Talking Social Enterprise with Marc Kielburger

The country had been ravaged by 11 years of infighting, children had had their hands and feet systematically cut off, and over 70,000 people had died. As he and his Free the Children team were on the port in Freetown waiting to receive incoming aid, other charities were shipping out. The war was over, public concern had shifted to the next great disaster, which meant so had the NGO’s funding. “Rightly or wrongly,” Marc stated, “these organizations basically go to the next disaster zone in the news cycle. Their funding is so tied to disaster relief that they can’t talk long-term commitments.”

Marc and his brother and business partner, Craig, asked themselves how they could avoid falling into this cycle and come up with a stable revenue stream for their business and employees. So they began down the path of social entrepreneurship, starting Me to We, a company that sells socially and environmentally conscious goods and offers philanthropic trips to students. They donate half of the incoming profits to their own charity, and reinvest the other 50 per cent into sustaining and growing their business.

Though the Kielburger brothers pointed out in a recent Huffington Post article that Canada is lagging behind the UK and the United States in legal infrastructure to support social enterprises, Marc also highlighted organizations in Canada that are leading the way in this sector. For example, Enterprising Non-Profits in BC and Toronto is a program that provides matching technical assistance grants of up to $10,000 to social enterprises that are just starting or looking to expand. There is also the Centre for Social Innovation, with three locations in Toronto and one in New York City, a social enterprise with a mission to catalyze social innovations to improve our communities and the planet. Mars Discovery District in Toronto is a state-of-the-art business incubator that offers courses in social entrepreneurship with $10,000 in “pitch” prize money, as well as social venture registry where entrepreneurs can connect with potential investors and clients.

The availability of resources like these have expanded considerably since the Kielburger brothers began their social enterprise, answering to the demand for innovative philanthropy. Marc believes it is imperative to “think outside the box of traditional charitable routes.” He suggests that new social entrepreneurs not only have a big heart, but go to business school, understand finance, combine spending time overseas learning about global issues with an internship at a large company. A Rhodes scholar, Oxford-educated lawyer, and Harvard graduate himself, Marc is able to address issues of poverty and education from a business perspective. Like taking the statistic that says most Canadians spend about five per cent of their income on charities, and thinking: “that’s 95 per cent opportunity to buy services that drive social benefit.”

It is possible to make a difference and make rent. The progressive entrepreneur understands that there is a generation out there that desires to consume products that give back, and they are willing to advocate for them with their words and their dollars. You can look back at that ten year old version of yourself and say, there is a way to have your cake, and give it away, too.

Imogen is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker living in Toronto. Her work explores cross-cultural stories of immigration and gender. She writes copy for a creative design studio and the short film she wrote The Haircut, debuted at ReelWorld Film Festival this past spring.

Photo courtesy to triplepundit.com & The SAGE Scholar Program