Social Businesses in Intentional Communities
Intentional communities in Israel - background
•
•
Groups of young adults electing to contribute
to changing the face of the Israeli society by
living in Israel’s social and geographic
periphery
Maintaining community lifestyle and
promoting values such as social responsibility
and solidarity
•
Creating partnerships with the local
community
•
Promoting social initiatives that will improve
community living
•
Currently there are more that 150 young
communities all over Israel
•
The young communities movement is a
growing social trend that represent the
diversity of the Israeli society
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Challenges of Intentional communities in Israel
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Most of the social initiatives established by
members of the communities depend on
philanthropic sources of funding and, as
such, their long term stability is fragile
•
Limited suitable employment opportunities in
the Israeli periphery
•
Most of the community members are
employed by NPOs and social organizations
with relatively poor organizational and
financial stability.
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The solution – The social business model
•
According to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Muhammad Yunus – a social
business can be defined as a non-dividend company that is created to address and
solve a social problem
•
Social businesses yield two very important outcomes for the intentional communities
as well as the wider communal context in which they operate:
Economic opportunities allow the intentional communities to establish their own
financial independence and sustainability; these businesses employ local residents
and allow for tangible financial growth of the entire community
Social benefits are evident as well as the endeavor improves communal life and
channels monetary gains toward continued public benefit.
Social business Principles
•
The investors/owners can gradually recoup the money invested, but cannot take any
dividend beyond that point
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The purpose of the investment is purely to achieve one or more social objectives
through the business activity of the company
•
No personal gain is desired by the investors
•
The company must cover all costs and be financially sustainable, while achieving the
social objective that was defined in its vision
•
Once the original investment has been recouped by the investors, profit stays within
the company to expand its outreach and increase the social impact
Why do we need it ?
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The need to attain financial independence
•
Address social and community problems
•
Developing internal skills of the community
members
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What are the strength as an intentional community?
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Identifying needs and Promoting social
initiatives in order to solve them
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Greater chances of success because of the
wide circles of partners
•
Networking
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What are the weaknesses as an intentional community?
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Making the connection between the social
business and the community members
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Complicated decision making process
•
Financial abilities
•
The need to identify the entrepreneur that
will lead the process from the community
members
•
The tension between the desire to maximize
profits and the desire to maintain the
values ​of the community
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Case study – The neighborhood sustainability center
• The Center for Neighborhood
Sustainability helps create and sustain a
flourishing neighborhood using existing
tools and resources from within the
community
• The Center is a home to a large garden
with plots for vegetables, where the
landscaping and architecture is
constructed sustainably from mud and
recycled materials
• The Center serves as a sustainability
education center and a community
gathering place where local residents
come together for daily meetings,
community events and holidays
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Case study – The neighborhood sustainability center
• The center provides teaching and
training to groups of all ages and
abilities. Among its customers there are
educational institutions, nursery schools,
primary school groups and groups from
the Jewish Agency programs
• Classes include: community
development, promoting environmental
awareness, composting, mud
construction and water recycling
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Case study – The neighborhood sustainability center
• The neighborhood sustainability center
has become a community center that
hosts events such as holiday
celebrations, performances, parties and
evening discussions and seminars
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• Participants include local community
members, students and residents from
across Be’er Sheva
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• The center also has s second hand
boutique named Rubashka
Case study - Pao-Teva
• “Pao-Teva” is a nursery school that
run by a cooperative of local parents,
offers an excellent preschool
education for both parents and their
young children
• The school’s values include: Quality
Education, Healthy Food, Connection
to Nature, and Parental Involvement
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Open discussion – a definition of a social business ?
• How do we evaluate the social impact of the business?
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• Will a donation given by a regular business transforms
it to aone.
social
• Which part of the income should be invested in the social initiative?
business?
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• Will hiring employees with special needs (according
to a
the
government
with only
photo
to break up
rules) transform a regular business to a social
business
?
your
presentation
if you like.
Thank you for participating