Obama Vs. McCain: Who Supports Social Entrepreneurs?

• Posted by Sharon Schneider
• On August 24, 2008


• Interests: Social Enterprise

I happen to think the government is not going to come up with the solutions to many of our pressing social and environmental problems. Social entrepreneurs, dedicated nonprofits, private foundations and lifelong volunteers unburdened by bureaucracy and the need for voter support will always have the greater freedom to find creative solutions.

That said, the government will have to support and adopt those solutions to infuse the resources that will allow them to reach the kind of scale that can actually impact global realities. So with the Democratic National Convention starting in Denver Monday, I’m ready to take a hard look at the platform put forth by the major party presidential candidates. (Thanks to the folks at the Chronicle of Philanthropy for making it so easy to do so.)

Unfortunately, if you’re looking at the McCain campaign website, it’s a short look. There is no mention of “nonprofits” (or “non-profit,” or “non profit” or “volunteer”), other than to describe Cindy McCain’s history of volunteer service for children and the less fortunate around the world (not to take anything away from Cindy McCain, but raise your hand if you’re ready for a first lady with a full-time job, and a controversial pet cause. Hilary supporters, settle down over there, I hear you.).

Tell you the truth, I would have expected the Republican candidate to offer more solutions that don’t depend on the government. More support for the third sector (fourth estate? Or is that the media? I can’t keep those things straight.). More interest in leveraging the American spirit of entrepreneurship and the power of free markets. It’s that desire to keep government in check that makes me sometimes glance longingly at the Republican party after I glance at the withholdings from my latest paycheck.

Instead, it is the Obama campaign that caught the social entrepreneurship wave. Check out this quote from the Obama campaign document “Helping All Americans Serve Their Country”

“In recent years, social entrepreneurs have been the catalyst for much social innovation in education, economic development, health and the environment. By developing innovative solutions to important social issues, social entrepreneurs provide many of the important services that address human needs, improve our quality of life, and make democracy work better. Barack Obama believes the federal government should invest in this approach by strategically leveraging public and private sector investment; cultivating higher levels of competition, innovation, and accountability in the nonprofit sector; inspiring a new generation of Americans to engage in service; and unleashing the potential of existing high-impact organizations.”

I could nitpick with the specifics of the approach described in the rest of the document. Mostly I think it focuses too much on nonprofits—nonprofits are a vehicle, not a solution, and excluding low-profit or for-profit organizations is short-sighted. It’s that need for neat and narrow, well-documented and easily verified definitions that always seems to limit the government’s own effectiveness.

But still, Obama’s team has done its homework and clearly read the nonprofit literature. Let me recap: Obama’s “Social Investment Fund Network” will “leverage” “best practices,” “build capacity,” be “results-focused,” “community-directed” working “long-term” and “cross-sector” to “streamline processes” and then “measuring results” to “ensure accountability.”

Ironically, this Network would be administered by a new piece of government bureaucracy: the Social Entrepreneurship Agency for Nonprofits. I think the irony of creating a government agency to oversee social entrepreneurship was lost on the Obama Campaign.

For this lack of self-awareness, I have to give him an overall B+. For McCain’s seeming lack of awareness of the nonprofit sector ‘s existence, I give him a D.

• Tags: McCain, Obama, nonprofit, social entrepreneuship, election, campaign

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