J. Gregory Dees & Jed Emerson 
Enterprising Nonprofits 
A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs

A hands-on resource that shows nonprofits how to adopt
entrepreneurial behaviors and techniques

The rising spirit of social entrepreneurship has created all kinds
of new opportunities for nonprofit organizations. But at the same
time, many are discovering more than their share of challenges as
well. This essential book will help anyone in the field gain the
necessary skills to meet these challenges. Written by the leading
thinkers and practitioners in the field, Enterprising Nonprofits
offers concise and engaging explanations of the most successful
business tools being used by nonprofits today. The authors clearly
describe all the concepts so you’ll be able to embrace the methods
of social enterprise for your organization. With this book, you’ll
learn how to use practical business techniques to dramatically
improve the performance of your nonprofit.

Praise for Enterprising Nonprofits

‘I can’t imagine a better team to bring powerful insights and
practical guidance to social entrepreneurs. Readers will be
inspired by the examples, and then they will roll up their sleeves
to apply the many useful management tools in this engaging
book.’-Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Author of
Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow

‘In one book, Enterprising Nonprofits does for social entrepreneurs
what countless volumes have done for entrepreneurs in the business
sector. A wonderful mixture of analysis, practical advice, and
inspiration.’-Paul Brest, President, William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation

All of the royalties from this book will be used by the Ewing
Marion Kauffman Foundation to support continuing work on social
entrepreneurship.

Table of Content

Preface.

Editor’s Introduction.

Social Entrepreneurship (J. Dees & P. Economy).

Defining Your Mission (R. Johnston).

Recognizing and Assessing New Opportunities (J. Kitzi).

Mobilizing Resources (J. Dees).

The Accountable Social Entrepreneur (J. Emerson).

Understanding Risk: The Social Entrepreneur, and Risk Management
(J. Emerson).

Mastering the Art of Innovation (J. Dees).

Understanding and Attracting Your ‘Customers’ (K. Majeska).

Financial Management (T. Mc Laughlin).

Planning for the Social Enterprise (J. Rooney).

Appendix A: Social Entrepreneurs’ Brief Guide to the Law.

Appendix B: For Further Reading.

Index.

About the author

J. GREGORY DEES is the Miriam and Peter Haas Centennial Professor in Public Service at Stanford University and codirector of the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. He also serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Kauffman Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

JED EMERSON is president of the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund and the Bloomberg Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Business School.

PETER ECONOMY is the bestselling business author of Managing for Dummies, Consulting for Dummies, and At the Helm: Business Lessons for Navigating Rough Waters.