Nonprofit and Social Enterprise Name Debate

Shakespeare once asked, "What's in a name? Well, a lot of individuals involved in the nonprofit and social enterprise world are asking the same question and receiving very different answers. On one hand there are those who believe that a name is not as important as the mission being executed. Feeling it is more about the clarity of your goals, the quality of your services, and how effectively you communicate with your audience that defines an organization- not what it is called.

On the other hand, many people believe that terms like "nonprofit" are engrained in the fabric of our society and should not be changed just to suit a current trend. In the case of nonprofits, this term has long been associated with charitable programs and refers to a broad category of issues that involve state and federal statutes, tax codes, and specific organizational activity. Following that logic, there is a strong argument for respecting the meaning and usefulness of the term.

There are also those who believe that the term nonprofit is exclusionary and should be changed to capture the true purpose of the sector not just its legal tax status. In recent arguments within the sector, some have lobbied for terms such as "community owned organizations," or "social-profit organization" to describe the nonprofit sector as one that is there to serve the public. This movement would like to focus more on what the organization can offer the community as opposed to being defined as an agency that does not focus on profits.

This debate extends beyond just the nonprofit world and also involves social entrepreneurship.Those in the social enterprise field have broadened the argument for a simpler name and give a similar reason being used in the nonprofit debate- inclusion. It is well known that social entrepreneurship does not only occur in English speaking countries. In fact, it is most popular in areas where English is a second or even third language. With the current phrase being as it is, a difficult combination of letters- some believe that others will be more drawn to the field, if they are welcomed with an easier term to refer to.

This debate is slowly building momentum in both areas and various conversations can be found on blogs all across the internet. Pepsi will even be sponsoring an online contest to rename social entrepreneurship, where the public can vote on the new name they like most. Whatever it is- whether talking about renaming the nonprofit world or social entrepreneurship, it should be a term that will work for the next 50 years or so.

What do you think about the whole name debate? Any ideas? As always let me know what you think.

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