurvivors.com/Catalog/Holiday-and-Home-Decor) made by women survivors in Suchasnik, Ukraine where, as you say, "the former Soviet Republics have become a major center for human trafficking, due to the breakdown of law and order, and extreme poverty following the collapse of the Soviet Union." I've also started using reusable bags and the Recycled Rice Bag totes made by surivors in Cambodia (http://store.madebysurvivors.com/Catalog/Purses-and-Travel-Bags) look great. Cheers, Jill

Hi Jill,

This is a great guide and a lovely idea for the holidays. I just wanted put in a plug for our book, Be Bold. Echoing Green published this book as a guide for people considering careers in the social sector. It would make a great gift for budding social entrepreneurs :)

-Anthony Showalter

Website: http://www.bebold.org or @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bold-Cheryl-Dorsey-Lara-Galinsky/dp/0979011604

Thanks Anthony for the book addition. Hopefully the book will inspire more people to make the move to a career they find meaningful and fulfilling.

Which reminds me, I found a few more meaningful and nifty gift ideas. Adopt a Rat! (to detect landmines) http://www.herorat.org/ Buy one - Someone else gets one too: Toms Shoes http://www.tomsshoes.com/ One Laptop per Child (extended to the end of the year) http://laptop.org/

Donorschoose.org went national in the US recently. It's a great organization that lets teachers propose projects that need sorely needed funding. Donors can contribute part or all of the funding for small or large projects. Last year I helped complete a library for a school in Mississipi that was damaged by Hurrican Katrina.

Cathy - Donorschoose.org is a neat program and gift certificates are available! The recipient can choose the program they would like to support by region, grade level, subject, type of resource, level of poverty, and more. So if your grandmother was a kindergarten teacher, like my grandmother, you could search for a project that benefits kindergarteners. Very nice.