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

• 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.



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

• 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 ?

• The need to attain financial independence

• Address social and community problems

• Developing internal skills of the community members



What are the strength as an intentional community?

• Identifying needs and Promoting social initiatives in order to solve them

• Greater chances of success because of the wide circles of partners

• Networking



What are the weaknesses as an intentional community?

• Making the connection between the social business and the community members

• 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



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




• 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




• The neighborhood sustainability center has become a community center that hosts events such as holiday celebrations, performances, parties and evening discussions and seminars

• Participants include local community members, students and residents from across Be’er Sheva

• 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

Open discussion – a definition of a social business ?



• How do we evaluate the social impact of the business?

• Which part of the income should be invested in the social initiative?

• Will a donation given by a regular business transforms it to a social business?

• Will hiring employees with special needs (according to the government rules) transform a regular business to a social business ?

Thank you for participating

Social Businesses in Intentional Communities

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