Government support for social entrepreneurship in the United States
In spite of the fact that in the USA the infrastructure of support of small and medium-sized business is highly developed, the specifics of support of social entrepreneurship require a special approach.
The main support from the state of social entrepreneurship is carried out in five directions:
- Stimulation of social innovations
- Creation of favorable conditions for the development of social initiatives
- Recognition and encouragement of successful social initiatives
- Assistance in the dissemination and development of successful social initiatives
- Dissemination of information about the effectiveness of social entrepreneurship
Thus, state support of social entrepreneurship includes, first of all, provision of information support, creation of infrastructure for development of social entrepreneurship and assistance in development of successful social enterprise projects.
Despite the fact that the government actively pays attention to the development of social entrepreneurship, organizations receive their main funding from foundations, private donations, and during the implementation of social business responsibility programs. For its part, the state promotes the creation and development of social enterprises by actively encouraging foundations to make initial investments in social enterprises and by eliminating bureaucratic obstacles when licensing (certifying) social enterprises.
The interaction of social enterprises with federal and local authorities, on the one hand, supports the development of social entrepreneurship in the country and, on the other hand, helps to identify socially significant problems, which leads to the formation of a certain state strategy to solve this or that problem.
Non-state support for social entrepreneurs
Non-state support for social entrepreneurship is much more effective and diverse than support at the state level.
Social Responsibility of Business in the United States
One of the first people to think about the concept of “social responsibility” was Howard Bowen, who published his work “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” in 1953. In this monograph G. Bowen analyzes the companies’ behavior from the normative standpoint, outlines the framework and key areas of studying social responsibility of business and says that it consists of implementing policies for making such decisions or following a line of behavior that would be desirable from the standpoint of the goals and values of society.
At present, social responsibility (social responsibility) is a set of obligations that an organization assumes in terms of protecting the interests of society and its further improvement. Social responsibility of the company can be shown in relation to the parties interested in the results of its activities, as well as in relation to the environment and to the public welfare in general. Some companies recognize their responsibilities in all three areas and make every effort to succeed in each. At the same time, other companies emphasize one or two areas of social responsibility. There are also companies that do not acknowledge their responsibility to society in any form.
Social responsibility as a policy and a concept of the company’s strategic development includes the following areas of activity:
- Compliance with statutory requirements and obligations;
- Compliance with obligations to consumers, employees and investors;
- charitable donations;
- cooperating with state authorities and various NGOs in order to implement social programs; – implementing social programs.
- for the purpose of implementing social programmes;
- care for the environment.
Foundations and Communities
Currently, the U.S. has a century-old infrastructure of foundations and nonprofit organizations that support area and community development. These organizations include: church-based organizations that provide social services; business organizations that work to achieve economic development goals; community foundations that support cultural organizations, social services and economic development; local nonprofits that build affordable housing; union-management partnerships; unique organizations that do local philanthropy by supporting widows, monoprofits or sponsoring
Named foundations provide active financial support to social entrepreneurs (e.g., the John Rockefeller Foundation, the Henry Ford Foundation, or the Andrew Carnegie Foundation).
Currently in the U.S., social enterprise membership organizations are being actively formed and developed. Such communities are important in terms of support in various areas (educational, informational), often functioning as a platform for exchange of experience for beginners and experienced social entrepreneurs.