A Social Venture is an entrepreneurial business with a social and/or environmental purpose at its heart. It’s a relatively new name, and not a legal definition, so it can mean different things to different people.

There are four characteristics of a successful Social Venture:

1. exists to achieve a social and/or environmental purpose that guides every decision
2. is a profit generating business, not a charity
3. typically innovate sto tackle global challenges
4. is often driven by an entrepreneurial vision, led by the founder(s)

Social Ventures are a type of business that sits between a charity and a purely profit-generating business.

Charities are driven purely by social impact (with private profit often seen as an incidental but unwelcome feature). Purely profit generating businesses are driven largely by financial returns for shareholders, especially when it comes to important decisions about the business.

There are different types of Social Ventures, some closer to the charity model, and some closer to the profit-generating business. We can plot the main models on our Social Venture scale:
 

• Community Interest Company

• Social enterprise

• B Corporation

• Pledge % of profit