Social entrepreneurship at work

In a long ago post, I'd quoted one definition of an entrepreneur as 'one who sees an opportunity and organizes resources to take advantage of it'.  Modifying that slightly, I'd say a social entrepreneur is 'one who sees an opportunity for social good and organizes resources to deliver it'. 

I've recently been working with the Silicon Valley Education Foundation as part of their Step Up to Algebra program, a middle-school math outreach effort.

• The need?  Large numbers of students in Silicon Valley were entering high school with little or no skills in algebra.  And as SVEF CEO Muhammed Chaudhry points out "students who study math at least through Algebra II in high school are more than twice as likely as those who do not to earn a four-year degree, and the level of math a student reaches is the most accurate predictor of whether that student will earn a Bachelor’s degree" (Adelman, 1999 & 2006).  
• The resources?  SVEF started the program a few years ago by providing summer workshops for students in local middle schools, using mentors from the community (usually local corporations) to provide the one-on-one support needed to help these students (typically under-resourced) get comfortable with algebra.  And of course, they do secure the all-important resource of funding to enable the program.

The program has been running for a few years now and they have delivered.  But entrepreneurs stay on top of changing market needs and refine offerings to fit them.  It apparent that there are more students needing help in algebra, and it also like a good idea to provide them that help throughout the year, not just for a few weeks over the summer, so they can gain increased competence in the subject. 

As always, the challenge is matching resources to goals.  Expanding the program makes logistics and volunteer sourcing difficult, so SVEF turned to technology to help make that happen.  In a sort of 'blended learning' approach, with bi-monthly in-person sessions, bolstered by the excellent Khan Academy content, and online mentoring on the Meemli platform, SVEF is able to deliver more help to more students, more often.  (Disclosure: I'm Meemli's founder, and I'm writing this to share my first-hand experience with SVEF's exciting approach.)

Working closely with SVEF, I get to see all the challenges non-profits face, especially in public education: working with cash-strapped schools, over-worked teachers and varying environments in each district.  I also see how hard it is to be innovative, take risks, work with outside resources you don't control and do it all with limited staff and funding constraints.  It takes patience and a willingness to go with the flow while still reaching for the goal - things that you don't see much of in tech startups, by the way.  As an entrepreneur myself, I'm impressed that SVEF is, on their own, putting together a delivery system for their program incorporating new technology instead of sticking to the proven, mainstream/late-adopter options.  Not many are willing to take this kind of a leap, even in Silicon Valley - innovative risks are easier dreamed of than embraced.  Kudos to SVEF for being true entrepreneurs for social good!