Examples of social enterprises in Kentucky (interactive!):
What do you call a business that uses its products or services to do good?
At MACED, we call them social enterprises. A social enterprise is a for profit or nonprofit that uses business disciplines and the power of market demand to create positive economic, environmental and/or community impact. In other words:
- A for profit business that has a mission to make a difference in their community. Examples include a manufacturing business that trains and hires veterans, or a retail store that donates a portion of its profit to a nonprofit.
- A nonprofit organization that generates some earned income, such as a food pantry that also operates a coffee shop, or an arts organization that rents studio space to local artists.
What social enterprises are in eastern Kentucky? Here are a few examples:
Addiction Recovery Care, LLC (centers in Lawrence, Johnson, Montgomery, Fleming, Jackson, Pulaski, Harlan, Boyd counties, as well as Fayette and Kenton Counties) operates seven residential and four outpatient Drug & Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers in eastern Kentucky. Their programs are state-licensed and accept Medicaid to help make their services accessible to all Kentucky residents, but the programs also provide the business with sufficient revenue to keep their doors open.
Appalachian Artisan Center (Knott County) is a nonprofit based in Hindman, KY, that seeks to develop the economy of eastern Kentucky through arts, culture, and heritage by helping artists create and grow successful businesses. They work with artists in a variety of ways, from help developing a business plan to providing studio space and an outlet to sell. They have an Incubator Studio program that provides state-of-the-art studios. Programs include the Appalachian School of Luthiery, the Bolen Blacksmith Studio, and the Open Clay Studio. In addition, they recently launched a new Culture of Recovery program to support people in the community who are recovering from addiction. They earn revenue by renting studio space, selling art (including quilts, baskets, paintings, pottery, jewelry and musical instruments) at the Center and through their online store, and through workshop registration fees.
Noodle Nirvana (Madison County) – a restaurant in Berea, KY, selects a different local nonprofit organization every year and supports them by providing:
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- A year-round, professional in-store information display highlighting the nonprofit’s mission and current needs
- Monthly meeting space for the organization
- Hosting and sponsorship of one special fundraiser
- A percentage of proceeds from one day each month for a 12-month period
In their first year, they raised over $30,000 for the New Opportunity School for Women and more than $44,000 in their second year for God’s Outreach Madison County Food Bank. Noodle Nirvana has also committed to paying their staff a “living wage.” The business is thriving (a challenge particularly for new restaurants) and they’ve expanded to create Hole and Corner donut shop, using the restaurant space in the mornings when they’re not making noodle bowls.
Interact with our map for more examples:
Where do I start?
If you want to use your business for good, don’t worry if you can’t do it all at once. The goal is to become a more resilient and self-sustaining enterprise (i.e. earn revenue) and to explore ways to have more community impact.
At MACED, we offer business support to for-profit and nonprofit social enterprises, including connecting social entrepreneurs with consultants from various fields (such as marketing experts), financing for business-related expenses, and energy audits to lower expenses. For more information, please contact Ketaki at ketaki@mtassociation.org.
More resources:
- Social Enterprise Alliance – a national organization with lots of resources on their website including stories of social enterprises around the country.
- Social Enterprise Alliance – Kentucky chapter – discussions and activities related to social enterprise in Kentucky and tours/visits to area social enterprises.
- +ACUMEN – courses (mostly free!) on topics such as Social Entrepreneurship 101, Business Models for Social Impact, and using innovative methods from Silicon Valley to address social issues in a course called Lean Startup Principles for the Social Sector
- Accelerating Appalachia – a “nature-based” business accelerator.
