Social Venture Network Who We Are: Since its inception in 1987, Social Venture Network (SVN, www.svn.org) has been at the forefront of the socially responsible business movement, connecting, leveraging, and promoting a growing community of innovative and influential entrepreneurs who are transforming the way the world does business. Many of the most recognizable social ventures of the last three decades were founded by SVN members, such as The Body Shop, Ben & Jerry's, Clif Bar, Odwalla, Tom’s of Maine, Birkenstock, Seventh Generation, Stonyfield Farm, and Eileen Fisher. What We Do: Social Venture Network catalyzes collaboration among the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to create transformational innovation, growth and impact. Our mutually supportive culture inspires leaders to generously share their wisdom, passion and resources to promote businesses that better serve humanity and the environment. Twenty-Five Years of Changing the Way the World Does Business: In 1987, the founders of Social Venture Network had a vision for a better business model – one that would simultaneously benefit investors, employees, local communities and the planet. SVN became the premiere force for cultivating entrepreneurs dedicated to “profit with a purpose.” Now, upon the 25th Anniversary of our founding, SVN will bring together values-driven business leaders and impact investors for the Social Venture Network Hall of Fame Celebration, to be held on Tuesday, November 13th at Gotham Hall in New York City. Proceeds from the event benefit SVN's Bridge Project, an effort to expand and diversify the socially responsible business movement by supporting entrepreneurs of color, young entrepreneurs and women.

For more information, please contact:

Deb Nelson Executive Director Phone: 415.561.6501 ext. 16 Fax: 415.561.6435 Email: debn@svn.org Erin Roach Director of Marketing & Recruitment Phone: 415.561.6501 ext. 12 Fax: 415.561.6435 Email: erinr@svn.org

Businesses With Impact: The Social Venture Network By Jesse Seaver | July 24, 2012 As I make my way through the world of entrepreneurialism and interact with clients, partners and vendors, I come across all types of business models. When weighing whether to work with them, I take my time and make sure that we are both working toward compatible goals and that each business I choose to work with is upholding social impact goals of its own. This series of blog posts is based on my research into companies and their leaders, in order to highlight some businesses I've been particularly impressed with. My goal is to raise awareness of companies that are contributing to what is often referred to as the "Impact Economy." Weighing factors include operational awareness of corporate responsibility, social capital investments and philanthropy. While my research is not qualitative per se, I am confident about featuring companies that fit within what I consider to be a scope of significant impact. Today, let's start with The Social Venture Network (SVN). This is a community of thousands of triple-bottom-line business leaders and investors who've been diligently building the infrastructure for sustainable business since 1987. One of the pioneers and leaders in this genre of business, SVN connects, supports and inspires business leaders and entrepreneurs that are working to build a just and social economy. They focus on building valuable peer-to-peer relationships among high-impact, innovative business leaders at semi-annual conferences held all over the country. Understanding that much of what holds entrepreneurs back from realizing their dreams is not only access to resources, like cash, but the support and guidance they need to maintain their vision. To this end, SVN organizes entrepreneurs into Peer Circles that meet monthly to break the isolation so commonly felt by social entrepreneurs. SVN also incubated other high impact

organizations that define this space: including BSR, BALLE, Net Impact and ASBC. With a 25-year history, they are a network of the innovators of socially responsible business. I recently met with Erin Roach, Director of Recruitment and Marketing for SVN. She told me, "the entrepreneurs and investors who founded SVN not only divined the imperative for changing the way the world does business, but seized the business opportunity. Billions of dollars have been invested by SVN members over the past 25 years in business that positively affect both society and the environment, which is why we call it the impact economy." She went on to speak about companies founded by SVN members like Stonyfield Farm, Seventh Generation, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and other large companies that have had tremendous growth ground and impact. Many of which will be celebrated at the upcoming SVN Hall of Fame in November. The emphasis for the Hall of Fame is on uniting the past and future of the movement The pioneers will be sharing the spotlight with SVN's Innovation Award winners, and the event itself is a fundraiser for SVN's Bridge Project. Please join me here in the weeks to come as I continue to focus in on one business or individual at a time, and help to spread the motives and ideas powering the revolutionary Impact Economy.

Occupy Wall Street Precursor 24 Years Old By Jonathan Lewis | November 3, 2011 For 24 years, the Social Venture Network (SVN) has been pushing back against the received wisdom of American commerce. SVN members are building better, smarter businesses with multiple bottom lines: profits, planet, people. Before Occupy Wall Street, there was SVN. Before impact investing and social entrepreneurship, there was SVN. Before Skoll World Forum, Omidiyar Network and Rebuild the Dream, there was SVN. Four hundred progressive business leaders and social change activists convened this weekend in Philadelphia to transform the high-flying rhetoric of financial opportunity into the practical business of doing it. Notes from the "Movers, Shakers and Changemakers" conference: Best Workshop Title: "Don't Believe What You Think." Harry Halloran, founder and president of Halloran Philanthropies, made his money from risky investments in oil. His day job is CEO of American Refining Group. Now he makes risky social investments in people. Humbly, authentically and candidly, he reports that all entrepreneurship, including social business, is about "surviving your mistakes." To laughter in the room, he notes, "I could go on about my mistakes for hours." Then, more seriously, "I don't know how to quit. I never gave up." Aspiring social entrepreneurs, take note. He wraps up the talk with his Four Ps Plus C. To make it, you need Passion, then Perseverance, then -- to underscore the need for perseverance -- Persistence followed by Patience. Then, you need to get Creative. Aspiring social entrepreneurs, got that? Best Unexpected Diet Plan: Every SVN buffet and every snack bar is dominated by healthy vegan pretend food. I guess this is a culinary offset for the group's hero worship of Ben & Jerry's, the iconic progressive ice cream company which sells obesity in a cone to middle class kids prowling suburban malls. Best Moment: Standing ovation for Doris Liberty, mother of Liberian-American Chid Liberty, CEO of Liberty & Justice. Chid's incredible social enterprise is Africa's first-ever fair trade certified apparel manufacturer. A justifiably proud mother and son!

Best Untold Story: A whip smart high net worth individual without title or organizational name tag prowling the hallways looking for viable, investable social businesses. Her laser purpose is integration of her investment portfolio into a work career as an agent of change. Most Crucial Session: "Moving from Colorblindness to Color-Consciousness." To state the maddeningly obvious, a black American president has not done enough (nothing?) for the economic aspirations of America's growing population of color (a majority by mid-century). Race pride is not the same as racial economic power. While Washington government gridlocks, Saru Jayaraman, Founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (appropriately, a mouthful to say) is upending racism in the food industry, restaurant by restaurant. The goal: Assuring attractive food presentation includes the workforce as well as what's on your plate. Currently, in far too many restaurants people of color are tracked into "out of sight," lower paid, more dangerous, lower tip jobs. Point: Every time we sit down in a restaurant, we are part of the food chain -- a social business in that moment. Spend your meal money with your values in mind.

Some Ways to Get Started as a Social Entrepreneur By SUSAN MORAN | June 22, 2011 With the economy still struggling, it may seem like an impossible time to start a do-good social venture. It can be hard enough to operate any business profitably — let alone one that also tries to improve the world. But some observers believe that the tough times may be increasing interest in social ventures. “I get the sense that the recession actually has resulted in more people taking interest in investing in companies that are doing the right thing right from the start,” said Wes Selke, investment manager at Good Capital, a social-impact venture capital firm in San Francisco. As one indicator, at least three social-impact funds have raised more than $100 million in the last couple of years: Ignia Fund, Leapfrog Investments and MicroVest. Marrying mission and money in one business can be tricky. This guide focuses on commercial, profit-making businesses and entrepreneurs who want to build self-sustaining social ventures, a term that encompasses nonprofit and profit-making companies as well as some new types of legal hybrids, like an L3C, which stands for low-profit limited liability company. These ventures are commonly thought of as enterprises that serve a so-called triple bottom line: people, planet and profits. At a social venture, the social mission is expected to be at least as important as the money-making mission. So, for example, the tobacco giant Philip Morris does not pass the test even though it donates generously to artistic and social causes. But a business that addresses a socioeconomic or environmental challenge as part of its DNA — for instance by selling low-cost solar-powered lanterns to villages that lack electricity — would be considered a social enterprise, according to Deb Nelson, executive director of Social Venture Network, an organization of some 500 chief executives, company founders, nonprofit leaders and investors. To those looking to start such ventures, social entrepreneurs and investors offer the following pointers. IT’S O.K. TO MAKE MONEY If you choose the profit-making model, stick with it — without apology. A few years ago, Assaf Shafran founded a nonprofit in Israel that offered a smartphone-based dispatching system for first responders, like firefighters and emergency medical technicians. But his social venture, called IsraeLife, had an impossible time giving the system away to volunteer organizations, largely because the organizations were suspicious of giveaways — they demanded exclusive rights or they got mired in red tape related to receiving gifts. Mr. Shafran decided he could do more good by selling the systems. In 2008 he and his team formed a profit-making division, called NowForce, which has expanded into the United States. The business has raised $2.5 million from private investors, and Mr. Shafran expects sales to surpass $3 million this year. Proudly embracing a profit-making model may require focusing on the balance sheet before unleashing the social mission. “You can’t pay employees a livable wage if you don’t have money

in the bank,” said Lisa Lorimer, former chief executive of the Vermont Bread Company, which started making organic cookies in 1978. VENTURE CAPITAL NOT THE SOLE OPTION Financing a social venture can be even more challenging than financing a traditional business. Some entrepreneurs prefer to self-finance with the help of bank loans. Others pursue venture capital, and they accept the loss of control that entails. Vermont Bread began with a commitment to paying employees a “livable wage” — three to four times more than the minimum wage most competitors offered. It also offered employees health insurance and bought ingredients from local and sustainable farms, which further squeezed margins, according to Ms. Lorimer. As a result, the company grew deliberately, mostly through bootstrapping and bank financing. At a time when many in the baking business said the company was unrealistic in trying to sell organic goods (with their brief shelf life) and to pay employees a premium, Vermont Bread was able to find a local bank that offered small loans so the fledgling business could buy equipment — one pan, one truck, one pizza oven at a time. BE WARY OF GROWTH In 2005, James Gutierrez founded Progreso Financiero, a bank based in Mountain View, Calif. It offers small loans, averaging $1,000, to individuals and small businesses with little or no credit history, through staffed kiosks in Hispanic grocery stores and pharmacies in California and Texas. Borrowers often use the loans to buy a delivery truck or other equipment. Mr. Gutierrez, 33, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States from Mexico, conceived Progreso Financiero as a “social entrepreneuring” research project when he was earning an M.B.A. at Stanford. He wanted to see if microlending, which was taking off in India, could help the millions of immigrants in the United States. He started in one Mexican supermarket in East Los Angeles. Before long he was operating staffed kiosks in 16 Sears and Kmart stores, which he figured would be magnets for many Latino families. “We thought this was a great opportunity, a great way to grow fast,” he said. It did not turn out that way. Sears and Kmart shut down Progreso’s kiosks because their loan volume was thin. “We found out that the grass-roots supermarkets are where people go three times a week, not the national chain stores,” Mr. Gutierrez said, which ended up being a valuable lesson. The closings prompted Progreso to refocus on what Mr. Gutierrez called the basic building blocks: technology, automated credit scoring (yielding more loans per store per month), and the grass-roots supermarket channel. Progreso’s business model is based on charging an average percentage rate of 36 percent, roughly double the rate for bank credit cards but much less than the rates that many payday loan services charge. If borrowers pay back loans on time, Progreso grants them better terms on subsequent loans. With 480 employees, the company has secured more than $75 million in venture capital and another $75 million in debt financing, and it has issued more than 160,000 loans. Its loss rate is 5 to 10 percent, and Mr. Gutierrez said he expected the bank to become profitable next year. HIRE CREATIVELY Despite paying less than mainstream companies, social enterprises have the ability to hire talented people. Mathieu Senard is chief executive of Alter Eco Americas, a San Francisco-based company that sells organic Fair Trade products, including dark chocolate bars, quinoa, rice and sugar to

retailers. (Fair Trade purchasers offer above-market prices and promote sustainability in developing countries.) Mr. Senard and Edouard Rollet started the company in the United States in 2005, hoping to fight poverty through business. They buy goods at a premium from small farming cooperatives in developing countries. Mr. Senard expects sales to grow to $5 million this year from $3 million last year. Alter Eco broke into Whole Foods early on, but its products were not widely distributed nationwide. Mr. Senard feared that he could not afford the industry talent he needed to capture more shelf space. His big break came unexpectedly, four and a half years ago, when Kate Tierney, vice president for sales at a big natural foods distributor, agreed to serve on Alter Eco’s board. Ms. Tierney introduced Alter Eco to influential brokers and retailers. At one point she joined Alter Eco executives on a visit to a farming cooperative in Thailand. Not long after spending three days in a small village, Ms. Tierney told Mr. Senard that she planned to leave her job and come work for him. “I was like a deer in the headlights,” Mr. Senard said. “I said, ‘We can’t afford you. We’d have to cut your salary in half.’ ” Undeterred, Ms. Tierney joined Alter Eco and has helped double the company’s sales.

The Social (Venture) Network By Helen Coster | ENTREPRENEURS | 1/03/2011 I’m a huge fan of organizations like Echoing Green, Acumen Fund and Ashoka, which identify and support promising social entrepreneurs. I recently heard about the Social Venture Network, which is a pioneer in the social entrepreneurship space. SVN has been around since 1987; some of its earliest members were Ben Cohen (Ben & Jerry’s) and Anita Roddick (The Body Shop.) Over the past two decades, as social entrepreneurship has become more mainstream, SVN has grown to 500 members. “It’s not just a movement for privileged white progressives,” says executive director Deb Nelson. At the time of SVN’s founding, social capitalism barely existed, and corporate raiding—not to mention shoulder pads—was all the rage. (We’re talking about 1987-1988. “Greed is Good”? Ivan Boesky? Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl”– schlepping through midtown in a suit and white sneakers? These were not touchy-feely times.) Nelson told me that in SVN’s early days, it was a “network where members went to remind themselves that they’re not crazy” and focused primarily on creating environmentally responsible businesses. Today, SVN remains a way for likeminded entrepreneurs to connect with each other. SVN holds two big conferences a year—in the spring and fall—and bestows an annual award on a handful of entrepreneurs. This year’s winners include Danny Kennedy, the founder of Sungevity, which installs and leases solar panels, and Jessamyn Waldman, whose Hot Bread Kitchen helps low-income women learn business skills. SVN is one of a growing number of resources for social entrepreneurs. You can use meetup.com to find B Corporations in your community, attend events sponsored by SOCAP or GreenDrinks, or join an angel group such as Investors’ Circle. What am I missing? What are the most helpful resources for social entrepreneurs? Email me at hcoster@forbes.com. Thanks.

How to Build a Values-Driven Business More start-up founders are identifying themselves as social entrepreneurs--that is, people who build organizations with an eye towards having a positive effect on the world. By Tamara Schweitzer | Mar 31, 2010 With so much talk these days about corporate social responsibility, many companies are feeling compelled to jump on the values bandwagon. Because of their agility, small businesses in particular are at the forefront of what is becoming a responsibility revolution. But, what does it really mean to be a mission-driven business? Simply selling green products does not classify a company as values-led, according to Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of the consumer products company Seventh Generation. So, whether you are thinking about starting a social enterprise, or want to incorporate a social mission into an existing company, here are some tips for succeeding as a social entrepreneur. Building a Values-Driven Business: Think About What You Can Provide Being passionate about protecting the environment or providing clean water to kids in Africa is all well and good, but in order to be a social enterprise you also need to have a product or service that provides value to others. Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation recommends going through the following exercise to determine what kind of value proposition your business will have. Hollender says that every entrepreneur should start by trying to answer the following question: What does the world most need that we as a company are uniquely able to provide? The key point for any social entrepreneur to understand is, "your core values and passion have to align with some demand in the marketplace," says Hollender. In other words, a values-driven business isn't going to succeed if it relies on the owner's passion alone. Deborah Nelson, director of San Francisco-based Social Venture Network, a non-profit organization that supports social entrepreneurs, says there's more than one meaning to "value" when it comes to running a social enterprise – there's your marketvalue and also your defining values (or beliefs). She reminds budding social entrepreneurs that it's important when building your company to "lead with your value, and follow with your values." Dig Deeper: How to Create a Company Philosophy Building a Values-Driven Business: Hone Your Mission Statement Having a visible and known mission statement is crucial to building a values-driven business. It's not uncommon for businesses in general to form without a mission statement, but if you haven't spent a significant amount of time thinking about the goals of your social enterprise, make sure you work on that core building block before going any further. "It's always a good idea to go online and read the mission statements of the 10 companies that you most admire," says Hollender. You'll find that it helps to see the operating principles and values-oriented statements put out by established companies, and then use those as model for your own, he says. You'll want your mission statement to embody both what you're passionate about and how your business will help you fulfill it. "Your mission statement should be strong enough that it continually drives you to keep focused on your values, and gives insight into your value proposition as a business," says Hollender. Once you've spent some time refining your mission

statement, don't just ignore it. Use it as your compass for making decisions, and put it out there whenever you're presenting your company to others. Dig Deeper: How to Write a Mission Statement Building a Values-Driven Business: Focus Your Efforts Focus can be a big challenge for social entrepreneurs, says Ganesh Rengaswamy, a vice president at Unitus, an international non-profit that promotes the growth of microfinance. Most do-gooders have started a social enterprise because they are very passionate about a particular social issue or problem. However, Rengaswamy, who has trained entrepreneurs worldwide on the topic of leadership and social enterprise, says it's common to get distracted by the broader social problems while building a company, and feel compelled to want to "fix it all." In his experience, Rengaswamy has found the entrepreneurs who become most successful are those who stay focused on their founding mission and don't try to do too much at once. One way Hollender recommends staying focused is to start small. For example, if your mission is to stop hunger, it's better to refine that by being specific about what you can do on a local or more concentrated scale to achieve that mission. You will always be able to expand on that vision later, once you've established yourself as a business. Another danger of trying to do it all is that it often creates confusion for employees, and then they don't know what aspect of your vision they are expected to deliver on, says Hollender. "If your employees or people connected to your company can't tell you how the given mission of your company would affect a decision they have to make, then you are probably not staying focused enough," he says. Dig Deeper: The Power of Focus Building a Values-Driven Business: Practice Transparency Along with the task of staying focused comes the importance of being transparent in the way that you run your business. The easiest way to build trust with consumers and employees is to be clear about what you are and aren't doing, says Hollender. A good way to create that transparency is by putting together a corporate responsibility report. The report doesn't have to be long but it should discuss how exactly you are being socially responsible in your process and methods, says Hollender. It's important to point out the areas where you are striving to do this as well, but may not have the capacity to do so at the time. It's helpful to post the report on your Website for your customers to see, as well as share it with your staff. The more open you are about your process, the easier it will be for your employees to deliver on your mission, says Rengaswamy, and the more invested they will feel in the success of the company. Dig Deeper: How Transparent is Your Company? Building a Values-Driven Business: Treat Your Workers Well While outwardly your business is driven by your social mission, what happens inside your company is an expression of that mission as well. That means also focusing your passionate energy inward to create a fair and beneficial work environment for your employees. In his new book, The Responsibility Revolution, Hollender describes this principle as striving to be authentically good, by building the mission into every part of your business. "Your employees are one of the key stakeholders at a social enterprise, so make sure that your values are reflected internally as well," says Hollender. It's easy to get carried away with developing your product and everything that you have to do to keep consumers happy. But, if the health of the company is suffering internally, the rest doesn't really matter. Dig Deeper: How to Build a Culture of Employee Appreciation

Building a Values-Driven Business: Build Your Team According to Rengaswamy, one of the most important aspects of running a social enterprise is the people you hire to work at your company. While smart hiring is crucial to the success of any small business, there are certain things to look for when hiring for a social enterprise, says Rengaswany. It can often be more challenging for social entrepreneurs to attract high-quality people, because you aren't just looking for someone who can do their job well. You also want to bring the people on board who really understand the mission of your company and believe in it. Those who are eager to build upon your vision are the kind of employees that won't just help your company grow, but the ones who will grow with you. Your challenge as their boss is to make sure they remain motivated and excited about the mission. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes, estimates that he spends about 30 percent of his time on hiring, which has been a crucial role for him especially during the past couple years as the company has experienced rapid growth. The dedication to finding the right people has paid off for Mycoskie. Many of the original interns he hired when he started TOMS four years ago, are still with him to this day, and are now moving into key strategic roles. They have also helped shaped the culture and keep it intact as new people come onboard, Mycoskie says. Dig Deeper: How to Improve Your Hiring Practices Building a Values-Driven Business: Educate Yourself The more involved you are with a community of like-minded social enterprises, the more knowledge you will gain about decisions crucial to your own company. Deborah Nelson of the Social Venture Network recommends finding a group of trusted advisors who can take part in your company in a mentoring capacity. Finding advisors that you admire often comes from joining community networks, especially ones that are geared towards social responsibility in business. You don't necessarily have to find an organization based in your city or state, says Hollender, because many of them, like Vermont Business for Social Responsibility, Social Venture Network, and Social Enterprise Alliance have a wealth of resources on their Websites. It's a good idea to sign up for newsletters from these organizations and keep watch for upcoming networking events. Additionally, Hollender helped start Sustainability Institute, a training portal for social entrepreneurs, which offers a variety of paid online courses geared towards individuals and emerging companies that are getting started with a social enterprise. Dig Deeper: The Education of an Educated CEO Building a Values-Driven Business: Market Yourself This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but according to Nelson, it's common for social entrepreneurs to get so passionate about their mission that they forget that they also have to be incredibly creative about promoting their products and their business. "You can't rely on social mission to sell your product," she says. "You can have a great product and great business practices, but if you don't promote it, you won't sell anything." If you don't have a dedicated marketing person on your team, there are firms that specialize in doing creative for social enterprises. Some well-known firms to check out are: Metropolitan Group, Free Range Studios, Mission Minded, and BBMG. Dig Deeper: 30 Memorable Marketing Campaigns Building a Values-Driven Business: Remember Your Cash Flow Just as marketing should be integral to your business, turning a profit is just as essential. In order to make a difference through social enterprise, your business has to be financially healthy. According to Nelson, there's a saying in the social entrepreneurship community: "No margin, no

mission," and Hollender at Seventh Generation was a case in point. He says the biggest mistake he made when he was first starting out was he focused too much on his mission at the exclusion of profits and, as a result, the company functioned largely as a non-profit for the first 13 years in business. During that time, Hollender was forced to constantly raise additional capital until he was able to balance out the business side with his passion. Keeping your expenses lean and bootstrapping as much as possible at the beginning will help you achieve that crucial balance. You can't afford to be naïve about your numbers, either. Nelson advises entrepreneurs who may not have a knack for the financials to get help from someone who can pay attention to key indicators and report on the trajectory of your profit margins. Dig Deeper: How to Manage Cash Flow Building a Values-Driven Business: Consider Becoming a B Corp. As a social enterprise, you will discover that you are often held to a higher standard by customers, and even by potential investors. "The stakes are much higher now for businesses that are attempting to do good by doing well," says Nelson, so be prepared for your every move and decision to be scrutinized, with your missteps potentially becoming public crises. However, many successful companies – think The Body Shop, Odwalla, Ben & Jerry's – have walked this path before and come out on top. As a result, they have paved the way for a new business classification called the B Corporation, which serves as a distinction for a company's sustainability standards, in addition to its traditional founding legal structure of S Corp, C Corp, or LLC. The idea for creating a set of sustainability metrics and performance standards by which social enterprises can be recognized and held accountable came out of B Labs, a non-profit formed in 2006 by three friends passionate about the do-good business model. There are currently about 280 companies representing over 60 industries that have been certified as B Corps since mid-2007, according to B Labs co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert. While B Corp is not yet legally recognized as a standalone business classification, companies that have received the distinction are part of a significant group of social enterprises (including Seventh Generation, Method, and White Dog Café) that have chosen to operate according to a higher set of standards. Any company can become a B Corp through a simple process set forth on the B Labs Website. Businesses must first take a survey that assesses the company's score in relation to their sustainability performance. If they receive a score of at least 80 (out of a possible 200), businesses may then go on to amend their founding documents to provide for stakeholder interests. "Once you have been approved in the assessment, we provide you with the exact wording to incorporate into your governing documents," says Coen Gilbert. "One of the major purposes of the B Corp model is to make it easier for entrepreneurs to change the DNA of their business so they are legally protected when it comes to their mission, but are also required to consider the impact of their decisions on other interested parties," says Coen Gilbert. He describes the B Corp classification as an overlay to the existing corporate structure at a company, which further helps bake their values into the way the business functions. B Labs is currently working towards getting legislation passed in several states that would formally recognize the B Corporation as a distinct legal entity. So far, legislation has already been introduced in Vermont, with Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania poised to follow. While there are unique challenges facing social entrepreneurs in the quest to lead successful values-driven businesses, Hollender believes it will get increasingly easy for companies to take on social responsibility. In part, this is due to organizations like B Labs and the American Sustainable Business Council that are helping to mobilize social enterprises to influence policy

change. "The good news is that this couldn't be a better time to start a values-oriented business," says Hollender. "There is a greater demand and consumer receptivity to these types of businesses than ever before." Dig Deeper: The Thinking Behind B Corporations Building a Values-Driven Business: Additional Resources Visit these organizations' Websites to find a wealth of information on socially responsible businesses. Social Venture Network's Tools & Best Practices SVN.org B Labs – B Corporation Bcorporation.net/ American Sustainable Business Council Ssbcouncil.org/ Business for Social Responsibility Bsr.org/ BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Livingeconomies.org/ Social Enterprise Alliance SE-Alliance.org/ Copyright © 2011 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved. Inc.com, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195.

CSR Press Release Social Venture Network Announces 2011 Innovation Award Winners SAN FRANCISCO, Jul. 20 /CSRwire/ - Social Venture Network (SVN), the

country's leading peer-to-peer network of socially responsible entrepreneurs

and investors, has announced the most impressive social entrepreneurs and

business leaders to watch over the next year. The winners of SVN's 2011

Innovation Awards are using groundbreaking approaches to drive sustainability

and community development while creating employment opportunities for

underserved communities including US veterans, Native Americans and African

war survivors.

A panel of 19 judges determined this year's winners, including pioneer of socially

responsible business Ben Cohen, social finance expert Esther Park and green

business expert Joel Makower. Winners were chosen based on their innovation,

impact, and ability to scale and included Chid Liberty, vanguard of the African

fair trade movement; Karlene Hunter & Mark Tilsen, founders of a natural food

company fighting poverty and obesity in the third poorest US county; and Eric

Greitens, creator of a socially innovative non-profit supporting returning veterans

from Iraq and Afghanistan.

To support their growing enterprises, Innovation Award winners will receive a

free SVN membership, publicity, and partnership with SVN leaders who will

serve as mentors. Each of the following winners will be honored at SVN's

2011 Fall Conference, to be held October 27-30 in Philadelphia, where they will

present their pioneering work to an audience of over 250 socially responsible

business CEOs, investors and social entrepreneurs. Winners include:

Chid Liberty, Liberty & Justice: Liberty & Justice partnered with Liberian women

to launch Africa's first Fair Trade Certified apparel factory. By developing local

African factories and connecting them with international retailers and

consumers, Liberty & Justice has created jobs for women who are working to

rebuild Liberia after its civil war, tackling unemployment and poverty rates that

hover around 80%. It is currently expanding from employing 58 women to 900

women after signing agreements to produce over 6.5 million pieces per year.

Peter Frykman, Driptech: Driptech's mission is to alleviate poverty by creating

affordable, water efficient irrigation solutions for the 500 million small-plot

farmers in developing nations. Available water per person in developing

countries is 20% of what it was fifty years ago. In these same places, agriculture

accounts for 81% of total freshwater usage. Use of Driptech's innovative

irrigation system allows farmers to grow year round while conserving water,

labor and time and increasing crop yields by 20 to 90%.

Karlene Hunter & Mark Tilsen, Native American Natural Foods: Native American

Natural Foods' mission is to heal the people and Mother Earth by innovating

new food products based on traditional Native American values. Based on the

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota (with a 72% unemployment rate,

it is the third poorest county in the US), the company is on track to earn over $2

million in revenues in 2011. It is committed to providing employment for the

reservation's youth (local tribal members form 95% of its staff) and to the return

of the buffalo to Native people.

Jason Aramburu, Re:char: Re:char empowers subsistence farmers in the

developing world to enhance their crop yields and supplement their income,

while trapping carbon and enriching depleted soil. Re:char has found that by

pyrolyzing plant waste before it decomposes, it is able to re-route solid carbon

into a carbon-rich soil amendment, ensuring that plant carbon (and greenhouse

gas) does not return to the atmosphere. Its technology currently serves 750

farmers in Kenya.

Katherine Lucey, Solar Sister: Solar Sister is a social enterprise that eradicates

energy poverty by empowering women with economic opportunity. Using an

Avon-style business model, Solar Sister Entrepreneurs create vital access to

clean energy technology. The women use their natural networks of family,

friends and neighbors to provide the most effective distribution channel to rural

and hard to reach customers. Solar Sister combines the breakthrough potential

of solar technology with a deliberately women-centered direct sales network to

bring light, hope and opportunity to even the most remote communities in

Africa. It currently works with women in Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan.

Eric Greitens, The Mission Continues: The Mission Continues is a national

nonprofit organization working to build a nation where every veteran can serve

again as a citizen leader. The organization challenges post-9/11 veterans to

continue their lifelong missions of service by being leaders in our communities,

enabling them to combat a loss of purpose in their lives that often occurs when

they leave the military. The Mission Continues aims to reshape the way we

welcome home our veterans by showing that these men and women are

tremendous assets, not charity cases, whose strengths and leadership can be

used to improve communities here at home.

Deb Nelson, SVN's Executive Director, says, "SVN's 2011 Innovation Award

Winners clearly demonstrate that business can solve our most pressing social

and environmental problems. We are thrilled to be honoring these incredible

leaders."

About SVN Since 1987, Social Venture Network (SVN, www.svn.org) has been at the

forefront of the socially responsible business movement, connecting, leveraging,

and promoting a world-class community of more than 500 innovative

entrepreneurs working to change the way the world does business and the way

that business affects the world. SVN connects the leaders of socially

responsible enterprises to share lessons and resources, form strategic alliances,

and explore new solutions that build a more just and sustainable economy.